Crossroads by Keta Diablo

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Keta Diablo likes the unpolitically correct characters. I had just a little taste of it in a previous short story in which one of the character was a man who cheated on his lover for fear of commitment; as you all know, for me a cheating man is something I can hardly forgive, even if, truth be told, in that book the man was doing everything possible to be forgiven.

In this new book Frank is the most possible anti-hero you can find. A mix of Inspector Callaghan meets Yaoi, Frank is a private investigator who has a little help from the otherworld: he sees dead people... not so original, you will think, there is even a series (Eye Spy by Drew Zachary) in which not only the private investigator sees ghosts, he has even a ghost partner (partner as lover). But let's start from the beginning: when Frank was still a rookie in the police department he was taken under the wing of an older police officer, Quinn; he was like a father for Frank and welcomed him in his home where Frank met Rand, the 17 years old gay son of the man. Since Frank was gay, and Quinn knew it, and Rand was in need of a firm hand, Quinn and his wife encouraged Frank towards Rand, but Frank did the only right thing he will do in all the book, he didn't take advantage of the young boy (even if with he had the consensus of the parents). And, as I said, that was the last time Frank behaved as a good man; soon after Quinn died in the line of duty, and Frank resisted only few months near the widow and her two sons, and then left her alone with all her trouble, even if the woman welcomed him in her home. Five years he acted as he didn't know that the woman needed him and that her son Rand considered him a role model, and loosing him at the same time of his father was not probably for the best.

After five years the widow calls him since her son Rand is disappeared since three months without notice. The woman knows that probably the young man, now 22 years old, is in some trouble and asks Frank to find and bring him home again. Due to his sense of guilty and the respect he had for his father, what do you think Frank should do? find the boy, teach him a lesson and bring him safe and sound at home, right? Oh yes, Frank finds him all right, but also breaks into his apartment at night wearing a hood, chains the boy at the bed, gags him and plays with him using a martial weapon as sex toys, to end all with a thoroughly sex session, the part that remembered me a yaoi manga, whimpers, blushing and tears all together.

So no, Frank is not exactly a private investigator by the book, and Rand is not probably the innocent boy who Frank remembers, but one thing you can say of this book, it didn't play according the rule. And so if you are searching a lot of sex, down and dirty, and a very bad boy character, that is unrepentant till and beyond the end of the book, probably this one could be an interesting and unusual choice. I can't say more on the story since this is only a novella and if I say more on the mystery part, I will risk to give up the book. And then, truth be told, with two long and detailed sex scenes, there is not much space left.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Crossroads/exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Crossroads

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Comments

Re: Author's Reponse to Review

[ketadiablo.livejournal.com]

Hi Elisa,

No, I was not offended in the least by your review or your comments. I posted only to communicate (and warn) that indeed, my characters often push the edge of the envelope and are not for everyone. You conveyed this nicely.

This is nothing new for me in either my M/M or my f/m erotica novels. Sophia from Land of Falling Stars has created quite the stir since the release of the book among reviewers and readers. Although the book rated very high across the board, most had issues/frustration because the heroine did NOT fit the normal female type in romance novels.

I take this is a compliment.

And I won't go into why I wrote her in that manner (it would fill up a page). Suffice it to say that humans react to situations/events in their life in different ways, and not all will react the same. To show negative reactions to trauma in the form of acting out or behavior issues is not unusual nor does it mean the person on a whole is a termagant.

Again, I appreciate your comments and your review. It was fair. I merely wanted to let your visitors and readers know if they plan to pick up one of my books in the future, they will no doubt find the same -- characters who will not fit the sterotype and stories that are more character driven than plot driven. And lots of sex in all its candor.

You have done a fine job with the blog and with your dedication to reading.

Namaste, Keta Diablo

Re: Author's Reponse to Review

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I'm relieved Keta.

> I take this is a compliment.

Yes, you should ;-)

And as I always said to authors (not only you), that find themself involving in discussion of thier books and why they write them in that way, and so on, that I love a sentence by Katherine Hepburn (I don't remember if she said it about her supposed homosexuality or her affair with Spencer Tracy...): It doesn't matter if they speak badly of me, the important thing is that they speak of ME.

Elisa