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Stan Kraychik Mystery #6
Dead as a Doornail
Newly wealthy ex-hairdresser Stan Kraychik buys the last unrenovated brownstone in Boston's fabulously chic South End only to have the renovations held up by a freak April snowstorm-and the murder of the young, attractive contractor. Because the victim bears some resemblance to Stan himself, the police think he might have been the intended target and want to leave town while they look for the killer. Instead Stan begins to snoop around on his own, discovering a web of secrets and jealousies that someone has killed to protect-and the contractor's murder is only the beginning.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Grant Michaels
11 books16 followersGrant Michaels is the pen name of Michael Mesrobian (born 1947, died 2009), an American writer of mystery novels. He published six novels with St. Martin's Press in the 1990s centering on Stan Kraychik, a gay hairdresser turned amateur detective.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 12, 2022
Better than the previous book but not as good as the earlier ones - MC Stani does his usual madcap flitting between interviewing sundry suspects, reporting to (and getting verbally rebuffed) by his crush Lt Vito Branco and getting consolation (and needed smackdowns) from bestie ex-boss Nicole. The mystery was OK and the resolution not unbelievable but I think this wearying vibe/tension between Stani and Vito needs to stop already - just like Stani's love-hate relationship with his purry pet! 2.5 stars very generously rounded up to 3.
March 16, 2022
It's sad that this is the last book in the series because I think Stan is at a crucial point in his life, everything around him is changing and he needs to decide what he is going to do with himself.
But, alas! it is what it is!
The mystery is really interesting and I enjoyed trying to untangle it myself, although with not a great success *laughs*
A good story, very entertaining and with a great ending :D
But, alas! it is what it is!
The mystery is really interesting and I enjoyed trying to untangle it myself, although with not a great success *laughs*
A good story, very entertaining and with a great ending :D
July 19, 2015
Light and fluffy read a gay version in one way of Stephanie Plum - shame this was the authors last book
June 7, 2022
As a member of Kindle Unlimited, this series was one of the free offerings. The first book was so bad I continued on into the series. Today I finished book 6. I did not continue reading because the books were super good. At first I read to see if the writing got any better. It didn't. It got WORSE!! So, I have continued the Stan Kraychik series in order to see just how much worse the writing would get. This last book has been the worst of them all.
In Stan Kraychick we have a gay character that embodies all the aspects of gay life which make many gays cringe in horror. It's years after these books were written and a lot of things have changed for the better for the LGBTQ community. But, even at that, there are those people who see the off-the-wall queer people who seem to always pop up in front of the TV cameras as true representatives of the gay life. We're talking here about dreadful cliches. It defies logic why someone as abrasive as Stan Kraychik would be chosen as the lead in a gay mystery series. Stan is annoying, mistrustful, judgmental and self-involved. One thing he is NOT is funny. Embarrassing, sometimes disgusting, always self-important but not funny. When he attempts humor, it's always at someone else's expense.
This is enough to make the reader feel ill disposed towards these books. Compounding this problem is that the author does not remember what he has written in previous parts of the novels. In this book Michaels writes that the room in which a suspect is being interviewed has the door closed. Yet, the front desk person gives information about how the suspect physically flirts with the police detective. Since she is on the wrong side of the door where the interview is taking place, I assume the front desk person has x-ray vision in order to see what happens behind a closed door. It's these discrepancies that detract from the books. In a mystery novel all the pieces have to logically fit together without force being used. The coincidences in the books in this series are so contrived. One wonders if the author ever read through his books to correct mistakes of logic. If he did, he either did not catch the mistakes or else the lapses in logic was of no concern.
I'm glad I have only one more book to read in this series. If I were not someone who strives to complete series I start, I would never have moved beyond the first book. The author is not very good. The main character is a major problem. Honestly, I would never recommend this book, nor this series, nor the author.
In Stan Kraychick we have a gay character that embodies all the aspects of gay life which make many gays cringe in horror. It's years after these books were written and a lot of things have changed for the better for the LGBTQ community. But, even at that, there are those people who see the off-the-wall queer people who seem to always pop up in front of the TV cameras as true representatives of the gay life. We're talking here about dreadful cliches. It defies logic why someone as abrasive as Stan Kraychik would be chosen as the lead in a gay mystery series. Stan is annoying, mistrustful, judgmental and self-involved. One thing he is NOT is funny. Embarrassing, sometimes disgusting, always self-important but not funny. When he attempts humor, it's always at someone else's expense.
