Review: Loved It!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 10, 2013
Lou Harper had been heavily recommended to me by many friends I trust, and when I read the blurb I was interested immediately because something told me this story would probably make me laugh. I was right. Since I'm also a giant pet lover with three dogs and two cats of my own, a pet psychic set off the goodwill radar. And, the down on his luck, life has beaten him down guy paired with young, bubbly, and sweet did me in the rest of the way. This book is, in fact, two short stories combined so I felt that I was getting two for the price of one.I fell in love with Leander (Andy) about two seconds into this read. Anyone who says, very offhand, that they don't have any friends, and they seem completely okay with that fact, has me at hello. And the more I read, the harder I fell. I mean, who doesn't like a guy who watches football to root for the underdogs and cheers on guys who don't even have the ball? I tell you, halfway through this book, I just wanted to take Andy home. He is a psychic who finds things, anything that has been lost, pets, keys, cars, people, etc. He also works as a paid audience member on TV shows to fill up seats. Yeah, I know, I thought that was adorable, too. Andy's parents died when he was young, he was raised by his grandma, he reads a lot, and loves herbal teas.Jon is a cynic. An absolute grump. Granted, after what he's been through, it's perfectly understandable. He used to work construction, but an accident that killed his wife and messed up his shoulder left him depressed with nightmares and sleepwalking. He is completely gay, but explaining the marriage and wife would be a spoiler, so you'll have to read the book. Taking a chance, he's going back to school, although his initial thoughts of automotive maintenance or electrical were thrown to the wayside when his advisor saw his drawing skills. Now he's majoring in art with an idea to work in advertisement design.In the first case, when Andy impresses an officer by spot-on describing where a body can be found, the officer lets his uncle, a homicide detective, know. The detective comes a'calling to see if Andy can help identify a woman murdered almost twenty years ago that is a cold case but still bothers the detective that she could never be identified. Unfortunately, there's not much for Andy to go on as the woman was found naked in a motel room with no personal items. Hmm. In the second case, the mystery comes along a lot more insidiously. Jon and Andy run into an old acquaintance of Jon's and his partner while out wandering the neighborhood after a horrible windstorm. In an incredibly roundabout way, Jon and Andy manage to solve a crime that hadn't even been reported, but lost some acquaintances in the process.This was my first foray into a Lou Harper book, but I can guarantee it won't be the last. I loved the writing, the characters were solid and strong, it sort of reminded me of an old detective dime store novel except with gay men, and the mystery stories were excellent. Thank you to all my friends who recommended this read!NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.