Review: A great new addition to the historical m/m genre.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2014
Let's just say that, in addition to my four-star rating, I've bought the second and third books in this series, "The Gaslight Mysteries."  Erin O'Quinn has captured my fancy.Pretty much the way Simon Hart has captured Michael McCrae's fancy.O'Quinn's imaginary Irish city in 1923 echoes Jordan Hawk's Widdershins in her series of American-based historical m/m mysteries. The 1920s setting, just after World War I, recalls Tamara Allen's jazz-age settings for her great books, including "Whistling in the Dark."Simon Hart is grieving and angry, because after burying both his emotions and his physical urges for all of his twenty-five years, his closest friend, business partner--and potential lover--is brutally murdered. He happens upon Michael McCrae while leaving his friend's obituary notice at McCrae's paper.McCrea is a bit of damaged goods himself, but doubts about his sexual interests have no part in this. Cocky, seductive, and very smart, Michael sets about taking care of Simon, whether or not Simon wants him to.The pas-de-deux these two men perform is sexy, for sure--but sexual tension is a driving force in this narrative, and not just needless spice. Simon is all about control; Michael is all about taking life by the horns and seeing what happens.  Simon's aloofness is all wrapped up in his past and his pain; but Michael's bravado hides a more complex character than anyone understands. Watching these two men come to understand each other is every bit as moving and entertaining as their sexual encounters are. Watching them work toward solutions to various crimes on Simon's to-do list--at first alone, and gradually together--makes for good reading.I love a book that can be romantic without being soppy; that can have a period feeling without undue stiffness or exaggerated "olde tyme" inflections. 1923 is a long time ago, but it is in the modern world, and O'Quinn manages to create just the right balance to draw us into the story and make us care about these men.