One Dead Diva

Rating:
Summary: Gay Frasier down under.....
Review: Amateur duo - a Tebaldi fan and his slightly vapid bar-hopping friend - set out to solve mysterious death of promising singer. Great dialog provides many chuckles.

An even better sequel: "Gay Resort Murder Shock" , continuing the sleuthing adventures of this book's "heroes" was published by Penguin Australia in early 1998.

Rating:
Summary: Madcap adventure
Review: Marc is an accident-prone, middle-aged opera fan living a life of leisure, until his young, frisky friend Paul drags him into solving the supposed murder of an upcoming opera star. Having no experience sleuthing, the duo stumble through the clues, lose evidence along the way, and generally make a nuisance of themselves as they get closer to solving this riddle. Marc encounters a man called Reg and the sparks fly, but is Reg one of the suspects, working undercover, or has Marc finally found the man of his dreams? "One Dead Diva" is a lively mystery set in Australia with secret identities, bumbling would-be detectives, and a whirlwind of outrageous characters.

Rating:
Summary: Funny book; not much of a murder mystery
Review: ONE DEAD DIVA abounds with gay comic one-liners. I found myself cackling aloud, especially near the beginning of the novel. As a murder mystery, though, the novel is lacking in several areas--not enough dead bodies, not enough red herrings, clues, or wrong turns. The author simply lets the murderer reveal himself at the end. It's a light read, rather fun. But the plot doesn't build momentum. I kept putting the book aside every couple of chapters.