Wearing Black to the White Party

Rating:
Summary: Warming to his characters
Review: David Stukas is at it again in his "Wearing Black to the White Party." He has transplanted his Manhattan trio -- Robert, Monette & Michael -- to Palm Springs, ostensibly to attend a gay circuit party. There are gay quips aplenty and the reader can become mentally exhausted with such strained, rapid-fire attempts at wittiness. The "mystery" is thin, without enough details for the reader to really follow along and draw our own conclusions. Instead, we must trust Monette and Robert (the featured sleuths this go-round; Michael is left out of much of the action of the novel as he satisfies his sexual needs)when they TELL us who and why the murders were committed. It also seems Robert has found love in Palm Springs but as he's leaving for Manhattan, will love survive the geographical distance?

On the whole, though, I found I almost enjoyed this novel. Again, I read it from cover to cover within two days. I don't know if this is because the narrative is so readable or if it is because the story is so slight. In any case, both Stukas and I seem to be warming to the characters of Monette and Robert, making them less pathetic and outrageous and more likeable.

However, I would not, as some reviews on the dust jacket have done, mention Stukas's gay fiction in the same breath with that of Joe Keenan's. To do so is to flatter Stukas's talent undeservedly and perhaps to mislead fans of Keenan's hilarious (and sadly limited) published novels who might pick up a Stukas novel and be sorely disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Warming to his characters
Review: David Stukas is at it again in his "Wearing Black to the White Party." He has transplanted his Manhattan trio -- Robert, Monette & Michael -- to Palm Springs, ostensibly to attend a gay circuit party. There are gay quips aplenty and the reader can become mentally exhausted with such strained, rapid-fire attempts at wittiness. The "mystery" is thin, without enough details for the reader to really follow along and draw our own conclusions. Instead, we must trust Monette and Robert (the featured sleuths this go-round; Michael is left out of much of the action of the novel as he satisfies his sexual needs)when they TELL us who and why the murders were committed. It also seems Robert has found love in Palm Springs but as he's leaving for Manhattan, will love survive the geographical distance?

On the whole, though, I found I almost enjoyed this novel. Again, I read it from cover to cover within two days. I don't know if this is because the narrative is so readable or if it is because the story is so slight. In any case, both Stukas and I seem to be warming to the characters of Monette and Robert, making them less pathetic and outrageous and more likeable.

However, I would not, as some reviews on the dust jacket have done, mention Stukas's gay fiction in the same breath with that of Joe Keenan's. To do so is to flatter Stukas's talent undeservedly and perhaps to mislead fans of Keenan's hilarious (and sadly limited) published novels who might pick up a Stukas novel and be sorely disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Circuit Hysteria!
Review: Falling plam trees, exploding BBQ ranges, falling boulders, and a host of other "incidents" color this hectic and hilarious commentary on contemporay circuit parties. With tongue in cheek, Mr. Stukas has taken on the Circuit Boy genre and turned it into a comic murder mystery with just enough of all the elements of suspense to keep the reader's attention. Robert falls in love, (again), Michael is sexually insatiable as usual, and Monette, dear Monette, is forced at her 6'4" height to squeeze into a Geo Metro with a stick-shift. The dialogue is fast paced, witty, and sarcastic. The victim(s) of this murder mystery may not in fact be the corpse(s) found. With Southern California as the back-drop, stereotypical characterizations, and a twist of the kinky, how can this book do anything but entertain? A good beach/pool side read.

Rating:
Summary: Circuit Hysteria!
Review: Falling plam trees, exploding BBQ ranges, falling boulders, and a host of other "incidents" color this hectic and hilarious commentary on contemporay circuit parties. With tongue in cheek, Mr. Stukas has taken on the Circuit Boy genre and turned it into a comic murder mystery with just enough of all the elements of suspense to keep the reader's attention. Robert falls in love, (again), Michael is sexually insatiable as usual, and Monette, dear Monette, is forced at her 6'4" height to squeeze into a Geo Metro with a stick-shift. The dialogue is fast paced, witty, and sarcastic. The victim(s) of this murder mystery may not in fact be the corpse(s) found. With Southern California as the back-drop, stereotypical characterizations, and a twist of the kinky, how can this book do anything but entertain? A good beach/pool side read.

Rating:
Summary: Camp, Queens, and Murder - just don't read it on a train!
Review: I read this on a single train-ride between Ottawa and Toronto. I would like to apologize to the other passengers for the constant smirks, chuckles, guffaws and choked laughs I'm sure I shot out in all directions throughout the trip. I got many dark looks for my audible enjoyment of this mystery. Still, it was worth it.

Robert is back! This time, he and his ultra-rich, ultra-beautiful, ultra-simple friend Michael are being jet-setted down to the White Party, where one of Michael's super-rich and super-social friends is setting up an alternative, the Red Party. It's going to be absolute sun, sand, party, and sex.

At least until the first body pops up. Then Robert needs the help of his lesbian amateur sleuth friend Monette (the red-headed amazon lady, who is currently nearby for the Dinah Shore classic), and perhaps this time, Robert might even find a bit of love among the murder... Assuming, as usual, he and his lover can survive the tale to tell of it.

As always, Stukas has fun and thrills throughout, and the story is absolutely crammed full of camp and wit. From giant dildoes to mile-high clubs, with dangling piercings aplenty and nasty drag queens and social queens aplenty, you'll have a blast reading this one. Enjoy!

'Nathan

Rating:
Summary: Great concept, mixed execution
Review: Robert and Michael head from New York to Palm Springs, California, to attend the gay party of the year. According to its organizer and sometime boyfriend to Michael, Rex, the Red Party will be big--even bigger than the annual White Party which has been the class act of gay America up until then. Of course, throwing such a party creates waves--and these include extortion notes. As Michael and Robert hang out with Rex, the threats become terribly real and Rex is nearly killed. Calling on his lesbian friend Monette, Robert decides to investigate. Michael would investigate too, except he is too caught up in the need to find frequent and kinky sex.

WEARING BLACK TO THE WHITE PARTY has all of the elements of a fun mystery--odd characters as both suspects and protagonists, a (for most of us) strange but interesting environment in which the action takes place, and plenty of fast dialogue. As a result, I really wanted to love this book. I found, however, that I couldn't get into the characters. I wasn't sure what was motivating Robert to push the investigation, why he stayed friends with Michael who is obviously a complete narcisisst, and what the point of the huge highway dildo is.

Author David Stukas intended to write a funny book and WEARING BLACK does include some good lines and some cute moments. The huge dildo in the road and some of the dialogue between Michael and Robert stands out as quite good. For me, the humor didn't really seem integral to the story, however. What the dildo had to do with anything I'm not sure.

WEARING BLACK is interesting and shows a lot of potential. I'll look forward to the next book in this series to see if Stukas can put the potential together and deliver a really funny mystery with really involving characters that I can care about.