This is enough to make the reader feel ill disposed towards these books. Compounding this problem is that the author does not remember what he has written in previous parts of the novels. In this book Michaels writes that the room in which a suspect is being interviewed has the door closed. Yet, the front desk person gives information about how the suspect physically flirts with the police detective. Since she is on the wrong side of the door where the interview is taking place, I assume the front desk person has x-ray vision in order to see what happens behind a closed door. It's these discrepancies that detract from the books. In a mystery novel all the pieces have to logically fit together without force being used. The coincidences in the books in this series are so contrived. One wonders if the author ever read through his books to correct mistakes of logic. If he did, he either did not catch the mistakes or else the lapses in logic was of no concern.
I'm glad I have only one more book to read in this series. If I were not someone who strives to complete series I start, I would never have moved beyond the first book. The author is not very good. The main character is a major problem. Honestly, I would never recommend this book, nor this series, nor the author.
July 18, 2022
This book has been provided for free by the editor. The review below has also been published on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Stan Kraychik is at his best in this new instalment of the “gay Boston hairdresser turned amateur sleuth” series created by Grant Michaels—and what a treat this one was! I think it’s my absolute favorite so far! Quirky, funny, fast-paced, with Stan as stubborn and übersassy as ever, with his unrequited love interest, the 200 percent straight Lieutenant Branco (even though Stan would deny he has a crush on the man, but come on, the chemistry!), as hot and forbidding as usual… I loved every second and finished the book in only two evenings, so eager was I to get to the bottom of the murder investigation.
Er, did I say “gay hairdresser” in the previous paragraph? Sorry, my mistake. It should be “gay former hairdresser”. Because yes, Stan has quit his job at his friend Nicole’s hair salon because… he’s now too rich to work. Yep, he recently inherited a few million bucks, no less, which he promptly invested in real estate. Bidding in a somewhat shady city auction he purchased a promising South End property. That is, it looks promising to him, fabulously situated as it is for the future Bed and Breakfast he’s planning to open. To everyone else, his new acquisition is just a dump, a hovel, a crumbling heap of rubbish that makes them question his sanity. Luckily, there’s Tim Shaughnessy, a cute, young, ambitious contractor whom Stan hired to transform that shanty into the leisure palace for the wealthy gay visitor to Boston Stan is dreaming of. And at the beginning of the novel, he leaves his apartment in the middle of an unexpected spring blizzard for a meeting in situ with exactly that cute, young contractor. Alas, when he reaches the place, he discovers… a dead cute, young contractor in his house.
Vito Branco, duly notified that his amateur sleuth nemesis has stumbled upon yet another body, arrives shortly after and strictly forbids Stan to get involved in the investigation, if an investigation there is. The dead young man looks suspiciously as if he had slipped in the wobbly staircase and fallen to his death. But the man who can convince Stan that a dead person has died a natural death, and more importantly, that he shouldn’t nose around, well, that man still has to be born. So, our ex-hair stylist starts walking around the neighborhood asking questions. He meets a set of highly quaint people: fitness aficionado Chip, a handsome, young guy with the hottest bubble butt ever beheld; gay diva cum shop owner Myron; pretty real estate agent Salena with the horrid high hair; her breathtakingly handsome ebony-skinned husband Thorin with the unusual-for-straight guys hobby; elusive hairdresser Angie. Stan sniffs around like a hunting dog that has smelled blood, asking blunt questions left, right, and center, until… he realizes he’s risking his own life…
I repeat, this must be the funniest giggle-to-laugh-out-loud book of the series, which is saying a lot. Stan is in top form, at his sassiest ever, with a killer repartee and words slipping out of his mouth faster than he can think that really made me snort, chuckle, and holler more than once. I’m sure I’m not the only reader who can’t help but like, nay love Stan Kraychik. What I always liked about this character is his ability to indulge in self-derision, a trait I always find endearing. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, he has no unhealthy serf-like respect for authorities, self-proclaimed “important” people, hierarchy, and more often than not, even though he’s a very polite person, he thinks that beating around the bush is unnecessary. If Stan is as gay as a goose, his questions are straighter than Vito Branco himself, often shot from the hip and so out-of-the-blue that people tend to answer.
The plot was well constructed, hints were strewn in each chapter, some to give the readers a good lead, others to take them astray, just as a solidly thought-out murder mysteries should be. A real delight for those like me who have a particular fondness for amateur sleuths, the quirkier, the better. I can only recommend this book!
Stan Kraychik is at his best in this new instalment of the “gay Boston hairdresser turned amateur sleuth” series created by Grant Michaels—and what a treat this one was! I think it’s my absolute favorite so far! Quirky, funny, fast-paced, with Stan as stubborn and übersassy as ever, with his unrequited love interest, the 200 percent straight Lieutenant Branco (even though Stan would deny he has a crush on the man, but come on, the chemistry!), as hot and forbidding as usual… I loved every second and finished the book in only two evenings, so eager was I to get to the bottom of the murder investigation.
