Customer Reviews

The Chicken Asylum: An Alex Reynolds Mystery (Alex Reynolds Mysteries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The fifth book in the Alex Reynolds mystery series is the best so far, which is faint praise indeed. Although the plot is passable, Hunter continues to try and mine humor from his unlikely trio of leading characters (Alex, Alex's mother Jean and Alex's partner Peter), none of whom are very funny; I would compare them to the Three Stooges --- minus the physical comedy! Alex continues to waver between clever and clueless; his periodic references to gays as "faggots" are offensive in context; and his constant gushing and cooing over Peter's sex appeal is simply obnoxious in the extreme.

What "The Chicken Asylum" does have going for it is a fairly interesting "guest character" - a young Iraqi soldier who may or may not be gay; who may or may not have information regarding certain hidden weapons in Iraq; and who may or may not be affiliated with a terrorist group! Alex's and Peter's friends also have larger supporting parts to play than in the previous books, and they are a welcome distraction from our hapless "heroes". Again, to praise a book not for its strengths but instead for its comparative lack of weaknesses is not a ringing endorsement, but that's the best that can be said about Alex & Company's latest caper.

I've loved every one of the Alex Reynolds mysteries, not least because I grew up in Chicago and can relate to all of the scenery (it seems to me that "Charlene's" is actually Carol's Speakeasy, which did have big neon lips on the walls and has been long, long gone - too bad for that). Get off the boat, Publisher's Weekly - I'm going to be the fourth Amazon reader to give this book a good review. I did have to wonder, though, what the author thought on September 11. There's a reference to the World Trade Center in the book - a "World Trade Center amount of explosives". There's a great deal that reads differently now, after 9/11, than it would have before then. But that just makes the author prescient, albeit tragically so. "Chicken Asylum" is the first of the mysteries that doesn't use a letter play in its title - ..."National Nancys", etc., but it's none the less wonderful for it. I'm glad to join Amazon's No. 1 reviewer, Harriet, in recommending this book - and if you haven't read the other ones, they're all available here!

Alex and Peter are a happily married gay couple living in Chicago with Alexs mother Jean. Alex is a free lance graphics designer while Peter is a salesperson at a clothing store. Jean stays at home looking after her boys. From time to time they take jobs for the CIA that appear seemingly harmless but turn out to be hazardous to their collective health. Yet when Agent Laurence Nelson asks for their help, they eagerly take on the new assignment.

The trio is to play host to James Paschal, an Iraqi defector while the CIA agents debrief him. Jean, Peter and Alex are drawn to the troubled and vulnerable young man and feel a sense of betrayal when he disappears on them after making a mysterious phone call. They are told that he has links to the Red Jihad and he is bait to draw the members out into the open. Nobody wants to believe this of James and they go to extraordinary lengths, risking their own lives in the process, to prove that the Iraqi is a victim.

Although this is a very serious mystery, there is enough levity that allows the audience to feel as if they are reading about real people who care about each other. The repartee between Alex, Jean and Peter is hilarious and feels very genuine. THE CHICKEN ASYLUM is by far the best of the Alex Reynolds mysteries due in large part to an Iraqi defector who steals the hearts of the audience.

Harriet Klausner

I bought the book, inspite of the title and cover, because I enjoyed the prior Alex Reynolds Mysteries. I read the prior review and almost didn't bother, but the cranky and insulting tone of the review written by what appears to be a self-important and pedantic little "queen", lead me to buy the book to show support to the author. Pretty crazy, eh?

I very much enjoyed this installment of the Alex Reynolds series. Sure it is a piece of light mystery, but it is very fun and the sly commentary on the Chicago police and FBI brought more than a few chuckles.

If you have read prior Alex Reynolds, don't pass this one by - and ignore the prior long winded diatribe. After all, if you are looking for a heavy, you wouldn't be in this section anyway!

Enjoy

I think Publisher's Weekly must've written that review on Sept. 12. The book is not perfect, but it's a very enjoyable read and a worthy addition to the series. I won't bother repeating the summary, since all the other reviews cover the plot, but the book's timing is uncanny. I highly recommend it.

Fred Hunter's CHICKEN ASYLUM is a great, snappy gay-themed read, not one that you would find in other sections. Delightful characters jump off the page, and perhaps could lend itself to film...Kudos to Hunter for being a visionary, not just Late-Nite material fodder