Review: Satisfying tale in a compact package...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2013
Lou Harper's "Dead in L.A." is an unusual bird - a fully satisfying story in the novella format - one many people find frustrating. Not, mind you, that I wouldn't love to carry on with Jon and Leander's story - and I hope the "L.A. Paranormal" subtitle indicates the start of a series - but I felt I knew enough about these two men to have a full picture of both their lives and their evolving relationship.  The fact that there in ambiguity at the ending is another clue that Harper may be promising us something to come.Jon is a gay man gun-shy of love. A traumatic loss and a career change have left him rattled and determined to keep his heart to himself.  The flatmate who arrives to answer his advert, Leander, however, is a sweet, gentle man with an unnerving ability to find lost things.  As Jon comes to believe in Lea's psychic power, he also finds himself feeling more than a roommate ought to feel for a "friend with benefits."This tale felt bigger than it was - and Harper gives us a great deal of background information efficiently and affectingly. The paranormal story arc is fun, and the boys' developing relationship is believable. Instead of feeling that there wasn't enough, this novella left me anticipating the sequel.