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 Third Man Out, a riveting gay murder mystery featuring P.I. Donald Strachey (played by out actor Chad Allen of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"). The series of books, written by Richard Stevenson, are now classics of the gay mystery genre, and this is the first in an anticipated series of movie adaptations. All set in the Albany region, the books feature a gay male couple: Donald (Allen), the private investigator, and his lover Ronnie (Carey), a legislative aide. Strachey and his lover are in the midst of restoring their elegant Albany row house when Donald is offered a much-needed - but distasteful - job. Donald has been hired to investigate attacks on an activist who specializes in "outing” prominent politicians, an activity our hero finds quite nasty (the activist John Rutka is played by Jack Wetherall, familiar to "Queer as Folk" fans as Vic Grassi, Michael's uncle). Strachey senses that something is not quite right here, so he abandons his new duty when he feels that Rutka is staging the threats. But when Rutka turns up dead, Strachey takes on the case again and is soon faced with an extensive list of enemies, all of whom have motives to kill. Featuring a juicy cameo by porn star Matthew Rush, a very handsome gay male couple and a murder most foul, this is one Opening Night thriller you won't want to miss. -- Scott Cranin |
