From Amazon.com
In Fred Hunter's third Alex Reynolds mystery, Alex and his lover, Peter, join forces to determine why their dear friends Mason and Ryan have been murdered. Mason's doll collection, which he had threatened to bequeath to Alex, was found in shattered pieces surrounding his mutilated body. The attack seemed not only personal, but weirdly ritualistic. Not a week later, Mason's partner, Ryan, was discovered in the same room of their apartment in much the same condition. An impromptu visit from State Department investigators, who seem to think that Alex and Peter have come into possession of a mysterious object at the core of the murder case, inspires them to search out the origins of Mason's latest doll, which he had purchased on a visit to our nation's capital shortly before his death. With the help, as ever, of Alex's intrepid British mum, and about equal portions of help and hindrance from the police and the CIA, Alex and Peter undertake a perilous journey into an Eastern religious subculture, vowing justice for their murdered friends.
Capital Queers is slightly spooky and genuinely fun.
--Regina Marler
From Publishers Weekly
When Alex Reynolds and lover Peter Livesay volunteer to help liberal Democrat Charlie Clarke run for the U.S. Senate, investigating murder soon takes priority over stuffing envelopes in this witty gay political caper, the author's fourth (after Capital Queers). Given Clarke's support for gay rights, his staff aren't surprised to receive threatening phone calls or a package containing a dead rat, but when a bomb destroys Chicago campaign headquarters early one morning, killing the fiercely loyal lesbian office manager, everyone is badly shaken. Meanwhile, Simon Tivoli, a suave Englishman in town on some rather vague business, has been romancing Alex's mother, whose seeming infatuation with her admirer infuriates her son. Forensics never enters the case as Alex and Peter go undercover, hired by federal agents who've used their services in the past, to try to solve the crime. Though they focus on their fellow campaign workers, they can't rule out the right-wing Republican senatorial candidate or even Simon, who with Alex's mother visited Clarke's headquarters the day before the bombing. Once they get wind of a videotape that's potentially political dynamite, the pair become the next targets for murder. While playing much of the story for laughs (Alex thanks Peter for "keeping me on the gay and narrow"), Hunter has some serious points to make about gay relationships and the ethics of outing, as well as honesty and integrity in politics. The far from easy or predictable denouement leaves the reader with some sobering food for thought. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
