This novel is one of a series of erotic gay porn adventures involving an English toff called Carter. This one is set in 1982 where we meet Carter in his forties. He has two sexual obsessions. One is for sex with straight men and the other is for sex with young men.
This second desire finds him having an assignation with an 18-
Accused of his murder, Carter resolves to solve the mystery of the murder of the naked American, but his sexual obsessions quickly get in the way and only add to the police's suspicions.
In this fast-
During his investigations, Carter meets up with handsome, young footballer, Garry Newburn. He strikes up a heterosexual friendship with Newburn and enjoys the novelty of this sort of relationship.
"Yet I knew that my homosexuality wasn't belied in my manner. I knew that if I had any effeminate mannerisms that this wonderful young man would not be travelling with me to my home, would not be engaging in this laddish banter, would not be exchanging manly admiration like this. Yes, I liked this feeling of a normal relationship with a man. Painfully, I realised how empty of heterosexual male friendships my life was."
Carter, who is slipping into stodgy middle-
"I pondered on the fact that we each create our own feelings to a certain extent. Maybe events didn't mould us so much, but rather we hold onto events as an excuse for our behaviour in the present."
Carter -
This is a piece of gay erotic pornography of the highest order where the question of whether straight men can ever want gay sex, is explored. With its depiction of the characters' inner feelings, the novel is indeed that rare thing: thoughtful bisexual and homosexual porn.
This is another novel where Richard Peters questions whether his characters are straight men who want gay sex. Can straight men turn gay, or are they really fundamentally bisexual or really homosexual? Will a straight man have gay sex, if paid enough? Does every man have his price?