Review: Wonderful
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2011
In the Shadow of a Herois a dark and heart-wrenchingly sad story of redemption, forgiveness and love. It broke my heart and then put it back together again.A fascinating part of this novel is that one of our main characters - Maxwell Thomas - really IS a vagrant, with no home and no job; dirty, hungry, spending his days trying to be invisible, and his nights sleeping on a fire escape. He's tormented by memories of a childhood - one with moments of happiness and love - destroyed by a terrible act that Maxwell himself committed.  Maxwell buries his tortured soul beneath vigilante acts like attacking thugs twice his size to protect a fleeing rent boy in the alley below. Unfortunately, Maxwell's intervention brings him back around to the monstrous crime lord responsible for ruining his life at the age of 14.When the thug turns up dead, Maxwell is arrested by the same police officer on whose fire escape he sleeps. And once Maxwell comes to the attention of Nick Kenna, neither can ignore the other again. Nick - Nicky Blue Eyes, as Maxwell takes to thinking of him - is sweet and idealistic and persistent. All-to-soon, he's trying to take Maxwell under his wing, even while Maxwell is repeatedly shoving him away AND saving the cop's life. Nicky can't help falling in love with the man he sees beneath the dirt and tattered clothes. This is definitely a case of gay-for-you for Nick, and the author handles it really well; Nick's revelations are sweet and charming and believable. And it's also quite believable that - in the course of plot events and character interactions - Maxwell goes through some pretty dramatic life changes, and you really find yourself cheering for Maxwell and Nicky to find their Happily Ever After.The novel is equal parts thriller and romance; the writing style clean and descriptive with an emphasis on emotional impact. There are some twists and turns to the plot - nothing huge, but enough to keep things interesting. Overall, a real page-turner of a story, and I just loved Maxwell by the end.