Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Rhys Ford - Sinner's Gin

There’s a dead man in Miki St. John’s vintage Pontiac GTO, and he has no idea how it got there.
After Miki survives the tragic accident that killed his best friend and the other members of their band, Sinner’s Gin, all he wants is to hide from the world in the refurbished warehouse he bought before their last tour. But when the man who sexually abused him as a boy is killed and his remains are dumped in Miki’s car, Miki fears Death isn’t done with him yet.
Kane Morgan, the SFPD inspector renting space in the art co-op next door, initially suspects Miki had a hand in the man’s murder, but Kane soon realizes Miki is as much a victim as the man splattered inside the GTO. As the murderer’s body count rises, the attraction between Miki and Kane heats up. Neither man knows if they can make a relationship work, but despite Miki’s emotional damage, Kane is determined to teach him how to love and be loved — provided, of course, Kane can catch the killer before Miki becomes the murderer’s final victim.

Comment: I got interested in this book after a recommendation by a friend. I had previously read another book by the author which I didn't like that much, but I've decided to give this one a try and I liked it better than the other one, but still not as much as I hoped for.

Miki St John is the singer in a successful band and when the story begins, they have just gotten out of the Grammys but a terrible accident kills the other three members, leaving Miki very hurt but the sole survivor. Then, some time later, Miki is a recluse in his home, he knows he should try to get better, especially emotionally, but he can't forget how things used to be and about the loss of his friends. His neighbor is detective Kane Morgan, from the San Francisco police and they finally meat each other when Miki's dog leaves his house and invades Kane's space. Although Kane tries to be stern with Miki about dog leashes, he can't help but feel attracted to him but everything is put aside when a body is found on Miki's car, in his garage. Upon investigation, the body belongs to a man from Miki's past, someone who abused Miki when he was a foster kid. Kane decides he should help Miki but when the person doing these things escalates, can it be Miki is in danger too?

I can see why this is a popular book among the several the author has written. Miki is a vulnerable but snarky guy and it's compelling to want to see him finding peace and happiness. Kane too is a reliable character and quite appealing,not only because of his protective role but because he is part of a large family and all the allusions and dynamics make for a cute and vibrant story. The contrast between their pasts makes a possible relationship amusing to see happen.

In fact, that was probably the element I liked the best in this story, how Kane's family - so many siblings and almost all in the police forces - being Irish is fun and loving and how that provides Miki with another side to things. This makes him realize he doesn't have to be isolated nor away from others and I liked the scenes where he met Kane's family and they started to be closer. The romance was cute and Kane always quite considerate of Miki's experiences and past but he never coddled him, making him aware he was a grown up man and he was able to choose what and who he wanted.

This said, it's true I had an easy time reading the book, but the writing style is hard to explain, I liked it but it isn't "magical" in the sense that it made me eager to know what would happen or eager to understand what was going through the protagonist' heads. Some writers can write about the simplest of actions and make everything effortless and smooth and while there's no problem with this author's skill, I just didn't feel the impact of what was happening.

Since I've found the writing wasn't always as special, the plot also looked a bit superficial. Miki went through a lot and although this addressed, I feel the emotional content wasn't always up to what was being described. Some times yes, others not so much, and that means it felt as if Miki could quite easily go between lighthearted and worried and that jarred me. Kane has had a better childhood and it shows on his behavior and personality but I still don't think I got to have a good grasp on their thoughts, their true selves.

As for the plot, I could say some details feel s bit too easy, a bit predictable regarding the bad guy's identity, but the psychology of everything isn't that terrible. I suppose I just didn't feel very invested in this because it was a given something would happen and that the police would find the culprit or do their job somehow. One could say there's some mystery ongoing but nothing really complex as we would see in a more thriller focused plot.

It also seems as if the author's books have to include some (light) paranormal aspect and that was shared right at the end in what I assume is a sort of cliffhanger. I wasn't overly surprised because I remember the other book by the author also had some similar content, but here it looks as if it is coming out of nowhere. I bet it will be the start of the next novel in the series but to be honest, right now I don't know if I want to read it. Perhaps one day if I feel like revisiting this author.
Grade: 6/10

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