Title: A Queer Pattern of Murder
Author: Tom Jemielity
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Detective
Length: Short (53pgs)
Publisher: JMS Books (15th April 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Good cop, bad cop? No. It’s straight cop, gay cop, as the detective team of Billy Mack and Ethan Gregory seek the vicious killer of a middle-aged gay man.
Beaucaploo, Indiana, is rocked by a vicious killing of a middle-aged gay man. Detectives Billy Mack and Ethan Gregory are assigned to the case. Though Billy is married with children and Ethan is a gay ex-Marine, the two share a solid friendship cemented when Ethan saved Billy’s life during a drug bust.
To find the killer, they must narrow the field of suspects. Is the murderer an obnoxious gay activist? A recent boyfriend of the deceased? Or someone new in town? Their inquiry takes them from the campus of the University of the Mother of Mercy where the victim taught, to a gay dating agency whose services he recently used, and to a local bar he didn’t frequent often.
Can Billy and Ethan catch the killer before he strikes again?
Purchase Link: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=488&zenid=0gelvhsi8a9ahg7skdn8o0hjt2
Review: Billy and Ethan are partners on the job and have just caught a murder which is brutal. As they investigate, they discover the victim was gay and the person who did it was someone who had been close to him at one point. Now, it is up to Ethan and Billy to find the killer before he strikes again.
Okay, everyone this is not a romance; there’s no kissing, no sex scenes and no declarations of undying love for a lover. (Oi. where do you think you’re going? Get back here and read this review) but, what we do have is a great mystery/detective story and one of the detectives just happen to be gay. Ethan is partnered with Billy, when they get a murder case they start to investigate. Ethan discovers that Billy already knows that he is gay and doesn’t have a problem with it. By the end of the case, he is out of the closet at work and fully accepted.
The mystery was really good and I liked the way it progressed and the weaving of the characters and their interaction with each other. I found this story to be quite humorous and thought Billy was a hoot. Ethan is a great guy and the supporting characters were great as well, even the annoying gay activist. You only meet Ethan’s partner in life near the end, so you don’t get much interaction between them, but, what you do see is a solid relationship. This book seemed to be more about the relationships that Ethan has with his friends and how he sees Billy’s family as his own. And Billy and his family accept Ethan and Robbie with open arms, which Ethan never got from his own family.
So, this one I will recommend to those who want a gay character in a story without relationship angst, the everyday life of a gay police detective and his straight partner, watching the bonds of family strengthen between friends and a happy ending where the police catch the bad guy in a good mystery.