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A Novel
by Paul RudnickIf Guy Ritchie directed a James Bond caper starring a queer 007, it might look something like this hilarious and action-packed spy thriller by Paul Rudnick, acclaimed screenwriter and author of Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style, that blends espionage and social commentary, with an elite, gay secret society.
They are fierce patriots. They are licensed to kill. And they are really, really gay. Welcome to democracy's secret weapon, the Tuxedo Society.
When Andrew Birnbaum, a struggling actor making ends meet by working in a candle shop, gets invited to have dinner with the exclusive Tuxedo Society by his best friend, Brock, his life takes an unexpected turn. What seems like a group of wealthy socialites gathering for gossip and cocktails quickly spirals into a world of espionage, danger, and hilarity.
Andrew soon meets Reggie O'Malley, a Navy SEAL with a penchant for black tie, who recruits Andrew to join the society's covert mission to protect national security. Armed with gadgets like an inflatable life raft backpack, a yoga mat that doubles as an assault rifle, and, of course, an AMEX Black Card, Andrew quickly finds himself tackling spies, thwarting assassinations, and facing a host of unexpected threats in settings from the White House to the Vatican to the Summer Olympic Games.
The stakes escalate when Andrew and his comrades are sent on a jet-setting mission to uncover the truth about an ancient artifact. Along the way, they clash with oligarchs, crooked senators, and a smarmy televangelist with sinister plans for world domination.
Packed with Paul Rudnick's signature wit, The Tuxedo Society is a wild ride through decadence, danger, and unexpected heroism, as Andrew discovers that saving the world might just be the role he's been waiting for.
Chapter 11
The first time I was invited to a Tuxedo Society dinner, I was dreading it. My best friend Brock had been nattering about these events, claiming they were "fun nights out" and "elegance personified." All I knew was that I'd graduated from college almost three years ago, that I'd been turned down by every drama school in the country, and at twenty-five I was still working at a candle shop called Smells of the Season in a Herald Square vertical mall, persuading mostly tourists to buy squat glass jars of pastel wax labeled things like Summer Squall, Christmas Eve Cinnamon Fog, and, inevitably, Pumpkin Spice Harvest Embrace. Inhaling these aggressively chemical compounds for eight hours, six days a week, had most likely made me sterile and clinically depressed. Brock suggested the candle fragrances should include Suicidal Bouquet and Lilac Self-Hatred.
I was sharing a basement apartment in the far reaches of the East Village with two medical students who I rarely saw, and who, en ...
Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle and The Celebrants
A delightful cocktail of laugh-out-loud humor, thrilling action, and surprising heart that left me shaken and stirred. Readers will be in double-oh-gay heaven. Susan Morrison, New York Times bestselling author of Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
Gay men in cummerbunds saving the free world! If only this were real and not just the delightful and gripping handiwork of the hilarious Paul Rudnick.
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Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
