Rating: 
Summary: Good setup and premise, but not very funny
Review: This would have made a good premise for a screenplay. There is a lot of promise in all the puns and role-reversal, but ending was unsatisfying and the story never got funny.
The author instead chooses to repeatedly slam the Catholic church by making all of the orthodox Catholics either pedophiles, [trail]-coverers, or thiefs, and all the "nice" characters fail to disguise their intolerance of the church.
I found the bitter whining tiresome. The author obviously has some issues with Catholics, but only poorly disguised this as a comedy.
Rating: 
Summary: More(really is)More!!
Review: With "Cross Dressing," Fitzhugh is really hitting his stride! This book combines the improbable but hilarious romp, that characterizes his first book("Pest Control"), with the pithy and thought-provoking lampooning of weighty topics that characterizes his second book, "Organ Grinders." "Cross Dressing" is a book that impelled me to find out what happens next: Do the mercenary, back-stabbing advertising execs get what they deserve? (yes, and no... conspicuous consuption is alive and well, but it sometimes comes with hidden costs, and the misadventures that landed our ruthless promoters' ad campaign on the top of the heap also left me writhing with mirth... while also shaking my head over the current state of societal affairs); Is our dastardly hero really turning over a new leaf, or will his obsession with having the most toys, whatever the cost, get the better of him (Find out whether the addage of the "ME" generation, "he who dies with the most toy, wins," holds true, and whether blood truly is thicker than money!);Does the good guy get the babe, and also avoid execution by the relentless hired gun, whose increasingly hot breath can actually be felt as the remaining pages dwindle? Will the virtuous Catholic Nun, who is unlike any Catholic nun you ever heard of, violate her sacred pledge of abstinence? Will the Catholic Church's unreal financial abuses and philosophical absurdities be exposed to the light of day?( At a bare minimum, rest assured that Fitzhugh pulls back the Church's jewel-encrusted curtains, so that his readers may roll with laughter at some of the Church's more ludicrous philosophical constructs, while also partaking of the Bishop's humble meal of, to list but a portion, duck turrine and Grand Marnier soufle!) For my money, Fitzhugh has further established himself as one of those rare and gifted writers who invites us to see ourselves and our society for what we really are, both good and bad, and to have a good laugh at our own expense. Behind the hilarious lampooning of topical subjects(for example, the obsession of the ME generation with advancing up the corporate ladder, no matter who you have to step on; the thrill, and pitfalls, of conspicuous consumption that is afforded to those who attain the upper rungs; the rabid, glassy-eyed consumers of gleaming piles of electronic gadgets that we have become), however, is the more profound message that true meaning and purpose can yet be found in this modern life, and that perhaps there really are such things as true love and altuism, and that the potential for being a hero lies within each of us. Whether you did, or did't, like his two previous books, you will like this one, because it's got the best elements of both of them. As with a great meal, this most recent book of Fitzhugh's not only tickles and delights the taste buds, the diner leaves with something solid sticking to his ribs. I give it a hearty "THUMBS UP!"
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