A chill ran down my spine. I’d seen bodies in LA with horrific injuries that haunted me to this day, but there was something so wrong about this man laid bare to the elements, the mist of rain swirling around him, his skin gray as drops of water collected and ran down his muscled stomach. This was a man who looked after himself, built, strong, maybe a hiker, or one of the open water swimmers who loved coming to the lake?
His upper torso was exposed to the elements but navy jogging bottoms, covered the lower, and he wore running shoes and socks. He was on his back between the two upright stones, his arms and legs spread, and his sightless eyes faced us with his head turned our way. There was extensive bruising on his face, darker on one side, running from his cheek up into his hair, but it was so bad that from ten feet away it was impossible to ID him for sure even if the guy was someone I knew.
“F*ck,” Devin muttered and took an instinctive step forward, but I held out a hand to stop him moving.
“What about a pulse?” my rookie asked hurriedly. “Shouldn’t we check for that? Procedure for finding an unconscious person?”
“Normally, but it’s clear there’s no pulse.” The victim was unmoving and there was an X scored into the man’s chest, digging deep into his breastbone, and tearing his flesh apart. I could see the purple stain of lividity at the underside of one arm. He was very dead.
“…Sheriff?” Devin asked. “What now?”
I have to say, Solstice is one of my favorite reads so far this year. Between the excellent writing, intriguing characters, and the emotional wallop this story packs, I was thoroughly entranced from start to finish. And now…I want MORE!
We spend a good chunk of the book without knowing Gabriel’s full backstory, but come to find out there is a reason for that. While it might have drawn a tiny bit of frustration out, I understood it later on. It’s the same with Tiber; we know he’s been hurt in the past, and while there are bits and pieces along the way, the full tale doesn’t emerge until much later on, and when it does it’s heart-wrenching.
The scenes involving animals were the ones that pulled most of my emotions out, and yes my eyes may have welled up a time or two. Much of that could be attributed to Tiber’s almost otherworldly connection he has with the animals. But I also felt an emotional connection to Mike, the victim, and I really felt his loss in a big way by the end as all the details come out.
There are a few suspects to consider, and while I was mostly sure of who the ultimate culprit was, I had enough doubts to still be hanging on the edge. I’m usually not a big mystery reader,—whodunnits are just not my thing—but this one really drew me in, first with the eerie cover and then with the writing, characters, and emotion.
It definitely was the huge hit my emotions took during this story that cemented my overall rating for this book, which was a full five stars. The romantic elements are downplayed here, mostly due to the characters’ pasts, especially Tiber’s, but there is a hint at something more to come so I’m really looking forward to see how things go between them in future stories. This really was a fantastic read, and I highly recommend to any mystery or M/M romance fan. For a first collaboration between these two authors, they really did an outstanding job!
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