Er, did I say “gay hairdresser” in the previous paragraph? Sorry, my mistake. It should be “gay former hairdresser”. Because yes, Stan has quit his job at his friend Nicole’s hair salon because… he’s now too rich to work. Yep, he recently inherited a few million bucks, no less, which he promptly invested in real estate. Bidding in a somewhat shady city auction he purchased a promising South End property. That is, it looks promising to him, fabulously situated as it is for the future Bed and Breakfast he’s planning to open. To everyone else, his new acquisition is just a dump, a hovel, a crumbling heap of rubbish that makes them question his sanity. Luckily, there’s Tim Shaughnessy, a cute, young, ambitious contractor whom Stan hired to transform that shanty into the leisure palace for the wealthy gay visitor to Boston Stan is dreaming of. And at the beginning of the novel, he leaves his apartment in the middle of an unexpected spring blizzard for a meeting in situ with exactly that cute, young contractor. Alas, when he reaches the place, he discovers… a dead cute, young contractor in his house.
Vito Branco, duly notified that his amateur sleuth nemesis has stumbled upon yet another body, arrives shortly after and strictly forbids Stan to get involved in the investigation, if an investigation there is. The dead young man looks suspiciously as if he had slipped in the wobbly staircase and fallen to his death. But the man who can convince Stan that a dead person has died a natural death, and more importantly, that he shouldn’t nose around, well, that man still has to be born. So, our ex-hair stylist starts walking around the neighborhood asking questions. He meets a set of highly quaint people: fitness aficionado Chip, a handsome, young guy with the hottest bubble butt ever beheld; gay diva cum shop owner Myron; pretty real estate agent Salena with the horrid high hair; her breathtakingly handsome ebony-skinned husband Thorin with the unusual-for-straight guys hobby; elusive hairdresser Angie. Stan sniffs around like a hunting dog that has smelled blood, asking blunt questions left, right, and center, until… he realizes he’s risking his own life…
I repeat, this must be the funniest giggle-to-laugh-out-loud book of the series, which is saying a lot. Stan is in top form, at his sassiest ever, with a killer repartee and words slipping out of his mouth faster than he can think that really made me snort, chuckle, and holler more than once. I’m sure I’m not the only reader who can’t help but like, nay love Stan Kraychik. What I always liked about this character is his ability to indulge in self-derision, a trait I always find endearing. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, he has no unhealthy serf-like respect for authorities, self-proclaimed “important” people, hierarchy, and more often than not, even though he’s a very polite person, he thinks that beating around the bush is unnecessary. If Stan is as gay as a goose, his questions are straighter than Vito Branco himself, often shot from the hip and so out-of-the-blue that people tend to answer.
The plot was well constructed, hints were strewn in each chapter, some to give the readers a good lead, others to take them astray, just as a solidly thought-out murder mysteries should be. A real delight for those like me who have a particular fondness for amateur sleuths, the quirkier, the better. I can only recommend this book!
July 1, 2024
Definitely moves along at a clip compared to book 5 in the series, which went on and on and on. This is all done and dusted in a few scenes. There aren't 97 conversations with the same characters drip-feeding clues over endless snacks and drinks in Key West.
However, I still find aspects of the writing annoying with endless mentions of his strong Slavic legs and Gemini personality but Americans in the 90s going on about star signs and European ancestry - what are you going to do? It was the only thing happening apparently.
To be fair though, there are also many aspects of the writing style that I enjoy such as Nicole and her “quitting” smoking.
Unlike other books in the series, none of the witty repartee made me laugh, though I did enjoy his phone calls with Benjy. Also, really odd to see this as the end (ignoring the 'found' seventh book). We leave Stan aimless, alone, and with only mild hope he'll pull himself free of his funk. Doesn't fit the overall tone.
And the cliffhanger? RUDE
However, I still find aspects of the writing annoying with endless mentions of his strong Slavic legs and Gemini personality but Americans in the 90s going on about star signs and European ancestry - what are you going to do? It was the only thing happening apparently.
To be fair though, there are also many aspects of the writing style that I enjoy such as Nicole and her “quitting” smoking.
Unlike other books in the series, none of the witty repartee made me laugh, though I did enjoy his phone calls with Benjy. Also, really odd to see this as the end (ignoring the 'found' seventh book). We leave Stan aimless, alone, and with only mild hope he'll pull himself free of his funk. Doesn't fit the overall tone.
And the cliffhanger? RUDE
September 6, 2026
Yes, it’s better than the previous book but that’s a very low bar. At times it feels like a parody of the earlier books in the series but mostly it feels like a pale imitation. It might have worked with original characters but the people in this book have strayed so far from who they were at the beginning of the series that it makes little sense.
October 24, 2022
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews