He loathes paperwork and could do without wasting his weekends catching out cheating spouses, but business is booming and he’s sharing his life with Jason, a man he’s still crazy about after three years.
The only downside is his lover’s baffling choice of friends and the fact that John is convinced Jason is keeping secrets from his dark past.
When a late-night phone call leads them to a kidnap victim with amnesia, and a dangerous man from Jason’s previous life suddenly resurfaces, they have much more than just secrets to deal with.
And after their mysterious house guest starts to show more than a passing interest in the detective couple, John is left struggling when his relationship, as well as his detecting skills, are put to the test.
Are they strong enough to resist the temptation of an enigmatic stranger?
Maybe. If they don’t get killed in the meantime.
This is Bk.2 in the Mr. & Mr. Detective series, and while not absolutely necessary, I’d say you’ll get more bang for your money if you read them in order. It wouldn’t be a hardship.
The story picks up three years after the events of the last book, and I’m both happy and chagrined to say that John & Jason continue to be the same knuckleheads from Bk.1. They’re settled into their own brand of happy: Jason not only accommodating, but also maybe getting off on John’s peeping perv kink, and John obsessively worrying & watching over Jason. While they’ve managed to mesh and meld their home life and their different, but complementary vocations, they also manage to not talk about anything. How or why, you may ask? I did too! It makes no sense, and yet, I can’t say that it’s unrealistic. Frustrating and annoying, but it fit the characters that Alex Jane introduced in Bk.1. They weren’t changed by the magic of love, which I appreciated. Also, to be fair, Jason doesn’t talk, but John doesn’t ask, both afraid to shatter their corner of heaven. Can’t say I blame them.
In the midst of mundane detective and computer work, John & Jason get involved in the case of an amnesiac kidnap victim. Involved as in bringing him home and things get interesting. In the meantime Jason’s past, which has been hinted at, resurfaces, and it ain’t pretty. Like in any good detective yarn, everything’s connected, but happily not with a connect-the-dots simplicity, more in a plausible and satisfying way. I won’t say much more about the plot, because I’m not a douche and it’s a fun ride. Alex Jane doesn’t write cookie-cutter plots or characters, and I love that. The story isn’t perfect, the characters could use tweaking, and the Britishisms (*see my review of the Bk.1*) could be easily fixed, and yet I’m glad to have found this series.
On the home front I was happy to see John & Jason living their lives, as gay men, and not becoming Ozzie & Harriet. I was/am pretty impressed by how well a British author captures NYC, in this case Brooklyn. I liked that Jason is still just a tech geek, (while John is almost a Luddite) he hasn’t become some Jason Bourne character. He isn’t even a good detective. It’s not his job. He’s afraid of the bigger bad guys, and will probably always be in the grip of some sort of PTSD after his ordeal. John still struggles with what level of perv is an acceptable level of kink and what is crossing the line. I love that he’s still mentally wrestling with true intimacy, on a personal level; that it’s something he and Jason are still working on. Like real life.
As a bonus, if you read the first book, you’ll be happy to check in on Chris, and may or may not be surprised by a plot twist to his story. I wasn’t surprised, but I was tickled pink nonetheless. And I am super stoked about the ending. I’m keeping all limbs crossed that the good things promised don’t dissapoint.
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