Time to Check Out: A Stan Kraychik Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) [Paperback]

Grant Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1997 | Series: Stonewall Inn Mysteries

It's October in Key West, as quiet as the tropical island will ever be. Or so thinks Boston salon star Stan "The Widow" Kraychik, who has recently lost his lover. Stan is grief-stricken, but he's also grotesquely wealthy, thanks to a landmark cash settlement to a domestic partner, as well as his dead lover's life insurance. But instead of sanctuary in an off-season resort town, Stan finds himself in a fizzy, dizzy world that few tourists experience. The trouble starts when Stan is forced to change his guest-house. When he goes to settle his bill, the manager is on the floor of her office - dead by violence. Never one to mind his own business, Stan discovers that the victim was embroiled in a legal battle over the estate of a Key West millionaire. As he meddles further into the investigation, he encounters an exotic lineup of suspects reminiscent of a circus sideshow. They may be worthy foils for Stan's melancholy, but he must also identify the killer before he becomes the next victim.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fifth comic Stan Kraychik mystery (after Mask for a Diva, 1994) finds the gay hairdresser in Key West after the death of his lover, Rafik, in a misadventure with a UPS truck in Paris. Supplied with insurance money and a $3 million settlement from UPS, Kraychik is rolling in dough. Ordered out of his accommodations barely 24 hours after his arrival there, he finds his homophobic landlady, Augusta Willits, dead with an alarm clock stuffed into her mouth?and a painting missing from the lobby. Since the old woman was contesting the will of her son, Peter, who promised his property to his friends just before he died of AIDS, there are a lot of people on the island who think her death is their ticket to their dreams: a gallery for a painter; a new career for a lounge singer; a travel agency for an unhappily married woman; and a theater for a "soap star manque" and a famous writer hungry for Hollywood. Invited to report back to the local cops daily, Kraychik blithely probes the nightlife of Key West, becoming a special friend of a gay hustler, Ross; attending a private orgy; dodging a pink cab that's stalking him; and going head-to-head with a lawyer named Nancy L. Drew, who hangs out with Adolf Dobermann, a German businessman. After reversals in his life every bit as startling as those in his amateur murder investigation, Kraychik tracks his suspect to a hurricane-tossed tourist boat and finally sorts out the details of a breezy whodunit.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Stan Kraychik, last seen in Mask for Diva (LJ 10/1/94), visits Key West for a rest after the death of his lover. He discovers the hateful manager of his guest house dead behind the counter, an alarm clock crammed down her throat. Thus begins another entertaining haywire adventure for the sleuthing Boston hairdresser.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312156731
• ISBN-13: 978-0312156732
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,195,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Time to Check Out, September 10, 2005

By 

James F. Andris (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time to Check Out: A Stan Kraychik Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

Having read the four previous novels in this series, I am in a position to comment on the fifth. Grant Michaels has honed the art of producing page-turning mystery novels with a gay twist. There are some surprises, but Michaels principle strengths persist: believable dialog from spunky and independently-thinking characters, lush verbal paintings of the settings and actions, and for my money, the eminently likeable Stan Kraychik, although initially, he's a bit more bitter and skeptical, and for good reason--well, a sad reason. (Besides the fact that he's come to Key West, I mean!) Haven't read it all yet, and the Amazon review was here, but I can tell you that I've already bought the next in the series after this one, and it's in the pile by my easy chair.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great read, May 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Time to Check Out: A Stan Kraychik Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

This is the first gay mystery I've read and it was a page turner for me. I couldn't put it down. I think it is a great read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This series is always a good, fun read., May 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Time to Check Out: A Stan Kraychik Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

While not quite as good as previous books in the Stan Kraychick series due to too many odd-ball characters (but, this is Key West), this was still a fun, easy read. I longed for the continuation of the interesting relationship between Stan and his police detective friend/adversary from prior books. That relationship has more life in it and is more real than the contrived situations in this book. Still, it was a fast, fun read.