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Dress Gray
A best-selling novel by the author of Heart of War features a rebellious West Point cadet who, while entangled in a scandalous sexual liason, fights the academy to unearth the truth behind the death of a fellow cadet. Reprint.
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
106 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Lucian K. Truscott IV
12 books7 followersLucian Truscott IV is an American writer and journalist.Truscott was born in Japan to US Army Colonel Lucian K. III and Anne (née Harloe). His grandfather Lucian Jr was a US Army general during World War II where he commanded the 3rd Infantry Division and later the Fifth Army in Italy. His father Lucian III served in the US Army in Korea and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel.
Truscott attended the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1969.He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado. There, he wrote an article about heroin addiction among enlisted soldiers and another about what he felt was an illegal court martial. He was threatened with being sent to Vietnam, so he resigned his commission about thirteen months after graduating, receiving a "general discharge under other than honorable conditions."
Eyewitness to the July 1969 Stonewall riots.
Starting in 1970, he joined The Village Voice as a freelancer and later staff writer.Truscott's first novel was Dress Grey and was about a West Point cadet who was found dead. It was a bestseller, appearing thirteen weeks on The New York Times hardcover bestseller list and seven weeks on the paperback list. He has since published five additional novels.
He lives in Sag Harbor, New York with his wife Carolyn.
Truscott attended the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1969.He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado. There, he wrote an article about heroin addiction among enlisted soldiers and another about what he felt was an illegal court martial. He was threatened with being sent to Vietnam, so he resigned his commission about thirteen months after graduating, receiving a "general discharge under other than honorable conditions."
Eyewitness to the July 1969 Stonewall riots.
Starting in 1970, he joined The Village Voice as a freelancer and later staff writer.Truscott's first novel was Dress Grey and was about a West Point cadet who was found dead. It was a bestseller, appearing thirteen weeks on The New York Times hardcover bestseller list and seven weeks on the paperback list. He has since published five additional novels.
He lives in Sag Harbor, New York with his wife Carolyn.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 11, 2023
Reviewing a book that came out 45 years ago seems rather pointless, especially since its author has written so much, fiction and nonfiction, since then, so I'll tell you how and why I got here and why you might consider coming along.
I subscribe to Lucian Truscott's Substack and read it regularly. The guy is an astute observer of anything he turns his attention to, most recently the legal tribulations of our 45th president and Russia's war against Ukraine. He occasionally posts columns he wrote in the 1970s about his life as a young man in New York and elsewhere. They're great. I was a sentient, politically conscious adult in the '70s, but I lived in different worlds. Truscott is really good at pulling a reader into worlds she can barely imagine.
So when Lucian (see, we're on a first-name basis now, even though he doesn't know me from either Adam or Eve) announced on his Substack that Amazon was offering the Kindle version of his first novel, Dress Gray, for $1.99, I was intrigued. I don't do Amazon (sorry, Goodreads), but I quickly ascertained that Kobo was offering the ebook for $1.79. I bought, I downloaded, I couldn't put it down.
You can suss out the plot from other reviews: At West Point, a brilliant cadet, David Hand, drowns. His death is declared accidental, even though Hand was a superb swimmer. Another cadet, Ry Slaight, brilliant in his own way though a fair-to-middling student, smells a rat -- and won't give up trying to find the source of the stench. Needless to say, this gets him into serious trouble with the higher-ups. Slaight, with some help from his friends and allies, breaks through the cover-up: the dead cadet was gay, the autopsy (hushed-up) indicates he'd had sex just before he drowned, and no one wants to talk about it. This is 1968, after all. If justice isn't exactly done, at least gross injustice is avoided for the time being.
The mystery kept me reading, but what kept me engrossed was the vivid evocation of an all-male world that I never in a million years could have entered, or got close to, or even imagined. The novel takes place in 1968; Truscott graduated from West Point in 1969. He knew what he was writing about. I can't fault him for being a little sketchy about the high-level effort to cover up, and perhaps even cause, Hand's death: the novel was written in the mid-1970s, and at that point even we lesbian feminist troublemakers were still trying to understand the fine line between homosexuality and all-male homosocial worlds like West Point.
Short version: If you have any interest in any of these subjects, Dress Gray will reward whatever attention you devote to it.
