Be gay. Do espionage. Save the world.
A down-on-his-luck actor thinks he’s going to a fancy dinner. He’s actually being recruited into America’s most fabulous covert operation.
The Tuxedo Society by Paul Rudnick is the most fun I’ve had with an audiobook in a long time, and I need everyone to know about it.
Andrew, a struggling actor and candle shop employee, is invited by his best friend Brock to what he assumes is just a really nice dinner with a group of very gay, very stylish guys. What it actually is? An introduction to the Tuxedo Society: a secret government intelligence network made up entirely of LGBTQ+ members. Licensed to kill. Impeccably dressed.
From the White House to the Vatican to the Summer Olympic Games, Andrew ends up tackling spies, thwarting assassinations, and facing off against oligarchs, crooked senators, and a smarmy televangelist with sinister plans for world domination. Oh, and at one point he has to pose as a US Olympic diver and actually dive in competition. It’s exactly as chaotic and hilarious as it sounds.
This book is completely over the top, and it knows it. That’s the whole point. The characters are all wildly likable: Andrew, Brock, Reggie the Navy SEAL with a black-tie obsession, and a First Lady who also happens to be a world-leading archaeologist. The pace never lets up. The wit is sharp. The social commentary sneaks up on you in the middle of all the absurdity.
Narrator Daniel Henning is pitch-perfect. There are a lot of characters to track and I never lost a single one. That’s not easy to pull off.
If you’ve been looking for a summer read that’s pure, unapologetic fun, this is it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted early listen. The Tuxedo Society is out today!
About the Author
Paul Rudnick is the author of What Is Wrong With You? and Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style. His plays have been produced on and off Broadway and include Jeffrey, I Hate Hamlet, Regrets Only, and The New Century. He is the author of eight books, and he’s a frequent contributor to The New Yorker; his writing has also appeared in Vogue, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and more. His screenplays include Addams Family Values, Coastal Elites, In & Out, Sister Act, and the film adaptation of Jeffrey. Find more information about Paul and his work at his website.
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