Murder at Union Station
Official LESBIreviewed Review Certificate:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Clever Murder Mystery
Mason is hired to investigate what happened to a young woman whose body is found in a trunk at Union Station. Along the way, he meets many a character, and quickly has many possibilities to investigate in getting to the truth.
I adore Mason Adler and was very excited to read the second book in the series, Murder at Union Station. David always delivers an exciting story, always cleverly put together so I can never figure out ‘who done it’ until it is all pieced together by the detective. As usual, Mason was his charming self, skilled in getting to know suspects and noticing small details everyone else misses, so he always gets the truth in the end.
It was most enjoyable to catch up with Mason and his friends and acquaintances, providing that little bit of normality. They always add extra layers to the story, and play key parts in helping Mason figure out exactly what happened in the most surprising ways. It was such a heinous crime, that when the suspects started being lined up, I wasn’t sure with any of them, so it was fun to try and notice the clues and try to beat Mason to figuring it out (I didn’t manage that!).
Something about this murder mystery caught my attention though. Although quite awful what has happened, it had a surreal feeling to it as if it wasn’t that shocking and a calm air about it. It really helped to set the scene and meant that during Mason’s investigations, as a picture of what happened and who might be responsible was building, suddenly the crime felt more awful, more cruel, and unkind, while still maintain this surreal feeling that it might not be as callous and dark as it seemed. Very intriguing and certainly one to get me thinking.
There is always an elegance and charm to the stories David writes, which makes them stand out, and is why I love them so much. Very, very excited to know what awaits Mason next!
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
This second book in the private detective Mason Adler mystery series, set in post-war Phoenix, AZ, has a brisker pace and more focused murder mystery than the introductory book in the series, Murder on Monte Vista. The same core cast of characters are present here - Mason Adler, an attractive, well-dressed 50-year-old gay detective (with a nod to Dave Brandstetter), his best friend Lydia, the flamboyant interior decorator Walter, and friend Detective Emil Hardwick.
The mystery involves a woman murdered and stuffed in her roommate's trunk and delivered to Union Station prior to the roommate leaving for California on the Golden State Limited. Both Mason and Emil work the case and share details along the way and bit by bit the various elements of the crime are identified, and finally solved, after a few twists along the way.
Where this story really works is in the 1946 setting at a time when air conditioning was rare, your phone lived out in the front hall on a special stand, two women cohabitating and running an apartment building could rather successfully claim to be "sisters," complimenting and coordinating colors for male attire was an art form, and at the Cactus Cantina you could get the regular supper for sixty-five cents, with tamales, enchilada, frijoles, tortillas de maiz and sopa de arroz.
The murder/mystery is an homage to a 1931 Phoenix murder, and many of the locations are old Phoenix landmarks. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and look forward to the next one (which I suspect may involve Walter, Mason and a weekend trip to Palm Springs). 4 stars.
Review of Murder at Union Station by David S. Pederson
September 19, 2022 by Roger Hyttinen
This was the third novel by David S. Pederson. Unlike the other two I read, which featured Heath Barrington as the main character, the protagonist in this novel is Private Detective Mason Adler, a 50-year-old gay detective. The story takes place in 1946 in Phoenix, AZ, where the dead body of a woman is discovered in a trunk at Union Station. What’s interesting about this tale is that it’s inspired by a real-life murder in 1931.
In Murder at Union Station, Mason is hired to investigate the woman’s murder, and we travel with him as he interviews the various witnesses and suspects, trying to piece together the last hours of the woman’s life. The story is full of engaging, lively characters such as his sassy next-door neighbor Lydia and the flamboyant Walter as well Emil, the by-the-book police chief with whom Mason has an interesting — and somewhat contentious — working relationship. There was plenty of comical, witty banter between the characters, which lent a fun touch to the story. I also enjoyed the diversity in the novel, which one doesn’t always find in historical fiction: Mason and his friend Walter were both gay, two of the women in the story were a lesbian couple, the porter who transported the body to the station was a Black man, and one of the suspects was neurodiverse.
It was a lot of fun to unravel the mystery of what happened to the poor woman in the trunk as Mason gathered a plethora of clues from the colorful witnesses. Murder at Union Station is well-written, suspenseful, and smoothly plotted, and it kept me guessing until the big denouement at the end. It’s a fast, enjoyable cozy mystery that I enjoyed. I look forward to reading the first book in the Mason Adler series — Murder on Monte Vista. Recommended!
Review - Murder at Union Station
by David S. Pederson
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4 stars)
Volume 2 of Mason Adler Mystery
Posted on October 25, 2023
Charlotte Castle is moving to Los Angeles to try and break into the film business. However, just before she's about to board the train at Phoenix's Union Station, the body of her former roommate is found in her trunk. It doesn't look good for Charlotte, so her father hires Mason Adler to prove his daughter's innocence. It doesn't take long for Mason to uncover several people with motive and opportunity, but which one really killed the young woman?
This second volume of the Mason Adler Mysteries picks up with the private detective and his circle of friends first introduced in Murder on Monte Vista. The crime is new, and there is almost no allusion to the previous mystery, so you could conceivably read this story without having read the previous one. However, since that book introduced all the characters and their relationships, I think reading this second book without having read the first would be a mistake.
We got to know Mason quite well in the previous book, and this installment seems to assume that we already know the private detective is gay but very discreet. He has a woman neighbor, Lydia, who knowingly acts as his “beard” for appearance's sake, and in this mystery, she becomes a Dr Watson to Mason's Sherlock Holmes. The detective seems dedicated to his work and doesn't have a romantic interest in this story.
The mystery this time around is another tricky one with lots of clues and several suspects. All the clues are there for us, just like they are for Mason. You may well face-palm yourself when Mason finally realizes the key circumstances that unlock the real motives behind the murder.