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The Derelict Dad (Nick and Carter #26)
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2018
Five stars

When this story takes place, in October of 1962, I was in second grade across the country from San Francisco. It would be a hard year for me; I’d get the only F on my report card in my whole life.

Brought to you by nostalgia, and as a reminder that Nick and Carter could be my parents. This simply makes their story, as gay men and as a couple, resonate more deeply with every volume.

As the title suggests, abandonment is the core theme in this story, which is the first of a three-part plot arc in the ongoing Nick Williams epic prose poem. A jaunt across the country in their stylish but limited-range Caravelle jet takes Nick and Carter, indirectly, to a house party in New Orleans� Garden District. There they learn about a man on the lam for murder, his abandoned family, and the gay son who becomes the latest in Nick and Carter’s extended family of marginalized gay folk.

Nick’s great-uncle Paul makes another appearance here, carrying on the thread of dreams that might be more than dreams. Fans have learned something about Paul Williams from these dreams. Interestingly, this time around it somehow reminded me that Paul Williams seems to have lived his life entirely for his own pleasure � an understandable response to a world that despised and shunned him for what he was. The fact remains that the only really good thing Uncle Paul did for the world was leaving his vast fortune to his pariah great-nephew, who has used it to good purpose in the aid of truth, justice and the American way. That, of course, includes gay men and women as part of all three of those virtuous values. Again we’re reminded in this book that Nick and Carter lavish their wealth on other people, too, supporting hospitals and other important charities through their foundation, renamed in this book the WilliamsJones Charitable Foundation. Nick and Carter have touched thousands of lives. If living well is the best revenge, doing good to those who shun you is pretty good revenge, too.

One thing that always strikes me in these books is how often men kiss each other. This doesn’t happen all that much today (my family being an exception). Certainly in 1962 America, men did not kiss each other. The kissing culture in Nick’s created family is one of his weird super powers. Being kissed by Nick Williams means you are forgiven, you are valued, and you are loved. Nick’s kisses mean more than money to those people who love him best.

I’ve already started on “The Shifting Scion.� Book three will be along soon.