Death or Life by T.A. Chase
Jul. 13th, 2009 05:24 pm
All right, at the beginning I had this story all wrong. I was so sure of what it was happening that it was surprising, but nice, realizing that the author managed to bring me around where he wanted and then presented me with the real story.Noah is the classical neglected son of a wealthy man, more interested in being a perfect politician in front ot the public opinion, than a good father in his private life. All in all Noah managed to grew up in a fine man, a chemical engineering that would like anything more than being left alone from his father as he has always done. But now Senator Wiltson is running for President, and Noah has to play the role of the good son... only to come back one night and find a killer in his apartment. The man, Lord, says that he was hired by the good Senator to get rid of the inconvenience that is having a gay son. Yes, since even if Noah has always maintained a low profile, he is gay and this is not acceptable for the political aspirations of his father. Only that Lord has his own reason to not like the Senator and he is double playing: he will not kill Noah, on the contrary he will give the man all the evidence he needs to find shelter in his grandfather's home and being safe from that moment on.
Two months later Noah is living with and working for his grandfather and he meets Cain; the man is the new head of security for his grandfather's chemical firm and he seems to have come out from nowhere two months before. He has no past, everything is new around him, his work, his home... And to Noah, Cain remembers a lot the man of the night, Lord. Is it possible that Cain is trying to bring on the mission he refused months before? or maybe Cain wants to be sure that Noah is safe and sound? or maybe he is not the same man? It seems impossible, too many things are similar, the wrapping up of the story it's obvious from the beginning...
The contraposition between Noah and Cain is quite clear: Noah is the gentle and quiet man, the one who doesn't like to be under the spotlight, a man who likes to be the cherished and cuddled lover. Noah is not an imposing figure, he doesn't mind to be led and directed, he has not the core to be independent. On the other hand Cain is the classical leader, forceful but caring, a man who will protect who is under his care with all his own. Cain likes to be in control, both in his public than private life, he is really convinced that only him can be the savior of the world. Maybe a little proof that he is not invincible can be a good thing to him, but all in all, he is the perfect partner for Noah.
Noah and Cain are nice characters, but if I'm to be true, I think that someone else stole them the scene. I don't want to spoil the story, enough to say that there is another man, Mars, a skinny and skittish former hustler, that even if he has only few scenes, he has probably the most interesting role of all the book. Noah and Cain's love story is good and enjoyable, but I found myself waiting for Mars and his lover to appear on the scene, and in the end, I was really hoping for the author to write a book all for their story. A story that started before Noah's one, and that will have its happily ever after more or less at the same time.
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=linda018&product_name=Death+Or+Life&return_page=&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact
Amazon Kindle: Death Or Life
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by Anne Cain