DEATH IN THE SAUNA
by Dennis Altman
Clouds of Magellan Press. 229 pages, $20.99
IN 1982, Australian activist and academic Dennis Altman published a widely read book of nonfiction titled The Homosexualization of America: The Americanization of the Homosexual, one of several works of nonfiction that have covered aspects of the worldwide LGBT rights movement and other topics (including his Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation in 1993 and Queer Wars in 2016). With the publication of Death in the Sauna, Altman has delved into fiction with a murder mystery that calls upon his expertise in HIV research, gender, and sexuality, creating a story of murder, deception, rivalry, and greed.
The novel opens as a major international AIDS conference is about to take place in London, but on the eve of its opening day, the conference chair, Pomfrey Lister, is found dead in a gay sauna.Lister, a closeted gay man, was also the founder and president of the Global AIDS Trust, which is sponsoring the conference. When a sauna attendant is cleaning out the cubicles, he discovers the body and immediately calls his boss, the owner, Joe Tripaldi, who recognizes the dead man and, finding no physical signs of violence and not knowing the cause of death, dismisses the attendant. He then calls Spencer Carson, who was Lister’s partner in organizing the conference, to come help him deal with the body.
The death has to be reported, but Carson wants to avoid any scandal that could affect the conference or cause any unnecessary distress to Lister’s wife, Mary. Carson calls Mary Lister and informs her of the shocking discovery that her husband had been found dead in a gay sauna. He proposes that to avoid any scandal, it would be best if the body were brought home and cardiac arrest listed as the cause of death. Dr. Alejandro Herrera, a trusted research partner of Lister, becomes complicit in the coverup when he agrees to sign the doctored death certificate.
Upon hearing the news of his death, Lister’s faithful assistant Sylvie and his newly acquired secret lover Noel immediately become suspicious of the reasons put forth for Lister’s death. The two conspire to find out what really happened. As Sylvie and Noel search for answers, they encounter a world of deception and slowly uncover the truth that Lister was murdered. But how, and by whom? Their list of possible suspects grows ever longer, taking us into the rivalry between Lister and Herrera, each on a different path to discovering a vaccine for AIDS, the unusual ties between the Global Trust and the gay sauna, and the rivalry for the leadership of the Trust between Mary, Carson, and others.
Death in the Sauna exposes the political, financial, and international world of AIDS research, showing that not all such organizations are as altruistic as they appear: greed and corruption rear their ugly heads. It also brings to light the homophobic forces working against these organizations, which force men like Lister to remain in the closet to keep the funding flowing.
Altman has written a well-grounded narrative, delivering interesting plot twists and motivations for each of the major characters. However, he fails to create a high-stakes drama by not delivering enough tension and danger as the story moves along. This is especially true of Sylvie and Noel. Altman doesn’t provide reasons for us to care about them or what they stand to gain or lose in their search for answers to the murder of Lister. Nevertheless, the novel engagingly explores how, even in the world of AIDS research, capitalism can spawn greed and a quest for power, exacerbating the imbalances already inherent in our healthcare system. However lofty an organization’s or its members’ ideals may be, they can be distorted and diminished by an intolerant and selfish world. ____________________________________________________
William Burton is a regular G&LR contributor who’s based in Jensen Beach, FL.
