Primal Red by Nicole Kimberling

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Peter is an aggressive reporter... well, not exactly... he is a wanna-to-be aggressive reporter and in the meanwhile he is also a wanna-to-be porn screenwriter, means that he is really good in imagining himself involved in torrid relationship with men that he barely knows and that probably don't even remember his name.

And so Peter is outside a building after finishing his sleuthing "nightly" work to uncover the secret of an illegal russian brothel (sound pretty daring, isn't it?), fantasizing about Nick, a reclusive artist who has a studio beside the one of his best friend and roommate. Peter is trying to find the courage to ask Nick out on a date, when he hears screaming and entering the building finds Nick above the body of a dying artist, Shelley. Peter has no doubt that Nick is innocent, even if he is caught "red handed" (literally), and his past is not so "clean".

I like Peter, he is the classical example of unwilling hero; but he has also an "innocence" in him that is charming. When asked by the police, why he was outside the building he has no problem to say that he was daydreaming on the main suspect of the murder. When asked by that same man, Nick, why he is snooping around the building after the murder, he has no problem to admit that he was trying to find a way to ask him out: pay attention, actually Peter doesn't ask Nick out on a date, he says that he would like to find a way to ask him out... speaking of talking your mind.

Anyway Peter has some integrity on his work, but he is not the classic strong and pure reporter who would sell his mother for the truth: Peter has a crush on Nick, and so he is not willing to write something that can harm him. Yes, Peter is really convinced that Nick is innocent, so he is not hiding the true, but still, a "real" reporter would first publish the news and then ask to himself if he has done the right thing.

On the other hand, unfortunately the book is too short to give us a clear idea on Nick. He is an interesting character, very fascinating and mysterious, but not all his hidden secret are unveiled in the end... maybe this is a choice of the author, to preserve his mystery aurea, but still I wouldn't mind to know something more about him.

The love story between Nick and Peter is sweet and romantic, and really "easy"; I believe that the disarming behavior of Peter in a way draws Nick onto his trap: Peter is so open and without defense, that Nick couldn't believe him able to do any harm, and so Nick is more willing to let Peter near him than any other men in his past.

The mystery is good, there are a lot of possible suspects, all of them with a plausible reason, and so, till the end, everyone could be the one. Truth be told, I don't pay many attention to the mystery, since I was more interested in knowing if and when Peter's work would be clash with his relationship with Nick, or if, due to his inner innocence, Peter would escape without harm.

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Cover Art by April Martinez