Third Man Out: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) [Paperback]

Richard Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

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

Despite the fact that he was not fond of Queer Nation activist John Rutka--notorious for his self-righteous ""outing"" of Albany's closeted gays--gay private eye Don Strachey agrees to help out when Rutka is shot and his house is firebombed.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This fourth mystery to feature Donald Strachey, a gay private investigator in Albany, N.Y., is nothing if not au courant. In the first five pages, readers encounter a gay-bashing incident, a patient dying of AIDS and activists wearing Queer Nation T-shirts.But the punch and distinctive voice of the earlier books are diminished here: it's as if Stevenson is overly concerned with political statements. Fearing for his life, writer/activist John Rutka--determinedly engaged in "outing" prominent citizens--retains Strachey when a bullet grazes his foot, but Strachey abandons the case when he suspects that the incident was staged. Soon our hero has a real mystery on his hands: Rutka is found dead, and any number of people might have cheerfully dispatched him. Rutka's files point to a particularly sinister closeted homosexual whom Strachey must unmask. Though the book's final third shifts into gear, it's not high enough; if a polemic was intended, the fuel gauge reads "low." At one point Strachey is "weary of all the secrecy and duplicity and dreary bitchery"--more of those very qualities might have at least jazzed up this rather pallid effort.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

When gay activist John Rutka engineers his own endangerment to generate sympathy and business for his ``outing'' publication, it backfires: Gay p.i. Don Strachey (Ice Blues, etc.) quickly quits bodyguarding him, and one of Rutka's many enemies takes the opportunity to kidnap him and burn him so badly that it takes forensic dentistry to identify the body. Which closet gay wanted to protect his own homosexual exposure? Rutka's files lead to a TV newscaster, a politician's aide, and someone referred to only as ``All-American Asshole Mega-Hypocrite,'' a man Strachey ties in to weekly trysts with the newscaster at a hot-sheets motel. Meanwhile, Strachey and boyfriend Tim make regular hospital visits to a comatose AIDS friend, grapple with the concept of assisted-death, and Strachey finally connects a VIP with Rutka's files--for a too- pat ending involving pedophilia, coincidences par excellence, and impropriety from several clerics. The too-telegraphed plot undercuts some very nice views of Albany and a wry, unconventional shamus-sleuth. Stevenson is adept at handling people and places--now he needs a workable rather than workmanlike plot to put them through their paces. -- Copyright ©1991, 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: 215 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (January 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312089066
• ISBN-13: 978-0312089061
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,379,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "OUT, DAMNED SPOT! OUT, I SAY!", October 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Third Man Out: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Hardcover)

In THIRD MAN OUT, the fourth Donald Strachey caper, Stevenson deals with the touchy issue of the forced 'outing' of gays (and their little dogs too) by other gays. Reluctantly, P.I. Strachey agrees to act as body guard to Queer Nation activist John Rutka, who has inspired mucho death threats following a conscienceless campaign of outings. Strachey gets disgusted, quits, and somebody burns Rutka to a crisp.

As usual Stevenson agilely juggles a variety of themes: hypocrisy within the Catholic church, euthanasia, the AIDS crisis, the right to privacy of public figures. These are topics addressed by many gay mystery writers with varying degrees of insight and sensitivity. Stevenson, as ever, manages to be funny and rational at the same time.

The only thing that keeps this entry in the Strachey sweepstakes from being an across the board winner, is my own personal predilection for more pages devoted to the Strachey-Callahan partnership. Don and Timmy remain (for me) the most fascinating couple in gay mysterydom (second only to the enigma of Dave Brandstetter and his long-dead Rod Fleming). They represent (as Strachey himself once facetiously put it) "two healthy, relaxed gay men more or less at peace with themselves and each other, secure in their loving relationship and in the knowledge that its evident riches were a goal nearly all gay men could aspire to and achieve." Anything resulting in unbroken paragraphs of Don and Timmy rates a 10 out of me.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Gay Mystery worth reading!, February 2, 2000

By 

"bradleyic" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Third Man Out: A Donald Strachey Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

I've often looked for a gay murder mystery who done it. Finally I found something worth reading. It's not a dumbed down novel at all. It's full of plots twists and turns with characters who you really get to know. It's nice to see characters interacting with one another who are gay even if they do go for blackmale and the shady side of life sometime...okay most of the time. Very few women mentioned in the book, and I give it four stars because I was able to figure out who did it close to the end of the book and because the ending left me a bit speechless and upset.