Chain of Fools (Donald Strachey Mysteries) [Paperback]

Richard Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Donald Strachey Mysteries | Publication Date: October 15, 1997

Private Investigator Donald Strachey is asked to look into the events surrounding the months-old murder of Eric Osborne. His death, originally believed to be a random attack, takes on new significance when Janet Osborne, Eric's sister, survives an attempt on her life. Skeeter, Eric's lover, believed both attacks were meant to silence them before the sale of their family's newspaper. drawn into a complex family feud, Strachey must unravel the secret behind the attacks before he tries again...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Albany's best-known gay private eye, Donald Strachey, and his longtime lover, Timmy Callahan, return in a Lou Grantlike plot. A liberal newspaper is up for sale, and the family that owns it is divided between a liberal media firm's bid and the higher one from a chain that pays more attention to the ads than to editorial content. When Strachey enters, one of the party that wants to take the lower-paying offer is already dead, and two attempts have been made on the life of another. The plot strikes home for Strachey when it comes out that, back in high school, Timmy was another family member's lover. The new series entry features one of Stevenson's most interesting characters yet--dikey Dale, a surgeon who spares no feelings and minces no words during any of her appearances. Dale and her lover, Janet, should open up the Donald Strachey Mystery Fan Club to include many who ordinarily read only lesbian mysteries. Charles Harmon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[Richard Stevenson's] mysteries are among the wittiest and politically pointed around today."--The Washington Post

"Stevenson manages to bring new urgency to the crazy family scenario...enough to make you pack Uzis and hand grenades to your next family reunion."--Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312167962
• ISBN-13: 978-0312167967
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,505,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars humorous mystery, March 1, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tongue Tied: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Hardcover)

New York based Jay "J Bird Plankton is a typical right wing shock radio DJ. However, his harangues obviously upset some people because he has become the target of a campaign of harassment and pranks by the Forces of Free Faggotry, a 1970s gay rights group long since extinct. Because of his former ties to the three Fs, Albany private detective Donald Strachey is hired to learn what they want, end any threats, and save J-Bird's image, which is more important than his life.

Donald manages to locate two former members, but both deny any involvement nor accept any of their middle-aged colleagues harassing anyone. However, the attacks escalate until J-Bird's gay bashing sidekick is kidnapped. With the help of a former three F member, farmer Thad Diefendorfer, Donald tries to rescue the victim.

Fans of gay mysteries will enjoy the sharp digs at politicians and radio jocks that used and use the homosexual community to further personal ambitions. The mystery is secondary to the jabs and hooks that Richard Stevenson throws at the bashers with their divide and conquer philosophy. Readers who want a strong investigative tale need to look elsewhere, but those in the audience who relish a series of left right humorous combos will want to read TONGUE TIED because Mr. Stevenson is anything but that with this amusing tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family Feud, July 3, 2007

By 

Neil S. Plakcy "Neil Plakcy" (Hollywood, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chain of Fools (Donald Strachey Mysteries) (Paperback)

Don and Timmy are back, as Don investigates a family feud that has turned into murder. A brother and sister are both attacked, and Don believes the attacks are linked to their desire to sell the family newspaper.

I liked this, especially for the small insights into Don and Timmy's life together. "'That guy was actually trying to kill us!' Timmy blurted out. Under his sunburn, he looked pale and feverish and as vulnerable as I'd ever seen him. A wave rolled through me, and it occurred to me that one day Timmy would die."

Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu Surfer: A Hawaiian Mystery (An Alyson Mystery)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SHOCK JOCKS, QUEER EXTREMISTS AND LLAMAS, OH MY!, March 17, 2003

By 

Robert Edler "Master Of Mystery" (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Tongue Tied: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Hardcover)

I would have enjoyed this book more it the author had followed his previous schedule of delivering a new Don Strachey adventure every two years. (Except for that six-year lapse in the series between 1986 and 1992 - ICE BLUES and THIRD MAN OUT.) The last book in the series, Strachey's Folly was released in 1998, and the current book is set in the summer of 2000. Unfortunately, it is filled with political commentary regarding Clinton, Janet Reno, Guiliani, and the Gore/Bush presidential campaign that might have been topical had the book been published in 2001. Now, rather than setting or enhancing the scene or mood of the action, they simply date the story more than the actual three years that have past.

Other than that, the plot is standard Strachey fare. Don is hired to investigate a series of crude pranks attributed to a gay radical group (that hasn't existed for 20-years) against NY shock jock, J-Bird, who broadcasts from a world of politically incorrect banter. Then the pranks are upgraded and the kidnapping starts. Working with (and sometimes not) a NYC gay cop, a gay Amish eggplant farmer and his own lover Tim in Albany, Strachey travels from Manhattan, to the Berkshires, to Brooklyn to Long Island to resolve the case. (And all without a cellphone - how old is Strachey if he can reminisce about the good old days of street corner phonebooths with folding doors where you could call for just a nickel?)

It's really hard to compare this book with the earlier books in the series since it has been five years since the last book was released. It was an enjoyable read, but for some reason it felt slightly "off" to me - like something was missing. Maybe, Strachey, the author and I are just getting older. I will give it my **** rating though, because it's nice to visit old friends.