by Lorie Lewis Ham

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book, and a link to purchase it.

A Body to Dye For is the first book in Grant Michaels’ Stan Kraychik mystery series. This book was originally published in 1990 and last year was republished by ReQueered Tales as part of their efforts to preserve gay and lesbian fiction. This book was nominated as the Best Gay Mystery at the 3rd annual Lambda Literary Awards in 1991. Sadly, Grant is no longer with us, but his wonderful stories live on.

Stan Kraychik is a smart-mouthed Boston hairdresser who gave up a career in psychology to listen to people’s problems at the sink instead. At work at Snips Salon, he goes by the name Vannos. When a vacationing and gorgeous National Park ranger turns up dead in the apartment of one of Stan’s clients (a very annoying client that Stan is certain is the killer), Stan is implicated in the murder and must find the killer to clear his own name. The shop’s manicurist and secret owner Nicole Albright isn’t too happy about all of the clients Stan is missing, and is worried about him putting his own life in danger. Things heat up even more when Stan’s investigations take him all the way to Yosemite and he uncovers clues that show this murder is way more complicated than he ever imagined.

Much to the annoyance of gruff and hunky Lieutenant Branco of the Boston PD Homicide Division, Stan has a great eye for details and gets himself into all sorts of trouble while uncovering clues. Stan and Branco have an interesting relationship and I feel like they have a lot of chemistry—though presumably Branco is straight. I look forward to seeing how this develops in the rest of the series.

Stan is delightful and hilarious, the mystery was filled with plenty of twists and turns and edge of your seat danger, and all of the characters are great. It was also interesting to see inside what the LGBTQ community had to deal with in the 1990s.

I think it is wonderful what ReQueered is doing in reprinting these books and look forward to reviewing more of their releases!

To enter to win an ebook copy of A Body to Dye For, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “dye,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 10, 2020. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and a contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.