Missing

Harry Stoner Mystery #11

by Jonathan Valin

Mason Greenleaf--good teacher, good friend, fond lover--vanishes from his Mount Adams home one hot summer afternoon. For his fellow teachers, former students, and friends, his disappearance is inexplicable and tragic. For his lover, Cindy Dorn, it is a cruel blow. She calls Harry Stoner for help. Soon after, Greenleaf turns up dead in a sleazy hotel. The police call it a suicide--Stoner believes there's more to the story. As Stoner delves into the apparent suicide, disturbing questions surface about Greenleaf's past, questions about his sexual life. Greenleaf was bisexual; after the brutal Lessing case of several years past -- a case that led Stoner to cover up an act of deliberate murder -- Harry is not eager to probe into another gay man's violent death. But he can't walk away from Cindy Dorn, a woman to whom he is undeniably drawn. For Harry, an investigation that starts as a matter of conscience rapidly turns into a test of character and, through Cindy, a confrontation with what has been missing in his own life.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jonathan Valin is an American mystery author best known for the Harry Stoner detective series. He won the Shamus Award for best mystery novel of 1989. After writing eleven Harry Stoner novels over a 14-year period, he took a break from mystery writing to help found Fi, a magazine of music criticism. He now works as an editor and reviewer for magazines.

He is an alumnus of the University of Chicago and lived there for many years.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finishing this book made me sad. It is the last of the Harry Stoner mysteries, written a quarter century ago, and—although its author Jonathan Valin is still alive—it is doubtful that he will return from retirement with Harry’s twelfh adventure. That is a pity, for Valin is one of the finest writers of the genre, and Stoner one of its great detectives.

Valin says he stopped writing mysteries because was repeating himself, but Missing (1995)—although it also features the death of a closeted homosexual, as had Extenuating Circumstances (1989)--breaks new ground. Detective Stoner’s mission is to discover the reasons for a suicide, and, although the case has its share of twists and turns and definitely keeps the reader interested, continually guessing, the ending—when it eventually arrives—offers no real surprises, but is as bleak, depressing, and shabby as real life itself. It hung around my head like a cloud for days.

Real life. Maybe that was the real reason Jonathan Valin stopped writing. It keeps repeating itself.

[Bill Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lent a copy of a Jonathan Valin book in 1988 (I started keeping lists in 1984). I was deep into private eye fiction, looking for additions to Chandler and Macdonald, my favourites, and Valin's Dead Letter stood out as being 'up there'. I can't remember anything about it, didn't even remember the title, and although I looked around for others of his books in various bookshops, I never found one. And yet, his name and my memory of a good read has never gone away. Thanks to the internet, I turned my memory into action and found a copy of Missing. My memory of Dead Letter seems valid, and I thought Missing was classic private eye fiction, well written and compelling. Unusually, no murder triggers the investigation, but a suicide and the desire to understand why. It is set against the background of the gay community and the AIDS explosion in the 1980s. The tone is odd and shows its age. Early on, it feels almost anti-gay, but this is a reference to a previous crime that has badly affected PI Harry Stoner. Even so, there is vocabulary that would not pass today. Ultimately, the tone is liberal and the anti-gay characters are clearly the 'bad guys'. I will certainly look out for more of the 9 Valin books I haven't read, and even return to Dead Letter. Indeed, I've already found a copy of Final Notice.

[MiMi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t wait to finish it. It felt like I was watching a movie that had a voice over telling me exactly what was happening at the moment. I wasn’t a fan.

[Tom Kopff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting to look back to the time when this book was written and remember what it was like when AIDS was new and so frightening and deadly.

Harry Stoner is a likable character and the plot was decent. I'll have to get the next one

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid writer of private detective novels. Though this is not one of his best, it is still worth
reading.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always like the character of Harry Stoner. Gritty, savvy and affable. He attempts to help Cindy Dorner about her missing teacher friend in Cincinati. Recommended.

[Carol Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing series of books. I'm so sorry to have reached the end.