The Chicken Asylum: An Alex Reynolds Mystery [Paperback]

Fred Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alex Reynolds, 5 | Publication Date: October 7, 2002

When Alex Reynolds, his lover Peter Livesay, and his mother Jean-occasional freelance operatives for the CIA-are asked to stash an Iraqi military defector in their home, all three are less than thrilled. It turns out the defector is an 18-year-old soldier who has ties to a terrorist organization and, to further complicate matters, is gay. But the real trouble begins when the young man mysteriously disappears, and suddenly Alex, Peter and Jean find themselves in the middle of a very dangerous game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's hard to imagine readers of any persuasion gay, straight or lovers of mysteries getting much pleasure from Hunter's fifth book (after 2000's National Nancys) about freelance designer and occasional CIA helper Alex Reynolds, whose forays into crime-solving always end in tears and promises of "Never again!" The humor and dramatic content are on the level of an average episode of "Bewitched" or "I Dream of Jeanie" two television shows that tried to spoof the sitcom genre by giving their white-bread heroines magic powers. Hunter seems to think that by populating his fictional universe with a gay couple ditzy, decent Alex and his bluff, buff partner Peter and by tossing in the lugubrious figure of Alex's mother, Jean, a tedious stage Brit who does everything but sport a parrot and an eye patch, he can get away with a limp plot, painfully coy dialogue and secondary characters so sketchy as to be almost invisible. Alex and Peter's CIA friends house a young Iraqi terrorist defector in our tiresome trio's happy Chicago home as part of some illogical and ultimately not very interesting intelligence operation. Things go typically awry. James, Peter and Jean try to right the wrongs of their imperialistic employer (dressing the Iraqi in drag and endangering their lives along the way); and its worst sin the book undermines its own anemic anti-government message by encouraging readers to empathize with the scheming, smarmy CIA agents. No more madcap capers concerning grim foreign policy realities, please.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Alex Reynolds, his lover, Peter Lively, and Alex's British mom with whom they live in Chicago play host to a defecting Iraqi soldier while their employers, the CIA, debrief him. In keeping with the series, whose previous entry was National Nancys, Alex's impatience, impetuosity, and gullibility play foil to Peter's solidity and mom's sensibility. The surprises begin with the soldier's age he's just 18 and escalate from his expected homosexuality to alleged terrorist connections and attempted murder. Reynolds and his crew eventually spirit the soldier away from the CIA, riling their "boss" as well as the FBI. A moderately lightweight and engaging adventure; for most collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312287100
• ISBN-13: 978-0312287108
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,825,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Hunter--, October 14, 2001

By 

Bob Dunham (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chicken Asylum: An Alex Reynolds Mystery (Alex Reynolds Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Once again, author Fred Hunter delivers the laughs and more with his new Alex Reynolds mystery. In this one, Alex, his love Peter, and his irrepressible mother Jean are asked to take in a defecting Iraqi soldier. Little do they know, not only is the soldier merely 18 years old, he's also gay and entranced by his new country.

But there are several wrinkles -- unbeknownst to the family, their new charge, James, is suspected of having connections to a terrorist group called the Red Jihad, and the CIA's real aim in bringing him to the states is to flush out the terrorists--and Alex and company take it upon themselves to discover the truth about the young man.

Though this book is more serious in tone than the other Alex adventures, there are still plenty of laughs -- and the story is probably a bit more timely than even Hunter expected it to be. And that's one of the things that makes this effort so important. It manages to put a face on a people that many of us now see as the enemy, and that face is more human than anyone expected (including me). A truly wonderful book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HIGH GAY INTRIGUE AND HIJINKS ARE BACK!, October 10, 2001

By 

Robert Edler "Master Of Mystery" (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Chicken Asylum: An Alex Reynolds Mystery (Alex Reynolds Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Alex, Peter and Jean are back as our favorite undercover CIA operatives for yet another enjoyable adventure. Based on the titles of his previous four books I had been expecting Fred Hunter to name this one Presidential Pansies. He didn't, so instead we have The Chicken Asylum and the end of his fun series of gay themed titles.

The plot involves having Alex (now an almost ex-freelance designer), his lover Peter (still selling men's clothing ) and Jean (his sometimes very British mother) being asked by their CIA boss, Larry Nelson, to provide a safe house for an eighteen-year old former Iraqi soldier known for CIA purposes as James Paschal. It seems James defected from the Iraqi army for personal reasons (right, he's gay) and he might or might not have secret military information the CIA wants. He also might or might not be a member of the Red Jihad terrorist group.

The plot thickens when Alex and Peter take James to his first gay bar and then all hell breaks loose. Naturally, Alex in his pursuit of Truth, Justice and the American Way again manages to screw almost everything up....

While this is not the best book in the series, it is still an enjoyable read and I recommend it to both new and old fans of the series. Right now, I'm looking forward to Alex, Peter and Jean's next adverture, which still could be Presidential Pansies.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunter's Trio In The Best Of The Series, August 12, 2006

By 

F. Chloupek (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chicken Asylum: An Alex Reynolds Mystery (Paperback)

Alex, Peter and Jean return in what is the best book of the Alex Reynolds series. The trio is asked to host an Iraqi defector soldier while CIA agent Nelson and his team interrogate him.

Expecting Saddam Hussein, they instead get an 18 year old (hence the "chicken" part of the title) soldier who quickly "confesses" to being gay. While it may be a bit unlikely that an interrogated defector gets allowed to be taken basically unescorted to a gay bar, that is exactly what happens.

After a mysterious phone call made by the Iraqi, he disappears in a bar firefight and the trio is off to investigate and find him. Along the way, Alex Jean and Peter must decide if this is a scared boy, a hardened terrorist, another another breed of chicken entirely.

Going any more into the plot would start involving spoilers.

Fred Hunter keeps his slightly tongue in cheek style throughout the book, and the heroes and heroine are typically drawn into the investigation in official/unofficial roles as investigators, caring more about justice than the sometimes "realpolitik" aims of the official investigators. There are a number of scrapes, a few real bonehead moves by Alex, and the investigators get the best of everyone in the end.

Enjoyable light reading. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a good "beach gay detective" book. If you're going to read just one in the series, read The Chicken Asylum.