Dead In The Desert
After helping Detective Lipkin with finding a body in the desert, Leander (or "Andy" to Jon) accepts a case from a lawyer, who wants Andy to find a young man who has disappeared for several years, in order to give him money and property from his dead uncle. The young man is the son of a convicted killer. Jon, Andy's roommate and friends with benefit, goes along to help because he feels protective and caring and all those other "feels" that he has come to associate when it comes to Andy.
--------------
Unlike the previous book, Dead in L.A., Dead in the Desert doesn't have episodic mystery. Instead, all chapters are a continuous story, combining romance and a dash of mystery. If I can categorize this book for my own purpose, I will call it a comfort mystery romance. Both Jon and Andy are not part of the police force nor they are professional private detectives. There isn't any heavy legwork of investigation, interviewing suspects, and such. But Andy would get dreams and new clues about where to find Ethan and then he and Jon would follow it through.
The romance part is more quiet. I love the difference of the two men. Jon is the grumpy bear and Andy is the ray of sunshine, but they match so well. Since this is written from Jon's point-of-view, we don't get much inner thoughts of Andy, but it is perfectly fine. Andy is more open and it is easy to see how Jon drawn to him. Instead we will get Jon's inner perspective about this new-found relationship.
I love it when Jon feels protective or slightly jealous or exasperated when Andy doesn't eat well or being cranky if he must gets up early in the morning. I might wonder what Andy sees in Jon -- but I also know how opposites attract. Andy might see Jon as someone dependable, someone to lean on, who will always be there when he feels exhausted or disturbed by his dreams.
It might feel restrained but I always love that kind of story better than overdone drama. There is a beautiful gesture when Jon finally takes off his wedding ring, realizing that it is time to let go of his past and grabs this new chance of happiness with Andy. I feel that they will always be the type of couple who would be comfortable with each other without having to talk about everything under the sun.
And the epilogue is a nice touch...