A New Strachey Mystery: The 38 Million Dollar Smile – a short review

-Mike Learned, RPCV, Malawi

RPCV Ethiopia, Dick Lipez has just published his latest Donald Strachey mystery. They’ve been coming out every year or two for about twenty. Four of them have been filmed by queer cable TV here! starring Chad Allen as Strachey. Lipez has published under the name Richard Stevenson from the beginning (actually his first and middle names).

Strachey is an Albany, New York, private investigator who gets involved in all sorts of queer related cases. For the first time he and his longtime partner, Timmy – RPCV India, move their modus operandi to Thailand. Like Strachey and Tim, author Lipez and his spouse Joe, have followed the journey of so many gay men (and some gay women) to head off cold New England winters in the warmer weather and gay friendly environment of Bangkok and other hospitable places in Southeast Asia.

So what’s the 38 million about? Well, very timely! Strachey has been asked to investigate a gay guy who has disappeared in Thailand with $38 million of his family’s fortune. His ex-wife is convinced that Strachey can hunt him down in the gay haunts of Bangkok and convince him to do reasonable things with the loot. Needless to say Gary Griswold, the missing big bucks guy, is embroiled in a financial scheme loaded with questionable promises. Kind of reads like a Bernie Madoff scam with Thai and queer underpinings, but aimed at doing good things, rather than making millions more. Are we surprised that wealthy gay people can be as thoughtless and naïve about their millions as can straight? Unfortunately not!

Lipez and his husband Joe have been spending cold New England winters in Southeast and South Asia, and Africa in recent years. Maybe we'll get the next Strachey mucking it up in India, Cambodia, Laos, maybe even Africa. Lots of places to catch the bad guys these days!

The 38 Million Dollar Smile comes out in September, 2009. Look for it by Richard Stevenson, MLR Press, at your local LGBT bookstore (for those of you who still have one) or on Amazon.