A Slip to Die For: A Stud Draqual Mystery [Paperback]

William Maltese (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1999

Murders in Fashion --

Someone not only killed the author, who'd been an "underground" movie star, who'd been a model, who'd been a hustler, who'd been a cross-dresser ... but killed the borderline drunk, who'd been a TV-network executive and anchor-man for the national news.

Someone dressed each corpse in Draqualian silk ... a very special silk, by very special silk worms, who ate very special mulberry leaves, to make very special cocoons pre-dyed, in Technicolor digestive tracts, to very special perfection.

Stud Draqual knew the silk ... knew the dead men ... and would eventually penetrate the mystery to his own eminent peril, to know the killer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The story is high-speed and leaves the reader almost no pause to catch his/her breath.. -- 10.11.00 Eurogay / Book Review / referencing German-language edition

"I wanted to write a mystery placed in the world of fashion," William Maltese writes about his novel (which gives) the former Gay Times editor a chance to make full use of his quite amusing style of writing. -- Outline; October 2000 - referring to the German-language

...a modern-day hero compelling enough to have us actually care what(is)still destined to complicate his already complicated life. -- TgForum; Christmas 2000 double-issue

...this brilliant mystery persiflage tells of the ironic twists and turns fate holds in store for everybody once in awhile. -- SZ, Book Review, 9 January 2001, referring to the German-language edition

A SLIP TO DIE FOR is a fast-and-furious -- fun-and-sexy -- story that will constantly keep guessing its intended cross-over audience that includes straights, lesbians, gays, and transexuals. -- Open Door Ltd, Profile; September/October 2000

As a writer of romance novels, I'm here to bear testament that William Maltese's A SLIP TO DIE FOR is mainstream-reader (whether male or female) friendly. I'm thoroughly impressed by how the writer manages to impart some pretty sexual stuff without leaving me in a perpetual blush. Although, yes, the novel is a tad kinky, and does deal with some sexual aspects you're not likely to find in one of my romance novels, or in the romance novel of anyone else, none of it, at least to me, seemed all that out of context or "over the top". It does make for some damned interesting and highly enjoyable reading that couldn't proceed at any faster-clip. Personally, I can't wait for Maltese to bring us book two. -- Anna Lambert, author of LOVE'S COURAGE

I'll admit that when I heard a publisher was on the look-out for published writers to offer up pre-publication reviews of a William Maltese first-mystery-in-a-series, my motives in volunteering were less than altruistic. After all, Maltese, albeit under a pseudo, was my competition for sci-fi readers back in the early eighties. When Maltese moved on to successes in romances, under yet another pseudo, I was more than a little jealous of his successful avoidance of the pigeon-holing to which I'd apparently, despite all protest, succumbed. Surely, went my line of thinking, an author who succeeded in so many genres already isn't likely to be successful in mystery, too. Wrong! A SLIP TO DIE FOR is fast-paced, funny, sexy, and different enough so that you're never trapped into suspicions, as with so many other detective novels these days, that you've read, somewhere/anywhere else, what Maltese writes. If you're a mystery fan (man or woman), don't pass up this one! -- Adrina deBolt, author of VOYAGE OF THE TRIGON

No one writes erotica quite like William Maltese, and this book shouldn't be missed by any lover of subtle erotica... -- Erotica-Readers, Featured Titles; October 2000

Stylized camp US murder mystery, which amuses and entertains. -- Out-Brighton, Book Reviews; September 2000

From the Publisher

Our sincere apologies to that large segment of gay readers who -- from the volume of their input -- seem to believe that some kind of conscious effort was made, on the part of this publisher, purposely to bypass them in the marketing of William Maltese's mystery novel, A SLIP TO DIE FOR. The misconception seems to have arisen from our admitted attempts (early-on and on-going), to forewarn those gay readers who made best-sellers of William Maltese's hard-core erotica with gay-literary subtext (California Creamin' and Summer Sweat), before they unknowingly bought and were possibly disappointed by A SLIP TO DIE FOR which is a mystery book mainstream with only subtle gay-erotic subtext. The publisher and the author have always wholeheartedly realized the value and steadfastness of the gay reading audience, in general, and of the gay reading audience of William Maltese's books, in particular, to the extend that we would have considered shunning either group as a blatant cut-off-our-noses-to-spite-our-faces mentality. We hope to alleviate at least part of the misunderstanding via this statement of intent and apology, as well as by our officially requesting amazon.com extend the A SLIP TO DIE FOR catalog page. -- CEO LAMBERT III LIBRARY (14 October 2000).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Millivres Prowler Group (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967242002
• ISBN-13: 978-0967242002
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,840,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been in the business of writing books for a very long time, and I derive particular enjoyment from visiting different places and then trying to relay the "essence" of those places to my readers. Likewise, I'm very adventuresome as regards trying new things, whether it be exotic and strange foods and/or other more personal "things".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mystery with Wit and Intelligence, February 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Slip to Die For: A Stud Draqual Mystery (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book. I first heard about it from an article in Publishers Weekly and was intrigued by its clever title "A Slip to Die For" and by the idea of silkworms, after being fed a special secret diet , producing "gossamer strands of protein in every color of the rainbow." So I bought the book. Poor Stud Draqual (yes, Stud . . . a cruel parental joke perhaps?) finds himself in the middle of a series of murders. He is a suspect . . . maybe. His colleagues Gerald Kamey and Don deZinn, friends, lovers? have been found murdered. The catch is that each is found dressed in exclusive, exorbitantly expensive Draqualian silk nighties. Suspicion abounds and poor Stud has to navigate many twisting dangerous trails to save himself. On one side is the former porn publisher Stan Greenlyne, now head of Telaman Press whose connection the dead men is unclear and murky. Is Stan friend or foe? Whatever, he is unsavory and menacing. Another threat to Poor Stud is Clem Rollins, a nasty character, crime syndicate boss, whose sexuality just might be exposed by a new book by the murdered men. Finally police inspector O'Malley is a constant threat to Stud, or is he rather a friend? There are times when it seems that Inspector O'Malley may not be just trying to solve a crime but may actually have a "thing" for Stud.

