Hansen is, all the reviewers are quick to point out, squarely within the "tradition of Hammett, Chandler, and Ross Macdonald" — the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. Certain thematic elements in the Brandstetter series can be associated with the hard boiled genre: guilt and innocence are relative terms and there is often only a thin line between them, if any; corruption occurs in both high and low places; the detective uncovers a layer of dirt beneath the surface glitter; there is no "clean" way to make a lot of money; and the detective's task is to put together the pieces of other people's lives by finding the thin thread that connects their different "stories."

Hansen's writing style also shows the influence of the hard-boiled genre with its cool, analytical detachment and the emphasis on characterization and social commentary.

While homosexuals and homosexuality are not...