Someone Killed His Boyfriend » (Reprint)

It's tough being fabulously wealthy Michael Stark's closest pal—particularly when you're an underpaid copywriter for feminine hygiene products, with a lousy apartment and no lover of your own. But Robert can't resist Michael, even though the man's motto is Money Can Buy Happiness. And reformed megaslut Michael can't resist strapping southerner Max Crawford, who has agreed to marry him in a wedding that promises to be New York's ultimate gay event.

While Michael busies himself booking the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Homosexual—and ordering enough exotic flowers to strip a tropical rainforest, Robert commiserates with Monette, who shares his envy of Michael, his affinity for practical jokes, and his inability to find a lasting same-sex love. Little do they know that what lies in store for Michael is far from wedded bliss.

The big day finds Michael, Robert, and Monette mingling with hundreds of Michael's closest friends, plus a crowd of drag queens in rustling taffeta. Curiously, the groom's husband-to-be is nowhere to be found...and neither is Michael's priceless Matisse painting.

What's a jilted lover to do? Purchase the finest rifle money can buy and vow to kill the SOB, that's what. With a reluctant Robert in tow, Michael tracks Max all the way to Provincetown, where, amidst throngs of beautiful thong-clad boys, Max turns up dead before Michael can shoot him. Primary suspects Michael and robert swiftly go into full Hardy Boys mode, accompanied by their own personal Nancy Drew, Monette. When the clues indicate that the culprit is a murderous Bette Davis impersonator, Robert must endure the ultimate test of friendship. Does he dare go undercover with Michael in a drag revue to smoke out the real killer? Does he dare not to? Before you can say, "accessory to murder," Robert and Michael have made their drag debut in heels, sequins, and enough makeup to make Joan collins look pasty, determined to find the real killer before the killer—and the cops—find them!

Publishers Weekly

A clever combination of mystery and social satire with a dash of fantasy, this debut novel takes the reader on a romp through gay and lesbian neighborhoods from Manhattan to Provincetown. Fabulously wealthy Michael Stark picks up every gorgeous young man he meets, much to the envy of his loyal follower, ad copy writer and narrator Robert Willsop. But when Michael is ready to settle down, he gets his comeuppance at his extravagant wedding to supermodel Max Crawford, who leaves him at the altar and absconds with his priceless Matisse. A merry chase takes Michael and Robert through posh Newport to the gay bars and drag shows of P'town, at first in search of the missing painting but later after Max's murderer. Chapter headings amusingly spoof movie and song titles or movies ("Beach Blanket Himbos," "It's My Party and I'll Be Smug if I Want to," etc.), while character names are often puns; e.g., drag queen Beyonda Sea, who wants money for her charity called SFA (not Saks Fifth Avenue, as Robert guesses, but Sequins For All). Often hilarious, sometimes silly and occasionally clich?d, this fast-moving farce gives a riotous view of the gay rich boy scene of sex, money and outrageous flamboyance. A bright, eye-catching dust jacket of a beach scene perfectly conveys the flavor of the text. Those readers who miss Joe Keenan (Blue Heaven; Putting on the Ritz), both gay and straight, will appreciate this promising and witty writer, who is at work on a second novel. Agent, Alison J. Picard. (Sept. 11) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.