ICE BLUES

by Richard Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 1986

When gay shamus Don Strachey (Death Trick, etc.) finds a dead body in his snowbound car, he figures it's just a coincidence that he had actually met the dead man: gay, idealistic young Jack Lenihan, a one-time ne'erdo-well from an Albany (NY) family with bygone political clout. But then Strachey receives a letter--a plea for help--from Lenihan; written just before he was murdered! And it soon appears that Lenihan had somehow gotten his hands on $2.5 million, money which he planned to use in getting a ""progressive"" candidate elected as mayor of corruption-soaked Albany where did Lenihan get the money? where is it now? Who killed Lenihan--and might now kill Strachey as part of the quest for the missing cash? Those are the questions that Lenihan grapples with as he (for noble reasons) joins the treasure hunt: he quizzes the three Albany politicians whom Lenihan had approached about that quixotic mayoral mission; he goes to L.A. to see Lenihan's secretive mother (a widowed lesbian nurse), who seems intent on getting that elusive money returned to its mysterious source; he visits Lenihan's 96-year-old grandfather, a one-time power-broker who still retains a rasping fierceness and a shady entourage. And when Strachey does at last take possession of the loot, the thuggish bad-guys kidnap his lover Tim. . .which leads to a busy finale. Most readers will anticipate some--or all--of the sturdy twists here (family secrets galore). Strachey himself is only half-engaging as a wry narrator/hero--occasionally too preachy, a bit too campy this time in his sexy-cutesy repartee (especially when AIDS is the subject). But, with steady action, a nicely uncurling plot, and a vivid supporting cast, this is lively, atmospheric entertainment--and an agreeable midde-ground in the gay-detective sub-genre, between somber Joseph Hansen and giddy Nathan Aldyne.

Pub Date: March 31, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION