Death Vows (Donald Strachey Mystery) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: motel lady, Jim Sturdivant, Bill Moore, Barry Fields (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Donald Strachey series resumes after a five-year hiatus, with a change of publisher, and without having lost any sleuther virtues. Gay PI Strachey is retained by one of a pair of rich retired lovers to investigate Barry Fields, the young spouse-to-be (the setting is in Massachusetts) of their middle-aged friend Bill Moore. Then the client is murdered, Mob-style. Strachey has already established that Barry, his roommate, and his fiancé, Bill, suspiciously lack pasts, probably because they’re all using aliases, but he can’t see any of them having Mob connections. With Barry in custody, Strachey goes to work for Bill, who immediately decamps to Washington, D.C., and becomes incommunicado. Barry’s roomie absconds, and the murdered man’s partner gets pissy. It’s remarkable, however, what Strachey can find out from working his connections and following his hunches, and fortunate that the cops on the case are unbiased. But then, since Massachusetts’ law legalizing gay marriage is crucial to the plot, it’s politic to present the commonwealth’s lawmen as straight shooters. --Ray Olson

Review

Death Vows is engaging and powerful. Richard Stevenson can write. --Robert B. Parker, Spenser private eye series --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: mlr press; 1st edition (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934531332
• ISBN-13: 978-1934531334
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #140,990 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging mystery--excellent writing, September 7, 2008

By	Blue "in Washington" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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This new Donald Strachey murder mystery by Richard Stevenson is set in 2008 Western Massachusetts where a thriving Gay/Lesbian community has embraced the state's legal endorsement of same-sex marriage with gusto. But old mores and prejudices die hard and there are other sectors of the population that are extremely unhappy with these changes in the state's social climate. Some belonging to the old guard are more than willing to take violent action against the newly empowered gay and lesbian citizenry.

With this contemporary backdrop, author Stevenson has consructed a clever and plausible murder story that is laced with sharp wit and compelling characters. The story's ironic conclusion, while close to over the top, is pure and satisfying justice and alone worth the price of the book.

Stevenson is an accomplished mystery writer and in "Death Vows," avoids the cliched characters and scenarios that some gay genre novels embrace. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Edition Replete With Typos!, September 25, 2009

By	Gift Card Recipient "CawfeeGuy" (Staten Island, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A myriad of misspelled words and terrible spacing, on every page, make an otherwise fantastic novel a nightmare to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad reading..., July 30, 2009

By	Bartski "Bartski" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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It is bad, not because of the writing, but because it is full of typos and it is aggravating when one has to stop and reread a section to understand what the hell the author is talking about. Not the authors fault, I'm sure, but someone has to proof read these things. Wouldn't recommend buying this book until it is reissued.