Tongue Tied

By Richard Stevenson

Book Overview

A Donald Strachey Mystery, Book 8 - Under normal circumstances, PI Donald Strachey wouldn't take a job from right-wing radio "shock jock" J-Bird - the man's hate-filled homophobic rants offend Strachey deeply. And not just Strachey: listeners include people identifying as members of a long-defunct gay rights activists, the Forces of Free Faggotry. Though peaceful, the group was originally known for rescuing young men from enforced conversion therapy. When J-Bird's potty-mouthed sidekick is kidnapped, and the FFF claim credit, Strachey becomes involved.

Leads take Strachey to a Berkshire Wooley Llama Cheese farm, Brooklyn, late night New York and Long Island as he finds himself partnered with a not-out gay cop he'd tangled with in the cop's Albany days and a shy, but talented, housebreaking Amish gay man. When J-Bird himself is kidnapped, the stakes are raised as the first body parts arrive as a warning ...

Written over a period of three decades, the Donald Strachey series authentically chronicles gay life as it unfolded across upstate New York, Washington and elsewhere. An author's note is included.

"Don't we all entertain fantasies about what we'd like to do to those toxic shock jocks who foul the airwaves with their hate-filled rants? Donald Strachey, the fastidious gay sleuth in Richard Stevenson's Tongue Tied and several previous books in this sophisticated series, is above all that. But as a favor to a friend in the New York Police Department, this Albany private eye lends a hand when Jay Plankton, a radio talk show host appositely named for a primitive life-form, is plagued by threats from a long-dormant gay-activist group that appears to have resurfaced as a gang of crypto-terrorists. Once the alphabetized threats turn nasty, Stevenson smoothly engineers the action into a smartly entertaining investigation that also makes a serious point about the uneasy lives of gay cops: 'The out cops get beat up on, and the non-out cops beat up on themselves.'" - New York Times

"Richard Stevenson's mysteries are among the wittiest and most politically pointed around today." - Washington Post

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1959902113
• ISBN13: 9781959902119
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Requeered Tales
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

FFFun Mystery

Having seen a couple of the Strachey mysteries on film, starring Chad Allen, I decided to buy the books. Good move. This is the first one I've read, and now I know for sure that I'll enjoy them all. We have a radio 'shock jock' being terrorized by the FFF (Forces of Free Faggotry), a slightly jaded but quick witted Gay detective, and a complimentary cast of characters that seem a little more Tennessee Williams than you'd imagine mystery novel types might be. I mean, what could be more fun than a Gay eggplant farmer? A Gay AMISH eggplant farmer of course! You might pick up on 'whodunit' early on, but the path to resolving the mystery is still full of suspense and laughter. You'll love reading 'Tongue Tied'. And I can't wait to start on the next Richard Stevenson mystery.

SHOCK JOCKS, QUEER EXTREMISTS AND LLAMAS, OH MY!

I would have enjoyed this book more it the author had followed his previous schedule of delivering a new Don Strachey adventure every two years. (Except for that six-year lapse in the series between 1986 and 1992 - ICE BLUES and THIRD MAN OUT.) The last book in the series, Strachey's Folly was released in 1998, and the current book is set in the summer of 2000. Unfortunately, it is filled with political commentary regarding Clinton, Janet Reno, Guiliani, and the Gore/Bush presidential campaign that might have been topical had the book been published in 2001. Now, rather than setting or enhancing the scene or mood of the action, they simply date the story more than the actual three years that have past. Other than that, the plot is standard Strachey fare. Don is hired to investigate a series of crude pranks attributed to a gay radical group (that hasn't existed for 20-years) against NY shock jock, J-Bird, who broadcasts from a world of politically incorrect banter. Then the pranks are upgraded and the kidnapping starts. Working with (and sometimes not) a NYC gay cop, a gay Amish eggplant farmer and his own lover Tim in Albany, Strachey travels from Manhattan, to the Berkshires, to Brooklyn to Long Island to resolve the case. (And all without a cellphone - how old is Strachey if he can reminisce about the good old days of street corner phonebooths with folding doors where you could call for just a nickel?) It's really hard to compare this book with the earlier books in the series since it has been five years since the last book was released. It was an enjoyable read, but for some reason it felt slightly "off" to me - like something was missing. Maybe, Strachey, the author and I are just getting older. I will give it my **** rating though, because it's nice to visit old friends.

humorous mystery

New York based Jay "J Bird Plankton is a typical right wing shock radio DJ. However, his harangues obviously upset some people because he has become the target of a campaign of harassment and pranks by the Forces of Free Faggotry, a 1970s gay rights group long since extinct. Because of his former ties to the three Fs, Albany private detective Donald Strachey is hired to learn what they want, end any threats, and save J-Bird's image, which is more important than his life.Donald manages to locate two former members, but both deny any involvement nor accept any of their middle-aged colleagues harassing anyone. However, the attacks escalate until J-Bird's gay bashing sidekick is kidnapped. With the help of a former three F member, farmer Thad Diefendorfer, Donald tries to rescue the victim.Fans of gay mysteries will enjoy the sharp digs at politicians and radio jocks that used and use the homosexual community to further personal ambitions. The mystery is secondary to the jabs and hooks that Richard Stevenson throws at the bashers with their divide and conquer philosophy. Readers who want a strong investigative tale need to look elsewhere, but those in the audience who relish a series of left right humorous combos will want to read TONGUE TIED because Mr. Stevenson is anything but that with this amusing tale.Harriet Klausner