Lou Rand (1910–1976)

Cited by many as featuring the first openly gay detective and beginning of the "Gay Detective" genre, The Gay Detective (renamed in later reprints as Rough Trade) was one of the early entries into the of the cycle of gay and lesbian pulp novels of the sixties. Author Lou Rand was the writing name of Lou Hogan, a Gourmet Magazine columnist who was also known for publishing The Gay Cookbook.

The Gay Detective is an uncomplicated crime noir following the titular gay detective Francis Morley and his ex-football champion Tiger Olsen as they help a reluctant Bay City police chief solve a series of murders tied to a drug and blackmail ring. Rand's detective story takes the reader on a sightseeing tour of the not-so-underground "gay scene" of San Francisco, along with examples of the sociopolitical status of the gay community in the early sixties, while keeping it light with plenty of humor and hijinx.

Not as graphic as some of the sexploitation pulp of the era - in fact, only a couple of straight sexual encounters are described in any great detail, with any same-sex action being merely alluded to in coy fashion. The author's goal is obviously not to titillate or shock, but rather to entertain, and the result is a quick and fun read.… (més)

This book isn’t an amazing detective, it hasn’t got any convincing or smashing gay characters in it, but still it is a remarkable read, mainly because it is set in the early 1960s in San Francisco, before any gay-rights-movement had started off.
The flamboyant new-in-town detective Francis is asked to help finding a killer from the dubious scene of male encounters in the shadows. And with the help of his ex-marine assistant he does so quite elegantly. So, don’t try to make up very much of the plot but enjoy the encounter with the time more than 50 years ago.… (més)

Francis Morley moves to Bay City in the early 1960s, taking over his uncle's detective agency. Hattie Campbell, his uncle's secretary, isn't sure what to make of her new boss; he's definitely not the type of man his uncle was, perhaps a bit on the "swish" side, but that could just be his college theater days rubbing off on him. Or maybe it's the long line of young men waiting outside the office door when she arrives, all in response to an ad Morley placed looking for an able-bodied young man to help out. Tiger Olsen, the good-looking, straight-laced town hero, finds himself hired as Morley's' new assistant when all was doing was making a routine call for his employer Chadwick Motors to greet the new detective in charge of their account. He finds Francis a bit odd, too, but also a man determined to prove himself as a detective.

Within a few days of re-opening the detective agency, Morley is approached by Captain Starr of the Bay City Homicide Department, hoping that he will be able to help solve a series of murders and the disappearance of a young man which may be connected to the murders. The reason for bringing his agency in is the odd nature of some of the people involved, people whom Starr suspects someone like Morley might be more in tune with.

Lou Rand's camp version of a noir detective story comes across as a parody of the gay pulps but with a minor difference. In many of the pulps I've read, the gay character struggles with his own identity, being forced to hide his sexuality until it ultimately forces its way into the open with tragic results. With The Gay Detective, Francis Morley never questions his own sexuality even when he knows people such as Captain Starr are using him because of what they think instead of what they know. No one out right asks him about a girlfriend or wife, but neither does he offer any such information. He's also incredibly comfortable with himself and doesn't hesitate when it comes to searching the local gay bars and restaurants -- even the bathhouse -- to uncover whatever has Bay City in an uproar. A refreshing change, but at the same time, I was never certain myself of Morley's sexuality: is he really gay, or is he putting on a show because it will allow him entry to places the police would never want to go?

Then again, most of the main characters all seemed to display some sort of homosexual tendencies though not as obviously as Morley. Captain Starr and many other male city notables frequent the back room of a bar, making it an exclusive gentlemen's club known as the "Back Room Crowd". Though no hanky-panky goes on, the insinuation that it's more than what it seems is definitely present. Not to mention all the bad guys appear to be homosexual, such as Kay Dunbar who helps to kill a man at the beginning of the story with the pay being a chance of having sex with the gunman n the backseat of the car that held the dead body in the trunk. (And Bay City seems to have only three women in its entirety -- Hattie, a rich woman who lost her cat, and a young woman whom Captain Starr referred to Morley.)

Interspersed with all its campiness, "The Gay Detective" spins a good detective tale, filled with drugs, sexual slavery, and a great detective. And I have to agree with the Ann Bannon quote on the cover: "It's so flaming you could roast marshmallows over it."… (més)