On The Other Hand, Death

A Donald Strachey Mystery, Book 2 – When the giant Millpond Company finds its plans for a mega-shopping mall stymied by the refusal of an elderly lesbian couple to sell their home, the ladies are subjected to ugly vandalism and frightening death threats.

The powerful director of Millpond in turn hires Don Strachey, Albany’s only gay detective, to protect the ladies, find the culprits, and clear the corporate name. Strachey accepts with misgivings that deepen rapidly as kidnapping, extortion, and murder darken the lives of Albany’s gay community.

Written at the beginning of AIDS activism, On the Other Hand, Death is a time capsule of gay life as it existed in smaller towns in America. An author’s note is included.

“This is a lively book. Don Strachey is a more ebullient character than Joseph Hansen’s Dave Brandstetter, and Mr. Stevenson has the skill to make him and the other characters in the novel thoroughly realized characters. Nor has the author forgotten that this is a private eye mystery. Skillful plotting carries the reader straight along. Highly recommended.” — New York Times Book Review

“The plotting is fast and clever; the gay background works; and the lesbians are engaging characters.” — Publishers Weekly

“Stevenson is also a good writer of fine wit, and his asides are as good as his story.” — Philadelphia Gay News