Love You To Death (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) [Paperback]

Grant Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1993 | Series: Stonewall Inn Mysteries

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and everyone has a sweetheart, except Stan Kraychik, Boston's sassiest hairdresser. Ever hopeful of meeting Mr. Right, Stan attends a gala reception that culminates in a death by poisoning, and romantic problems take a back seat to murder.

The Boston police arrest Stan's friend Laurett Cole, who then leaves her four-year-old son in Stan's care. In his quest to free Laurett from suspicion and himself from his ill-mannered ward, Stan finds himself exploring the secrets of a revered Boston institution, the Gladys Gardner Chocolate Company. There, along with the sweet edibles, he finds an assortment of not-so-delectable murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The seafood was beginning to look a little tired," notes partygoing hairdresser Stan Kraychik, narrator of the second gay mystery by the author of A Body to Dye For : the seafood, unfortunately, has company. Michaels's unimaginative plotting is none too peppy, and what passes for smart banter is neither. When someone trifles with the truffles at a tony reception for Godiva wannabe Le Jardin Chocolatier, death breaks up the party. Typical of the author's fondness for overclarification, the character serving the goodies "was extra careful about who got which plate." Additionally, tepid sexual innuendos show up, as if on cue, on practically every other page: Vannos (Stan's nom de coiffure ) burns his mouth on too-hot coffee, "unlike the last man I dated--six months ago." Two more characters bite the dust before the culprit obligingly commits suicide, by which time readers may be stifling yawns. A minor subplot involving Stan's stint as baby-sitter for a precocious four-year-old is not only pointless but offensive. Even the chapter titles here are recycled, from "Cherchez La Femme" to the punny "Down the Gardner Path."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When Boston hairdresser/sleuth Stanley "Vannos" Kraychik ( A Body To Die For , St. Martin's, 1990) attends a reception marking the opening of a posh new candy store, he again deals with murder firsthand. Police accuse his friend Laurett, so he agrees to take care of her precocious four-year-old son and try to clear her name. Stanley enlists the aid of his boss and friend Nicole as he investigates a chocolate factory and its owners, falls for one of the suspects, lusts after the handsome policeman in charge of the case, and meets the killer face to face. Slightly camp, inoffensively sexy, and mostly diverting.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 5 edition (January 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312088418
• ISBN-13: 978-0312088415
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great murder mystery on par with Sue Grafton's A-Z series, July 21, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love You To Death (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

Grant Michaels knows how to write the murder mystery. His "Nancy Drew" character, Stan is someone you can admire and respect, even if you don't normally go for the hair dresser type (whatever that is). Stan breaks down the stereotypes and does a fair job at determining the facts. Of course, solving the mystery and staying alive are mostly a matter of luck. For anyone who is a murder mystery fan, I'd recommend it. Since this is a gay novel there is one fairly explicit sexual situation but it's well done and very well placed and the book wouldn't be the same without it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun light reading, May 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Love You To Death (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

Love You To Death is a cute and humorous multiple-murder mystery. That might seem like a bit of a paradox and, admittedly I don't feel the book worked perfectly. One of the murders is pretty gory and graphic. In another case, two of the main characters have just witnessed a death, but pause for moment to eagerly gossip about a man they're both oggling which seems unlikely. I don't feel that all the loose ends are tied up neatly either (Why was one character suspiciously hiding chocolates from the police? Who took shots at the windows of a Chestnut Hill mansion? ) But the story is engaging, and the characters are well-developed and not usually predictable. I would highly recommend it to a gay/gay friendly audience. It would make a good pre-Valentine's present for a mystery lover or a chocoholic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Candy Factory Fun, April 30, 2000

By 

"mickeydid" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love You To Death (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

This was my first reading of a Grant Michaels mystery, but I'm ready for more! His hero, hair dresser Stan Kraychick, is known as Vannos when he works at Snips, but when he's out catching murderers, he's just plain good! Great characters, enough tension to keep me reading, and guessing who killed who!