Strachey's Folly: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Don Strachey Mysteries) [Paperback]

Richard Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Don Strachey Mysteries | Publication Date: November 5, 1999

In Washington, D.C., to view the AIDS Memorial Quilt, gay P.I. Donald Strachey, his lover, Timme, and their friend Maynard discover a panel for an ex-lover of Maynard. The trouble is that the ex-lover isn't dead. Shortly thereafter, Maynard is gunned down in his driveway in a seemingly random attack. But the timing of the attack is too perfect for Strachey to believe it is conincidental, and he must find out what secrets lie behind the ex-lovers's disappearance before the unseen attackers turn their attention toward Timmy and Strachey himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

While viewing the AIDS quilt in Washington, D.C., series private investigator Donald Strachey (e.g., Chain of Fools, St. Martin's, 1996), lover Timothy, and friend Maynard discover a square memorializing someone they know is not even sick. In short order, two people vandalize that square; a letter arrives from the "dead" man in Mexico, warning that his life is in danger; and someone shoots Maynard. As Donald investigates, he runs a standard obstacle course of political scandal and police bigotry. Although suffering from occasionally stiff prose and an overdone character or two, this title should appeal to series fans and others.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

No doubt it's an honor to have your square included in the AIDS Memorial Quilt, but one Maynard Sudbury thinks its a little premature in the case of his long-ago lover Jim Suter (``1956-1996''), who isn't dead yet, or even HIV-positive. And Maynard's friend Donald Strachey (Chain of Fools, 1996, etc.) can't help wondering about the import of one design element in Jim's square--several pages of Jim's old campaign bio of right-wing Pennsylvania Congresswoman Betty Krumfutz, especially when Krumfutz is spotted surreptitiously ripping the pages from the square, and Maynard, a foreign correspondent who's survived Hanoi and Beirut, is shot outside his D.C. apartment later that day. Who could've been in such a hurry to bury Jim Suter? Strachey and his lover Timmy Callahan take a closer look at the background of this marvelously unprincipled writer-for-hire and discover any number of people, sporting a nicely variegated bunch of motives, who'd lift a cheerful glass to his passing. In fact, the main mystery here, given the number of corpses past and future--Stevenson is still spinning out complications as the final curtain's descending--may be why Jim Suter hasn't died yet. Solid, satisfyingly paranoid plotting, marred only by its tendency to save the juiciest secrets for the very last act. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stonewall Inn Mysteries; 1st edition (November 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312243286
• ISBN-13: 978-0312243289
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #991,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique springboard for a mystery, July 23, 1998

By 

John Morgan (Fort Worth, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strachey's Folly: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Hardcover)

My hobby is reading mysteries. The nice thing about a series is that if you liked the book, you are likely to enjoy the others. Richard Stevenson is my favorite author; His Donald Strachey books are my favorite series. His current, Strachey's Folly, contains all what I have come to expect: It is a real page turner; characters are believable; well crafted mystery; twists and turns keep you guessing. This story begins with the discovery that a memorial panel in the AIDS quilt is dedicated to someone who has been seen alive two weeks ago. The characteristics that really distinguish this book [and this author] from others are many. Humor, often rye, sassy, and ribald, sometimes subtle and ironic, fills the pages. Some times the humor, all in context and original, has me literally rolling on the floor. The author is socially conscious. His detective, Donald Strachey, has an ongoing personal & romantic relationship with his lover that provides foil to the main story l! ine and a secure base for the reader. Their interrelationship is fully developed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, & Remarkable!, March 24, 2003

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strachey's Folly: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Hardcover)

Albany P.I. Donald Strachey and his lover, Timmy take a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit their friend Maynard, and to go see the AIDS Memorial Quilt. All goes well until they discover a panel for Maynard's ex-lover, who is alive and well, and whom Maynard had just seen two weeks ago while in Mexico. Now the action has begun. As this fast paced mystery continues, there's a drive-by shooting, and the police even suspect Donald and Timmy are involved. This is a gripping story that is filled with carefully crafted and unexpected turns, which kept me turning the pages as fast as I could read them. This is the reason I look forward to these "Strachey" mysteries. They are intelligently written, and often laced with good-natured humor.

If you have never read Stevenson's mysteries, you are missing out on some great writing. I think once you have read one, you will want to read the whole series. They are all connected, but can be read independently. This is another one of Stevenson's master mysteries, and one I really enjoyed. I look forward to every book he publishes. I just wish he would put more than one out a year. Highly recommended, that's for sure!

Joe Hanssen

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accuracy of Peace Corps Experience, October 4, 2010

By 

Paul Fahey "California Central Coast writer" (Nipomo, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strachey's Folly: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Don Strachey Mysteries) (Paperback)

Needless to say, this is a very well structured book and great fun to read. Loved it. I've also watched most of the films of this series and really appreciate Stevenson's realistic portrayal of a gay couple. That aside, I found the accuracy of the back story re: the Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) experience just amazing. I was also a PCV, not in India, but in Eritrea and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the late sixties. PC philosophy has changed over the years but during that time, it was thought anyone with a Bachelor's degree or B.A. Generalist--as Stevenson accurately terms it--could work miracles in underdeveloped countries. That ridiculous notion soon changed, perhaps, after 75% of my group left Ethiopia within the first year of service. I was on my way home when my area rep in Asmara handed me a book on Teaching English as a Second Language, and I stayed on and loved the experience, and my newfound vocation. Proving once again the axiom, those who can't, teach. In any case, kudos to Stevenson who really got it right.