Bought Off

This tawdry tale is narrated by Miss Starlight, aka Leon McAdoo: gossipmonger extraordinaire. She is oh-so-pleased to dish on a simple-one-night-stand spun wildly out of control. When earning a living, he is a reluctant PI. As protagonists, we have several ultra-rich horndogs with kinky sexual appetites, a young, movie-obsessed pre-op tranny, a trick with serious anger issues, a high school English teacher inclined toward pedophilia and Starlight him/herself, who likes to be called Earth Mother. These folks keep caroming off one another on steamy nights in Galveston, TX, so you just know there are firearms involved and a couple guys will wind up dead. The last third of the book is Starlight’s account of Beautiful Butch, the angry trick, on trial for murder. The prosecutor is an intimate of the defendant. The defense lawyer phases in and out. His gorgeous female associate addles the brains of the all-male opposition. The woman judge almost maintains her dignity. No one in the courtroom can seem to resist winking at the defendant.

John Waters could make the movie, probably as a bromance. But seriously? With the exception of Starlight, the characters are never given a chance to develop, which insures that most of the interactions are farcical and over the top. There are a few quiet, almost sweet moments: an interview with Butch’s exhausted Mom, the DA and his wife getting dressed to attend a grand opening at Starbucks, but they quickly dissipate. There are intriguing situations which somehow fail to resolve: the connection between Starlight and the prosecutor, for example. Then there is the issue of HIV. It may be lurking out there somewhere, but none of these guys seem inclined to take precautions.

It looks like Roger Paulding is on a roll, with another Starlight book in the hopper. It will no doubt be the same kind of romp.