Cobalt

In this 1982 gay murder mystery by the author of Vermilion, summer in Provincetown is a nonstop party—until it stops dead.   Daniel Valentine is a gay bartender and former social worker. Clarisse Lovelace is his straight pal who works in real estate. They make an unconventional investigative duo—but sometimes unconventional is exactly what's called for.   Summer in P'town is definitely earning its reputation as Sodom-by-the Sea. Daniel scored a job tending bar for the season and Clarisse is here too, looking fabulous and searching for trouble. Only she finds the wrong kind when a dead body turns up on a beach.   No one knew Jeff that well, but his arresting cobalt eyes certainly caught people's attention. They made him some friends—and quite a few enemies. Which of these killed him?   "In many ways it's not all that different from Miss Marple snooping about St. Mary Mead, only here drag queens replace governesses and coke dealers replace vicars." — Gay Community News