Capital Queers: An Alex Reynolds Mystery

When Alex Reynolds and lover Peter Livesay volunteer to help liberal Democrat Charlie Clarke run for the U.S. Senate, investigating murder soon takes priority over stuffing envelopes in this witty gay political caper, the author's fourth (after Capital Queers). Given Clarke's support for gay rights, his staff aren't surprised to receive threatening phone calls or a package containing a dead rat, but when a bomb destroys Chicago campaign headquarters early one morning, killing the fiercely loyal lesbian office manager, everyone is badly shaken. Meanwhile, Simon Tivoli, a suave Englishman in town on some rather vague business, has been romancing Alex's mother, whose seeming infatuation with her admirer infuriates her son. Forensics never enters the case as Alex and Peter go undercover, hired by federal agents who've used their services in the past, to try to solve the crime. Though they focus on their fellow campaign workers, they can't rule out the right-wing Republican senatorial candidate or even Simon, who with Alex's mother visited Clarke's headquarters the day before the bombing. Once they get wind of a videotape that's potentially political dynamite, the pair become the next targets for murder. While playing much of the story for laughs (Alex thanks Peter for ""keeping me on the gay and narrow""), Hunter has some serious points to make about gay relationships and the ethics of outing, as well as honesty and integrity in politics. The far from easy or predictable denouement leaves the reader with some sobering food for thought. (May)