I will admit I was excited to read this book – the idea of John Grisham style plots with a gay twist seemed a dream come true. Then I began the nearly 20 hour reality. The set up seemed close to what I was hoping for, but instead predictable tropes reared their ugly heads, and this instead became a slog through a swamp of predictability . The narration was fine, not my favorite, but up there.
Then there is the story. It has some moments – but that is it, moments. instead it mostly draws from formula romance where so much is interchangeable that I found my mind wandering. I know I am in the minority when it comes to reviews, but this just isn’t that good. First of all, I was hoping for a book that accurately depicted gay men/gay life. Instead this fell into all sorts of old traps. Forgive me not using character names – for the book you only need to know there’s a judge, a Marshall, a sassy best friend, a mean judge and a wavering cop. The judge, so deep in the closet that he’s gone decades without human contact – unbelievable. The marshall, he is way too out. Way too out! The sassy best friend is there long enough to establish himself so he can have his own book. The story takes some turns that are probably supposed to keep you on your toes, instead the just feel phony – tattoos and spies and whatnot. I was so underwhelmed that I removed a few other Tal Bauer books from my wishlist.