Review: Well done romantic thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 27, 2013
This is a mystery, with thriller sensibilities, that hails from California -- it has that sunburnt and chrome-gleaming feel through-out. There are a lot of sunglasses, fast cars, beautiful Beverly Hills locations and so much sunshine.There's also plenty of wry and sarcastic humor, a fact with humanizes our hero and makes for several laugh-out-loud moments. As an example: "Avery should be a travel agent for guilt trips".Our protagonist is a former FBI agent turned law firm private detective. It's obvious that at the start of the novel, while he is enjoying his life professionally, he is very lonely personally. His dog is his only companion at home, and except for his father and a few professional friends, he doesn't have anyone. Added to that is the pang of the divorce from his wife, from a combination of his final acceptance that he's gay and her infidelity.Over the course of the book, it's encouraging to watch that change and see a great romance develop, even in the face of tragedy.It doesn't hurt that the sex scenes are hot.I like the contrast of Kirk, a more straight-laced law-enforcement type (though now in private practice), and Austin, the laid back music star. Both of the guys are as masculine as you could ask for -- but gay where it counts. While the characters are rich, their opponents are rich, and the action largely sticks to places where the wealthy tread, I never got the feeling from the main character (or his romantic interest) that they anything less than down-to-earth.The mystery itself takes quite a few twists and turns, starting with a dead man's missing time and ending with a serial killer.While some of the action can be rough and heart-pounding, it never descended into the realms of the gory splatter-fests you might find in other mainstream novels.Highly recommended.