I subscribe to Lucian Truscott's Substack and read it regularly. The guy is an astute observer of anything he turns his attention to, most recently the legal tribulations of our 45th president and Russia's war against Ukraine. He occasionally posts columns he wrote in the 1970s about his life as a young man in New York and elsewhere. They're great. I was a sentient, politically conscious adult in the '70s, but I lived in different worlds. Truscott is really good at pulling a reader into worlds she can barely imagine.
So when Lucian (see, we're on a first-name basis now, even though he doesn't know me from either Adam or Eve) announced on his Substack that Amazon was offering the Kindle version of his first novel, Dress Gray, for $1.99, I was intrigued. I don't do Amazon (sorry, Goodreads), but I quickly ascertained that Kobo was offering the ebook for $1.79. I bought, I downloaded, I couldn't put it down.
You can suss out the plot from other reviews: At West Point, a brilliant cadet, David Hand, drowns. His death is declared accidental, even though Hand was a superb swimmer. Another cadet, Ry Slaight, brilliant in his own way though a fair-to-middling student, smells a rat -- and won't give up trying to find the source of the stench. Needless to say, this gets him into serious trouble with the higher-ups. Slaight, with some help from his friends and allies, breaks through the cover-up: the dead cadet was gay, the autopsy (hushed-up) indicates he'd had sex just before he drowned, and no one wants to talk about it. This is 1968, after all. If justice isn't exactly done, at least gross injustice is avoided for the time being.
The mystery kept me reading, but what kept me engrossed was the vivid evocation of an all-male world that I never in a million years could have entered, or got close to, or even imagined. The novel takes place in 1968; Truscott graduated from West Point in 1969. He knew what he was writing about. I can't fault him for being a little sketchy about the high-level effort to cover up, and perhaps even cause, Hand's death: the novel was written in the mid-1970s, and at that point even we lesbian feminist troublemakers were still trying to understand the fine line between homosexuality and all-male homosocial worlds like West Point.
Short version: If you have any interest in any of these subjects, Dress Gray will reward whatever attention you devote to it.
January 1, 2022
In May 1968, West Point cadet David Hand is found murdered, apparently after homosexual sex. The commandant of cadets attempts to cover up the murder, but cadet Ry Slaight is suspicious.
1969 West Point graduate Lucian K. Truscott IV uses the murder mystery framework to get readers’ attention. His purpose is to describe West Point in a moment of history, considered as
- A citadel of stability as the US was undergoing major changes.
- A bulwark of American power, even as the Vietnam war was already a lost cause.
- A sterling example of masculinity as the country was becoming more accepting of androgyny.
Dress Grey is copywrite 1978, ten years after the setting and the last year of Harvey Milk’s life. Truscott may have needed ten years for perspective on homosexuality. The attitudes expressed in the book, however, seem set in 1968. The homophobic language used by characters is authentic, of course, but the book itself seems to consider homosexual men as naturally troubled. Further, the one section written from the perspective of David avoids any thoughts on his sexuality.
Truscott works at creating an interesting girlfriend for Ry but uses her mostly as a sounding board for him. The other major female character, David’s sister, is not as well developed.
Truscott clearly aimed the book for the bestseller list, including a lengthy heterosexual sex scene, lurid mentions of homosexual sex, dramatic confrontations, and intrigue among higher-ups.
Ry and a close friend are described as speaking to each other using language they have heard in Sergeant Major interactions, and this dialogue is believable. Less believable are some of Ry’s extended speeches, sometimes reading like Truscott’s own rants.
1969 West Point graduate Lucian K. Truscott IV uses the murder mystery framework to get readers’ attention. His purpose is to describe West Point in a moment of history, considered as
- A citadel of stability as the US was undergoing major changes.
- A bulwark of American power, even as the Vietnam war was already a lost cause.
- A sterling example of masculinity as the country was becoming more accepting of androgyny.
Dress Grey is copywrite 1978, ten years after the setting and the last year of Harvey Milk’s life. Truscott may have needed ten years for perspective on homosexuality. The attitudes expressed in the book, however, seem set in 1968. The homophobic language used by characters is authentic, of course, but the book itself seems to consider homosexual men as naturally troubled. Further, the one section written from the perspective of David avoids any thoughts on his sexuality.
