Androgynous Murder House Party

by Steven Rigolosi

Six longtime friends gather for a holiday weekend at the Long Island estate of independently wealthy snob Robin Anders. As near-fatal accidents and mishaps mount, Robin is faced with the possibility... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0977378764
• ISBN13: 9780977378760
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Ransom Note Press
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.9" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A guilty pleasure to be enjoyed on a summer day

Steven Rigolosi is director of market research and development for a publisher of scientific books in Manhattan as his day job. ANDROGYNOUS MURDER HOUSE PARTY is his third mystery in his very own "Tales From the Back Page" mysteries. His books have received high critical praise and bear his signature style. Robin Anders is the director of new talent at The Goode Foundation in famous Greenwich Village, New York. He has a unique circle of friends, from the pill-peddling Dr. Terry Rosenthal to a canny larcenous woman who calls herself Law. Robin and his friends share an open sexual lifestyle, which seems to permeate everything word and nuance. But when Robin's ex-lover, Lee, is found dead after a particularly bizarre weekend party at Robin's estate, Robin's famous sleuthing abilities swing into action: "Never let it be said that the job of a sleuth is easy. One spends an inordinate amount of time simply bustling about, going here, going there, in search of information that will lead to the inevitable shocking revelation that one could never have expected. In the meantime a great deal of money and energy have been expended, often in inverse proportion to the amount of useful data gathered. Occasionally along the way one does meet, and take to bed, an intriguing and mysterious stranger, and while some more exhibitionistic narrators may feel comfortable in revealing such details, I have always believed that a person of good breeding does not kiss and tell." Robin Anders is the narrator of this titillating tale, and his imperious but shy manner is surprisingly endearing. Rigolosi throws in a little Elizabeth Peters in Anders' manner, making him a person of high principals (and low morals). Characterization is superb, with Rigolosi painting a fascinating portrait of each quirky personage. The plot is full of surprises around every corner; with the personal agenda of each flawed deceit cooked up by these money grubbers contributing to a story that sparks with naughtiness. Rigolosi isn't afraid to let the story spread out, but knows when to bring the plot and characters home to roost. ANDROGYNOUS MURDER HOUSE PARTY is hysterical and is a guilty pleasure to be enjoyed on a summer day! Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer

Read every word

Highly enjoyable. Androgynous Murder House Party is the story of Robin Anders and several friends who find themselves in the middle of one or more criminal conspiracies. I took longer than usual reading the book just so I could stretch out the fun of reading Steven Rigolosi's language. The book provides the setting for a puzzle about gender and sexual orientation, as Rigolosi never (well, hardly ever) reveals these facts about the central characters, leaving them to the imaginations and preconceptions of the readers. We are told by Robin that three of the six main characters are men, three women, three gay, three straight, but not who's what. And can we trust Robin, who occasionally overlooks fairly obvious facts? Part of the fun of reading the book is looking for clues. Probably anyone who can do a logic puzzle can guess at least a gender or two, but it may take a mensa member to work them all out. The plot is solid, but the real pleasure is in Rigolosi's style. Written from Robin's point of view, the commentary is as arch as it can be, but in a post-modern fashion in which you can see, hear, and feel Rigolosi winking at the readers. My favorite parts were Robin's comparisons, such as "as delectable as a bowl of pork rinds would look to construction workers who've just beaten their common-law wives for losing the TV's remote control." In isolation, leaden and cringe-inducing. In the context of Robin's world, just wonderful. There is a comparison every few pages. Despite what rating systems call "mature themes," there is nothing here to offend cozy readers. Maybe the "upper middle class New Yorker" anti-defamation league would have complaints. I'll look for Rigolosi's other books after reading Androgynous Murder House Party.

Hilarious and Ingenious

I read a lot of mysteries, but there are very few that make me think, "That was totally unique" or "This sounds really different." But different and unique are two words that truly describe ANDROGYNOUS MURDER HOUSE PARTY. I admit that the title drew me in, but from page 1 I was hooked. And hooked for a strange reason. The narrator, Robin Anders, is a wealthy, snotty, name-dropping, pill-popping, manipulative New Yorker who happens to come from old money and work at a prestigious NYC philanthropic organization. Robin hosts a gathering at a Hamptons-like location on Long Island, where Robin (he or she? - more on that later) is oblivious to some bizarre occurrence due to his/her massive level of self-centeredness. Back in "town," Robin self-diagnoses with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and goes into hiding for two weeks. At the end of the self-imposed exile, Robin finds out that one of the friends (who happens to be Robin's ex) died during the hiatus. Feeling highly enraged that the only thing bequeathed to him (or her) was a hairbrush, Robin starts sniffing around New York to find out if foul play was involved. It all sounds pretty standard, but this book is anything but standard. First of all, the author doesn't reveal the narrator's gender--or the gender of any of the rest of the cast, either. So you find yourself wondering whether Chris and J are a guy and a girl, two gay guys, or two lesbians. As an amateur sleuth Robin is both completely clueless and extremely insightful, both as a result of popping pills of various colors at multiple points in each chapter. Meanwhile you are treated to Robin's politically incorrect, eccentric and oh-so-snobbish diatribes (this is a person who has vowed never to set foot in New Jersey or the outer boroughs, as a way of maintaining a certain set of social standards). The book is really hilarious but you have to have a taste for overblown, inflated, serpentine language, which perfectly captures this character's greatly inflated sense of self, family, and privilege. In the meantime, the story is fun, the characters are true NYC "types" (the codependents, the overpaid therapist, the sycophantic hanger-on), and the ending is truly surprising. And by the end you may just have figured out if Robin is a he or a she. I think I did, but why spoil the fun? I don't usually gush about books but this one is pretty damn close to a work of genius.

Crazy characters

Steven Rigolosi fills his book with people so crazy they have to be based on real people. Great suspense you never really figure out who the villain until the end. The book is witty intriguing and well written. I loved it.