Androgynous Murder House Party-5 Stars

Tales From the Back Page #3

Steven Rigolosi

Ransom Note Press, 2009, 288 Pages

ISBN No. 978-0977378760

 

 

Steven Rigolosi is a brilliant author that can take a small advertisement from a community newspaper published on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and turn it into a novel that catches the interest of anyone who decides to read past page one.  Who Gets The Apartment, Book No. 1, combined some very unlikely roommates into a fascinating story.   Circle of Assassins, Book No. 2, took characters from every day walks of life and turned them into killers.  Now Book No. 3 deals with a snob and his money hungry friends.

 

Robin Anders is rich and a snob.  Just reading his thoughts makes you want to slap him.  He has a number of money hungry friends who tend to use Robin for whatever they can get out of him.   His friends suggest a house party at Robin’s house on Long Island.  Robin decides to oblige but he must make many preparations, which include renting flamingoes and other party supplies from an ad in The Clairon.

 

The party guests are three men and three women, three straight and three gay.  It is up to the reader to figure out the sex of each person and whether that person is gay or straight.   Robin manages to survive the party with the help of many multi-flavored pills provided by Dr. Rosenthal who seems to have no problem dishing out prescription drugs.

 

Robin escapes death several times during the house party although he does not seem to realize exactly what is going on until much later when he returns to New York.  When he finally realizes that a murderer is targeting ones close to him he takes on the cloak of investigator and proceeds to solve the mystery.

 

According to Robin, he is perfect and has escaped the character flaws of other people including being self-centered.   It turns out that Robin is considerably smarter than he appears and this comes as a big and not welcome surprise to all of his friends, at least the ones left alive.

 

There is a hint at the end of the book as to who is the male and who is the female and who is gay and who is straight.  The book is hilarious and a lot of fun to read.