Genre: Mystery, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Ulysses
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About The Book
All the other stuff.
Expanded Universe is a collection of short stories from The Last Picks. It includes the following:
“Engineered Public Confession”
A glimpse into Dash’s life before his move to Hastings Rock.
“Mystery of the Week”
Someone steals Dash’s ice cream cone, and things…escalate.
“New Neighbors”
Dash adjusts to his new life in Hastings Rock—and to his budding friendship with Deputy Bobby.
“Friends on the Force”
Taking advantage of a local perk, Dash does a ride-along with his favorite deputy.
“Thanksgiving Episode”
On Dash’s first Thanksgiving with his new friends, things don’t go quite as planned.
“It Runs in the Family”
Dash’s sister arrives for an unexpected—and unwelcome—visit.
“Sheep in Sheep’s Clothing”
Bobby is most definitely not perfect. But why is it so hard to prove it?
“Chekhov’s Wig”
A box of stolen wigs. Jewel thieves on the run. What could go wrong?
“Birthday Beginning”
The Last Picks are determined to make Keme’s birthday a memorable one.
“The Odd Couple”
Dash and Keme might not be the original odd couple, but they’re odd enough.
“Home for the Holidays”
It’s Dash and Bobby’s first Christmas together. They manage to make it interesting.
“Good Cop, Bad Cop”
When Dash discovers someone is stealing Keme’s lunch, he’s determined to help. He’s just a little too late.
“Insufferable Geniuses”
Dash and Fox share the highs and lows of the artistic temperament.
“Found Family”
The Last Picks celebrate Keme’s graduation.
“Skip to the End”
Dash and Bobby celebrate their big day.
Please note that the first fourteen stories were distributed previously in various formats.
“Skip to the End” is exclusively available in this collection.
The Review
Each of these fourteen short stories expands on some aspect of what we devoted readers already know from having read the rest of The Last Picks books. Mostly, of course, they delve into the ramshackle personality of Dashiel Dawson Dane, would-be crime novelist and accidental owner of Hemlock House, a great Victorian mansion in the seaside Oregon town of Hastings Rock.
Only the first story, “Engineered Public Confession” diverges from the main theme of the other stories, in that its timeline precedes the first book, “Crime Magnet,” which sets up the whole series. This story is set in Providence, Rhode Island, when Dash is still living with his boyfriend Hugo. It’s the only story of the group that didn’t make me laugh. For example, something Dash says to Hugo chilled me: “Sometimes it feels like you don’t care what I want. Sometimes it feel sliek what I want doesn’t matter.” Likewise, something Hugo says to Dash, after he sells one of his own stories (which Dash hasn’t done yet), chilled me even more: “You won’t have to teach. You won’t have to write. You won’t have to do anything, not anymore.”
This is a surprisingly painful story, explaining how Dash ended up running away to Hastings Rock in the first place. It’s a reminder of the painful truth lingering under all of the madcap adventures we enjoy in the dozen “The Last Picks” novels.
I grew to love all of the characters in these books, and they all appear in this anthology, offering us a little more insight into each one. There’s a particularly powerful story that focuses on the Hemlock House denizens’ efforts to make sure Keme graduates from high school. It’s funny, as they all are, but is a stark reminder of just how rough Keme’s life was before he met Indira and came under the influence of Hemlock House (that’s even before Dash arrived on the scene).
It is very hard to let go of a particular well-loved series, and this anthology let me wallow in my happy memories of all these marvelous, amusing, but sharply pointed books. The books didn’t need this collection of stories (but for the first one, I think); but the readers, somehow, did need them.
Five stars.
The Reviewer
Ulysses Grant Dietz grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his Leave It to Beaver life was enlivened by his fascination with vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Barnabas Collins. He studied French at Yale, and was trained to be a museum curator at the University of Delaware. A curator since 1980, Ulysses has never stopped writing fiction for the sheer pleasure of it. He created the character of Desmond Beckwith in 1988 as his personal response to Anne Rice’s landmark novels. Alyson Books released his first novel, Desmond, in 1998. Vampire in Suburbia, the sequel to Desmond, is his second novel.
Ulysses lives in suburban New Jersey with his husband of over 41 years and their two almost-grown children.
By the way, the name Ulysses was not his parents’ idea of a joke: he is a great-great grandson of Ulysses S. Grant, and his mother was the President’s last living great-grandchild. Every year on April 27 he gives a speech at Grant’s Tomb in New York City.
