Assault with a Deadly Lie: A Nick Hoffman Novel of Suspense

If most readers should be able early on to figure out the motive, if not the villain, in this novel, that doesn’t make Raphael’s eighth Nick Hoffman mystery (after 2007’s Hot Rocks) any less compelling. One warm May evening, police burst into the home of Nick Hoffman, an Edith Wharton scholar at the State University of Michigan, and haul off his partner, Stefan, with no explanation. This is but the first of a number of terrifying acts of harassment and intimidation. Throughout, Raphael deftly comments on the rights and freedoms lost since 9/11: everyone is suspect, and a militarized police force often stands above the law. Occasional references to pricey household appliances and fashions serve as reminders of the characters’ priorities pre-SWAT visit. Most interesting is the impact on two educated upper middle-class gay men in a seemingly idyllic college town and their terror in realizing how easily lives can be destroyed. (Oct.)