Poor Stud. He is a straight man but everyone thinks he's gay. Why? Consider his business: he's CEO of Draqual Fashions making lingerie for Women . . . What straight man would be in that business? Not only that but he's incredibly good looking. As one character states, "He's too good looking to be straight." He's witty, well-read, has impeccable taste in fashions, furnishings, wine, restaurants . . . he must be gay! But such stereotypes have labeled many a man unfairly. Stud is not gay. Just let a beautiful woman bat her eyes at poor Stud and he can hardly keep his "interest" from being visibly seen "down there." One of my favorite characters in this witty, tightly written little mystery is Stud's psychologist, Dr. Melissa. Her sessions with Stud are a hoot. Those scenes, written with skill and humor, had me laughing out loud. Stud does NOT NEED a counselor but his sessions with Dr. Melissa seem to refresh is energies and send him on his way to triumph! And triumph he does. There are so many other interesting characters, so many plot twists, I could go on and on. But it's time to end this.

Like many people I tend to read in bed and since this is a somewhat short book I figured two or three nights would do it. But once I began reading I was having such fun that I just couldn't put it down and read it all in one night. I have recommended this book to many personal friends and now want to recommend it to the general public. Perhaps you won't put it on your bookshelf next to Dostoevsky and Shakespeare, but you will enjoy it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHY OVERLOOK THIS BOOK'S OBVIOUS GAY AUDIENCE?, July 31, 2000

By 

Galenn Frazier - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Slip to Die For: A Stud Draqual Mystery (Paperback)

Why didn't the publisher have the foresight to list this book under Gay, Gay Literature, Gay Fiction . . . et al? Was it decided, in some boardroom, that all of Mr. Maltese's gay readers would just assume this, his crossover-into-mainstream novel, has a lot of the same great "stuff" that makes his gay erotica (CALIFORNIA CREAMIN', SUMMER SWEAT), as popular as it is? Wrong! in that while a rose may be a rose may be a rose, authors have been known to have the same name and write entirely different kinds of books. I'm thinking of one gay author whose straight namesake publishes books on mathematics. A SLIP TO DIE FOR's publishers having done a major injustice to William Maltese's gay readers in making us guess this really great novel is not only by "that" writes-for-gays William Maltese, but that this book does, indeed, appeal to "us". Had I only known, before I inadvertently stumbled upon the fact, I would have had this book "grabbed up" long before now. I suspect, there are still hundreds of gays out there who haven't yet wised up to the fact this book is gay, this book is great, this book deserves a gay readership it likely now misses. The detective hero in this book is fantastic. The theme (haute-coutre lingerie) is one of a kind. If the protagnoist can't seem to decide if he's gay, straight, or bi, let me clue him in. "You're gay . . .Gay . . . GAY! and, I love you!" Any gay aficionado of the gay detective genre won't be able to help himself from loving him, either. All of us looking forward to Book II of this impressie "gay" series. Which, when it arrives on the shelves, can only hope its publisher has sense enough to get its you-know-what out of its you-know-where to wake up to the fact gays are as much interested in a good read as any straight audience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AUTHOR OF DIARY OF A HUSTLER SAYS:, March 30, 2000

By 

Joey (South Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Slip to Die For: A Stud Draqual Mystery (Paperback)

Ever since I ran across my first William Maltese book of erotica, I was taken by his accurate "take" on hustling major-city streets. Reading his erotica was and is, for me, like taking an enjoyable busman's holiday. If this, his latest work, sees him temporarily having abandoned his erotic chronicling of hustling for something less hard-boiled erotic and decidedly more mainstream, those of us who read and enjoy his erotica needed be turned off by this latest offering. A SLIP TO DIE FOR is filled to the brim with erotic/exotic characters and a plot that swings the gamut from high-fashion women's haute-couture underwear, to Mafia kingpins, to New York City gay life. More imporantly, for those of us who are too busy for any book of "War and Peace" word-length, ASTDF is a fast-paced read that holds the reader's attention the whole way. Great book! I, for one, can't wait for the sequel.