Reviewed by Gary M. Kramer

Read the full review at Philadelphia Gay News

Gay marriage can be murder, as Strachey discovers in Stevenson's Death Vows. The gay private investigator from Albany heads to the Berkshires for his ninth case in this new novel - the first original Strachey mystery in five years. Hired by a rich queer couple, Jim Sturdivant and Steven Gaudios, Strachey is asked to look into their friend Bill Moore's gay fiance, Barry Fields. Of course, what should be a routine assignment turns out to be anything but.
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Stevenson writes with the flair fans of the series have come to expect, and he turns clever phrases while providing commentary on topical subjects. He makes points about gay marriage and gay rights, which add depth to a mystery that does not rely much on suspense. When the characters talk about how brave it is to come out in one's hometown, or Stevenson mocks the policy of the Boy Scouts against gays or the Rev. Fred Phelps-like faith-based hate organizations, his not-too-subtle pro-gay politics are to be applauded. However, Stevenson guilds the lily by painting Strachey as holier-than-thou when he lets the air out of the tires of a Range Rover that illegally and unremorsefully parks in a handicapped space.

Reviewed by Wayne Hoffman for www.washingtonpost.com

As "Death Vows" opens, Strachey, a hard-boiled detective in Albany, N.Y., is enlisted to investigate the mysterious Barry Fields, who may or may not be a violent con man and gold digger, preparing to marry an older man named Bill Moore just over the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshires. (If, in fact, those are their real names. Which they're not.) The investigation gets complicated when someone kills Strachey's client, sleazy busybody Jim Sturdivant. (Yes, that's technically his real name, but it hides more than it reveals about his past.)
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There's only one couple in "Death Vows" whose connection is honest, public and lacking ulterior motives: Strachey and his partner, Timothy Callahan. He serves as Strachey's sounding board, support system and confidant. He doesn't let Strachey get away with anything, matching him quip for quip, same as any good partner. But since they live in New York, they can't get married. If that changes, Stevenson will surely write about it, with the snappiest wedding vows you've ever heard.

Reviewed by Richard Labonte for www.pridesource.com

In nine novels since 1981, mystery writer Stevenson has fused his engaging story-telling skills with contemporary queer concerns - outing in Third Man Out (1992) and aversion therapy in A Shock to the System (1995), for example. So it follows naturally that gay marriage and the culture wars around it propel the plot of the latest in a series that rivals the mysteries of Joseph Hansen and Michael Nava for good writing and good sleuthing. Stevenson's PI, Donald Strachey, is a wry fellow with a tart tongue and a cynical take on the world around him. So when a friend asks him to get involved in the murder of an older man whose younger lover is the suspect, he smells several rats - the two had apparently planned to wed, thus the killing didn't make much sense. Deep closets, secretive pasts, and a crazy family's religious homophobia - think Fred Phelps, fictionalized - figure into the complex plot, which Stevenson wraps up with a graceful logic not always evident in the gay mystery genre.

Reviewed by Richard Labonte for Book to Watch Out For

In nine novels since 1981, mystery writer Stevenson has fused his engaging story-telling skills with contemporary queer concerns - outing in Third Man Out (1992) and aversion therapy in A Shock to the System (1995), for example. So it follows naturally that gay marriage and the culture wars around it propel the plot of the latest in a series that rivals the mysteries of Joseph Hansen and Michael Nava for good writing and good sleuthing. Stevenson's PI, Donald Strachey, is a wry fellow with a tart tongue and a cynical take on the world around him. So when a friend asks him to get involved in the murder of an older man whose younger lover is the suspect, he smells several rats – the two had apparently planned to wed, thus the killing didn't make much sense. Deep closets, secretive pasts, and a crazy family's religious homophobia - think Fred Phelps, fictionalized - figure into the complex plot, which Stevenson wraps up with a graceful logic not always evident in the gay mystery genre.

Read the full review at http://www.compuserve.com/books

Albany private investigator Donald Strachey is called to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, by a snooty couple, ostensibly concerned about their dear friend's impending marriage to a young opportunist in a state where same-sex couples can wed. As Stevenson quotes Batman at the beginning, however, "everyone wears a mask" and all is not at all what it seems.
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This is a book for anyone who enjoys snappy dialogue, a well-plotted mystery and strongly delineated characters.

Reviewed by Lynne Perednia

Read the full review at rainbow-reviews.com

Rating

Gay P.I. Donald Strachey of Albany NY against his better judgment agrees to take a case investigating the younger fiance of a mysterious man the clients claim as a good friend. Quickly Don discovers the clients are not friends of the older man, and they have their own hidden agenda.
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The characters of the protagonist, Donald Strachey, and his life partner Timothy Callahan, administrative assistant to an Albany Assemblyman, are particularly well-evolved, but make no mistake ~ all the characters are finely assembled. Death Vows is a novel not to miss, showcasing an excellent author ~ Richard Stevenson.

Reviewed by Frost's Fancy