Truscott works at creating an interesting girlfriend for Ry but uses her mostly as a sounding board for him. The other major female character, David’s sister, is not as well developed.
Truscott clearly aimed the book for the bestseller list, including a lengthy heterosexual sex scene, lurid mentions of homosexual sex, dramatic confrontations, and intrigue among higher-ups.
Ry and a close friend are described as speaking to each other using language they have heard in Sergeant Major interactions, and this dialogue is believable. Less believable are some of Ry’s extended speeches, sometimes reading like Truscott’s own rants.
April 9, 2020
"War was the reason West Point existed. Everything else was filler."
Author Lucian Truscott is a graduate of West Point, comes from a long-time Army family, and in this first book of his - fiction but based a lot on truth - he tells the story of Cadet Ry Slaight starting in 1968. Slaight is partway through his West Point education when an underclassman of his is found dead and the word goes out that it was an accident. But Slaight has reason to believe that it wasn't an accident but was murder. This is the story of him fighting the West Point system trying to expose the truth. It's also the story of him and many of his classmates trying to find their place in this vaunted war institution.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I am quite sure that the administration of West Point and the U.S. Army doesn't. It goes into depth on the inner workings - both bad and celebrated - of this slow-to-change learning establishment.
It is a long book and much of it is about West Point daily workings and history. Some might find that tedious but I surely didn't. My oldest son graduated from West Point and this book addresses a lot of issues that he has never talked about. Maybe they aren't totally true as portrayed in this book but they feel at least partly true. If you enjoy military history, stories about West Point, or just a great murder mystery, I highly recommend this book.
Author Lucian Truscott is a graduate of West Point, comes from a long-time Army family, and in this first book of his - fiction but based a lot on truth - he tells the story of Cadet Ry Slaight starting in 1968. Slaight is partway through his West Point education when an underclassman of his is found dead and the word goes out that it was an accident. But Slaight has reason to believe that it wasn't an accident but was murder. This is the story of him fighting the West Point system trying to expose the truth. It's also the story of him and many of his classmates trying to find their place in this vaunted war institution.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I am quite sure that the administration of West Point and the U.S. Army doesn't. It goes into depth on the inner workings - both bad and celebrated - of this slow-to-change learning establishment.
It is a long book and much of it is about West Point daily workings and history. Some might find that tedious but I surely didn't. My oldest son graduated from West Point and this book addresses a lot of issues that he has never talked about. Maybe they aren't totally true as portrayed in this book but they feel at least partly true. If you enjoy military history, stories about West Point, or just a great murder mystery, I highly recommend this book.
February 25, 2015
Lots of great info about the I need of West Point even though it is fiction. Read after I returned from basic training 1996.
December 29, 2019
I had heard of Dress Gray years ago and when I started reading it, I contemplated stopping and going on to something else. However, I decided to stick with it and when it got into the process of West Point, it began to go beyond all the cursing and yelling and general negative experience of the plebes. The main character, Ry Sleight is transformed through the book as he concentrates on the criminal activity that comes to light and learns how to manipulate the powers at West Point through his own actions. I would recommend this as a path to understanding what goes on at the premiere Army training academy in the U.S.
June 5, 2019
This is a long novel, set in West Point during the Vietnam war years. There is much exposition and backstory. The gay stuff was handled with a tender mixture of disgust and wonderment. In his closing speech, our young hero seems to be saying that one could not draw the line between gayness and other facets of the bonding experienced by the young men during their training. At times the novel itself is quite long winded and boring but I wanted to see how the dead gay cadet issue was resolved. Or not.
September 5, 2019
This book was very, very strange, and sometimes interesting.
December 18, 2023
This book is a large part of our family lore; my father is first on the list in the dedication page, and Lucian is an old family friend. So my views on it are probably skewed. So I finally read it, and I thought it brought to life all the West Point stories I've been hearing my whole life.
Normally I don't go for crime novels, but this was not a typical murder who-dun-it. In the end, the bad guy was the system, and the crime was just the conduit to dive deeper into the power systems and their flaws.
Overall an interesting book that has held up well since it was written.
Normally I don't go for crime novels, but this was not a typical murder who-dun-it. In the end, the bad guy was the system, and the crime was just the conduit to dive deeper into the power systems and their flaws.
