Review: Story is choppy and at times hard to follow
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
Reviewed by Pat Henshawfor TheRomanceReviews.comA naive police officer and a disillusioned Native American discover that there's only one thing left to find at the end of the road: yourself.When 27-year-old Will Cooper's Sacramento police career comes crashing down because of a mistake in his personal life, he accepts a job in Washington State on the edge of the Wichinow reservation. At the Gray's Harbor County sheriff's department, Will tries to build a new life and new career.But that's not easy since there's a long history of bad relations between the sheriff's office and the Wichinow tribe. When he stops 18-year-old Johnny and 16-year-old Chris Delacruz for stealing their grandmother's car, Will subsequently finds himself in the crosshairs of the tribe and its litigation-seeking lawyer because Johnny accuses Will of abusing Chris.Colin Sharp, a member of the Wichinow tribe and a youth advocate at the area high school, has noticed Will around town and is attracted to him. As he gets to know Will, Colin can't believe that the mild-mannered, fair-minded Will could have abused the frightened Chris.As the tribal lawyer and Colin's anti-white father, a tribal leader, rile up the members and prepare the suit against Will, both Will and Colin fight their growing attraction to one another until they finally give in and start what they believe to be a clandestine affair which ultimately blows up in their faces.Unlike Kade Boehme's other work, especially Don't Trust the Cut, WHERE THE WORLD ENDS doesn't display the smooth narrative style readers have come to expect. The story here is choppy and at times hard to follow. While the issues are real and important, both Will and Colin act more like randy teens than young adults who've had years of professional experience.Will in particular is difficult to empathize with. In Sacramento, he was carrying on a hidden affair that ended his career there. Now only after a few months in Washington State, Will is again entering into a hidden liaison that he knows will terminate this job. Waiting until the problems with Chris Delacruz are over to hook up with Colin doesn't seem to be within Will's grasp.Colin is another problem character. He moved away from his tribe and parents to go to college and is now back, trying to give back to his tribe. But even though he's not directly living with his parents, at age 30, he's still living in their pockets. Even though he doesn't agree with his father's hot-headed approach to tribal politics and the lawyer's quick jumps into litigation, Colin can't seem to break away and become his own man.Consequently, there's no one to root for in this novel. Will has set himself up for failure, and Colin is tied to his dysfunctional family. Although they manage to get together in the end, readers may give up on wading through their story before they get there.