2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Kept by Jim Arnold (259-08-11-2016)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

This was an unusual book, not easy to read, but the author did a great job by sticking by his guns and not yielding to arbitrary genre “conventions.” It took me a two or three chapters to get past the literary feel of it. I had to slow down, and when I did I began to marvel at the craft of it, and the characters began to grow close to my heart. I’d recommend this read to anyone interested in a more literary, less formulaic piece of gay fiction.

Kept by Jim Arnold
Gay Mystery / Thriller
Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: Eureka Street Press; 1 edition (January 5, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0996938001
ISBN-13: 978-0996938006
Amazon: Kept
Amazon Kindle: Kept

Palm Springs: Jorge Gomez leaves his poor family behind and remakes himself as ambitious George Gomes. Soon young gay George is picked up by Connor Hurst, who takes him to an empty mansion for a night of lust. Connor convinces George to work alongside him in a scam targeting gullible retirees with classic desert homes. George appears to be on a strange path to the American Dream, until his help covering up a violent death propels him toward bigger risks—perhaps even murder, one that seems justified, one promising a sizable payday. George doesn't know his role is to take the fall. Yet he isn’t as stupid as everyone thinks. Left alone, literally hanging on a wire with a corpse, George must fight enemies real and imagined if he has any hope of finding his dream—or even staying alive long enough to enjoy it.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html