Stevie‘s review of Greg Honey by Russ Gregory
Gay Mystery Fiction published by Bold Strokes Books 16 Sep 13
I know next to nothing about the super-rich of Texas beyond what I’ve seen on television, and most of that in the 1980s. This book is all very tongue-in-cheek, though, and doesn’t stretch my credulity to the breaking point at any time in the story. On top of that, although many of the characters start off as rather unlikeable, I dislike them in the way I dislike many of the characters in Georgette Heyer’s mysteries: I had to know what bad things would happen to them next and what unspeakable methods they might resort to in dragging themselves out of the latest mess they found themselves in.
Greg is a Honey, the only son of a fabulously wealthy Austin family, who made their money from striking oil two generations previously, and are now down to one surviving member of each of those generations: Greg, his overbearing mother, and his seemingly-senile grandmother. Greg lives in the gatehouse, while his mother lives with her mother-in-law in the family mansion. He wants to escape, but so far his attempts to set up a detective agency have brought in very little in the way of funds to move away.
The novel opens with Greg acquiring a new case (which at least means he can pay the rent on his office for another month) and a pair of unrelated invitations to meet the latest woman his mother wants to set him up with, and to see the latest theatre show starring the man of his dreams. There’s also the beginnings of a rather suspicious series of incidents in which someone appears to be stalking Greg, and someone (possibly the same someone) keeps leaving the mansion’s main gate unlocked.
Over the following days Greg manages to land a series of cases, which may be connected to each other, as well as to the strange incidents at his home. He discovers that the man of his dreams has a thing for him too. His exceptionally garrulous female best-friend tries to drag him into her feud with her arch-enemy (they were friends once, but fell out dramatically over a man). Everything gets very silly and highly complicated, culminating in an exposé of Greg’s family in the local weekly magazine (mostly caused by his mouth running away with him in an attempt to land free advertising for his detective business). This potential disaster comes right before the grand party his mother is hosting to introduce a visiting debutante into Austin society. A party at which, it turns out, all the suspects in Greg’s various cases are going to be in attendance.
Red herrings abound in this story, and the ultimate solution mostly makes sense (allowing for the fact that some characters really are that deluded in what they’re trying to do). I love some of the more outrageous topics of conversation seized upon by Greg’s grandmother, particularly towards the end when it becomes apparent that not all of them are due to her decreasing mental faculties. I definitely want to see more in this series, if only to find out whether Greg’s friends can come up with yet more extreme actions and/or fashion disasters.
Grade: B
Summary:
Honey Agency: If we can’t solve your problem, we’re sorry.
Greg Honey has bigger issues than a sketchy tagline for his one-man detective agency. To start with, his mother is pressuring him to date debutantes, his stalker keeps leaving threatening messages, his new boyfriend is at least four levels higher up on the gay boy food chain, and his best friend, Willa, has lost her panties. To top it all off, things keep pointing toward trouble at the family estate. Will Greg figure out what’s going on in time to help Willa find her panties? Lord knows he wants to because Greg is more than a detective… he’s also a Honey.
Read an excerpt.
