National Nancys [Hardcover]

Fred Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

Alex Reynolds and his lover Peter Livesay are dragooned into volunteering for a Chicago area progressive politician's campaign, which entails stuffing envelopes, answering the phones, and dealing with the daily bomb threats from a wide variety of wackos. But one of them was serious enough to actually do it, and now the office manager of the campaign appears to have been killed in the explosion. But, of course, it couldn't be that simple? With the help of their reluctant CIA contacts, Alex and Peter (and Alex's reluctant mother) begin investigating the bombing and soon discover that something much bigger is at play and their own lives are now at stake.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Underemployed graphic artist Alex Reynolds and his lover, Peter Livesay, volunteer at the Chicago campaign headquarters of a liberal senate contender. When an early morning explosion kills the lesbian office manager, the CIA, wondering who the real target was, asks Alex and Peter (part-time employees anyway) for help. As in past adventures, Peter acts as foil to Alex's flightiness, while Alex's mom assists. Here she has a special assignment: her attractive English suitor happens to have been in the wrong place at the right time. As usual, Hunter provides a lively romp for series fans. Recommended.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hunter presents another charmer in his Alex Reynolds series. As always, Alex's sidekick is his partner of eight years, the more conservative Peter, who may roll his eyes in exasperation at Alex's wilder schemes, but who inevitably goes along. Third in the triumphant trio is Alex's mom, Jean, a terribly British and wonderfully comic character who plays sidekick to no one, and who is quite possibly the most diverting second banana in gay/lesbian mystery fiction since Ellen Hart's irrepressible Cordelia Thorne. This time around, the fellows are volunteers for gay-friendly politician Charlie Clarke, stuffing envelopes and fielding telephone hate messages from the Religious Reich when the headquarters is bombed, killing the office manager. There's never a dull moment on the home front, either, since Jean is caught up in a whirlwind courtship with a visiting professor. The thought (let alone the reality) of his mother dating--and effervescing about it--has Alex in a tailspin as he suspiciously questions the coincidence--or is it?--of seemingly unrelated events. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312252331
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252335
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,706,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, April 22, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: National Nancys (Hardcover)

Peter and Alex have been happily married for eight years. Although he loves his wife dearly, Peter feels most alive when he works with his life partner and his mother on a case for the CIA or FBI. Peter has a full time job while Alex has allowed his business to fade into oblivion since he only wants to work on another case. While he impatiently waits for the next call, he volunteers to work on the election campaign of Charlie Clarke, a senatorial candidate who supports gay rights.

However, the religious right has mounted a major attack on Clarke. Bomb threats happen daily at the candidate's campaign headquarters. The incidents become so regular that the workers openly joke about the threat. That changes when a bomb explodes and the body of the office manager is found in the debris. With Alex already an insider, the FBI tags him and Peter to make inquiries into the truth behind the explosion and murder. Their inquiries hit close to home, forcing the unknown perpetrator to attempt to kill Alex and Peter.

Alex is a terrific character who seems sort of like an adult Ferris Bueller; someone who, through his cocky confidence in himself, gets the job done. The romance between Alex and Peter seems realistic and inspiring. The story line is fascinating, especially a subplot starring Alex's mother and an enigmatic stranger. With novels likes this one, GOVERNMENT GAY and CAPITAL QUEERS, Alex is turning the talented Fred Hunter into a household name.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wretched Writing, May 3, 2005

By 

J. Michael Click (Fort Worth, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: National Nancys: An Alex Reynolds Mystery (Alex Reynolds Mysteries) (Paperback)

In "Government Gay" (1997), the first book in Fred Hunter's Alex Reynolds mystery series, Alex's lover Peter is kidnapped. In Chapter 15 of that novel, Alex finally rescues Peter from a locked hotel room by using his VISA card to pop the lock on a door off which the numbers had fallen, leaving only the shadows of said numbers on the grimy door. Alex explains to his readers that he had learned this simple break-in technique from a neighbor.

In Chapter 12 of "National Nancys" (2000), the fourth book in the series, Alex is again trying to break into a hotel room, this time using bobby pins, when Peter suggests, "Why don't you try a credit card?" Alex looks up at him, and says, "What?" And Peter then proceeds to explain to Alex how the technique works. Alex whips out his VISA card, but is unable to make the "new" trick work, leaving Peter to demonstrate how to pop the lock successfully. Uh ... hello! Wake up, Mr. Author! Oh! And did I mention that in this novel - too - the room number is able to be identified only because there were shadows left on the dirty door where the numbers used to hang?

It's this kind of sloppy, repetitive, and extremely formulaic writing that makes the Alex Reynolds series so incredibly tired. Apparently author Hunter was so disinterested in the books that he didn't bother to worry about repeating himself after only four plots! And sure enough, there is little about "National Nancys" to distinguish it from its previous three cookie-cutter predecessors. Insist on trying out this series? Pick one title, any title, and borrow it from the library. Now you know exactly what happens in each of the first four novels! Alex, Peter, and Alex's mom get involved with murder; withhold evidence from the authorities; are warned by those same authorities to stop investigating; ignore the advice; barely escape death; wrap up the case. Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z ...

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, as always, July 15, 2000

By 

Avid Mystery Reader (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Nancys (Hardcover)

I love these books -- just the distraction I need from everyday life, heat/humidity, and boring co-workers. Everytime I read about Alex, Peter and Jean, I laugh a lot and have some fun. It's fun to have Jean have some nice romance, even if the boys don't handle it well!