Overall an interesting book that has held up well since it was written.
October 31, 2025
I've carried this book with me around the world as I transferred from city to city. I finally took the time to read it. As a former West Point cadet I can say that the depiction of West Point was accurate. As regards the crime of murder that the management attempted to cover up and the follow-on investigation, I don't find that particularly accurate. I base that on 33 years in law enforcement.
Still, I am intrigued enough by the author's representation of West Point that I will now locate his other book about West Point and give that one a chance.
Still, I am intrigued enough by the author's representation of West Point that I will now locate his other book about West Point and give that one a chance.
March 13, 2018
At the time I read this novel, many many years ago, I thought it special for its honesty and revelations of the underbelly of the academy and soldiering. That impression remains.
April 11, 2018
3.5 stars A bit drawn out
July 23, 2020
Read in 1979. A murder at West Point. Compelling and important. I became a fan after this book.
January 5, 2021
CZ
Bylo to dobrý, překvapila a přinesla čerstvý vítr. Něco jiného než co obvykle čtu. Šlo o vraždu na West Pointu, ale nakonec rozuzlení vraždy bylo upozaděno.
Bylo to dobrý, překvapila a přinesla čerstvý vítr. Něco jiného než co obvykle čtu. Šlo o vraždu na West Pointu, ale nakonec rozuzlení vraždy bylo upozaděno.
August 30, 2024
Fictional book about inner workings and politics at West Point.
Read
September 28, 2019Page 14 As intercourse was necessary to propagate the species, war was necessary to thin it out.
Page 392
He knew strength that day at 16, the strength that comes from knowing death and moving on,
Page 392
He knew strength that day at 16, the strength that comes from knowing death and moving on,
December 28, 2015
An unusual book, to say the least. It is set at West Point during the late 1960’s as the Vietnam War is starting to become unpopular.
Ry Slaight first hears almost by accident that cadet whose body was found drowned earlier that day may have been murdered. When he finds no investigation is being done in the case, he begins to ask questions, and in the process finds himself running afoul of the commandant of cadets, who is trying to have the head of the Academy ousted so he can take his job. With the help of several people from the Academy, including several of his fellow cadets and his law professor who also becomes his legal adviser, his girlfriend, the daughter of an Israeli general, and his former girlfriend, the dead cadet’s sister, he eventually finds the truth about the murder. But in the end he finds that the purpose of the investigation is as much to discover the truth about the Academy and the army, and the truth about himself as it is to see justice done for the murder.
Ry Slaight first hears almost by accident that cadet whose body was found drowned earlier that day may have been murdered. When he finds no investigation is being done in the case, he begins to ask questions, and in the process finds himself running afoul of the commandant of cadets, who is trying to have the head of the Academy ousted so he can take his job. With the help of several people from the Academy, including several of his fellow cadets and his law professor who also becomes his legal adviser, his girlfriend, the daughter of an Israeli general, and his former girlfriend, the dead cadet’s sister, he eventually finds the truth about the murder. But in the end he finds that the purpose of the investigation is as much to discover the truth about the Academy and the army, and the truth about himself as it is to see justice done for the murder.
Currently reading
December 15, 2025Not currently reading. I get so freaking annoyed when a book in waiting is added to the list because it inadvertently opened while scrolling through my library on my kindle.
If goodreads/amazon can't find a simple way to remedy this happening or easily rectify it on their platform, I'm much less inclined to bother recording my books here.
It's just ridiculous. And frankly, fucking irritating.
If goodreads/amazon can't find a simple way to remedy this happening or easily rectify it on their platform, I'm much less inclined to bother recording my books here.
It's just ridiculous. And frankly, fucking irritating.
Read
October 23, 2008M Tru
September 14, 2011
Loved this book, and was grateful to find his next one.
October 6, 2012
Fast-paced and well-written, this was among the first of the "academy" books. A great read.
September 9, 2013
Well written. Believable. Grabs your interest and doesn't let go.
December 31, 2013
Another Bookbub book…good price but just an ok book (3minus). I got bogged down with the 1st half but the second half was suspenseful and entertaining.
September 9, 2014
Such a great book! The protagonist's name is Ry Slaight, not Ray.
January 31, 2015
kept me interested... in the 70's :-)
January 24, 2016
Paperback - (C)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews