REVIEW of "First You Fall" by Scott...

Scott Sherman, First You Fall (Alyson Books, 2008) 224 pp.

Kevin Connor, the hustler hero of Scott Sherman’s new novel “First You Fall” is a classic: he’s got the proverbial heart of gold. But he’s also horny as hell. Setting tricks aside, by the end of the book Connor has four solid men to choose from (and yet he can’t make a choice – wait for the sequel).

But the love that grounds this novel’s mystery is Platonic. In the opening pages, Connor finds that his mature, gray-haired mentor has apparently thrown himself from his Manhattan apartment’s ample balcony. Connor sets out to prove that his mentor was murdered.

Was the perp a fellow steroid-amped hustler? His mentor’s sons, one of whom runs a psycho-pop ex-gay ministry? Or was it just plain suicide? Between tricks, Connor must put together the pieces, all the while juggling handsome men with whom he is in love, or who are in love with him, and his mother’s sudden appearance on his doorstep fleeing from Connor’s apparently cheating father.

The book takes on some heavy themes – ex-gay ministries, bondage scenes gone disastrously wrong, suicide, emotional adultery – but Sherman’s hero radiates a redeeming youth, inventiveness, frankness and naivete. He is immensely appealing, susceptible to being charmed both by a foot in his crotch and the brainy nerdiness of one of his regular tricks. Connor’s mother, too, is a comic, blunt foil. She shows up without warning on her son’s doorstep, persuades the super to let her into his apartment, quickly discovers Connor’s stash of porn, makes indelicate inquiries about Connor’s day job, refuses to go back to her husband until properly romanced, and is soon hanging curtains and insisting that the refrigerator contain actual food and not merely protein shakes.

Set in contemporary New York City, the book is shockingly current: texting, cell phones, caller ID, data mining, podcasts, and other heralds of the Internet era permeate its pages. For all the familiar tropes Sherman employs, however, First You Fall has a distinct freshness, and the mystery endures until the end. I never guessed who done it, though in retrospect the portents were heavy indeed. Best of all, we sense that Sherman hasn’t even begun to wring all the fun and mystery from his cast of characters, and I, for one, am looking forward to the next Kevin Connor mystery. Sure beats the heck out of the Hardy Boys.

Reviewed by Scott Pomfret, author "Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir" (www.sincemylastconfession.com)