Genre: Mystery,Historical, Gaylit
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Long Beach, California 1996. Despite having little obvious experience, bartender Dom Reilly is hired as an investigator for the Freedom Agenda, a not-for-profit justice project. His first case involves a twelve-year-old homicide, in which a teenage girl was viciously murdered.
The boy in prison for her murder, Danny Osborne, is seemingly exonerated by DNA evidence but the authorities refuse to accept it as proof.
Dom and his boss, Lydia Gonzales, slowly put together an iron-clad case, one the district attorney can’t ignore. As they do so, each puts themselves at risk—threatening not only their personal reputations, but their lives.
The Review
Dominick “Dom” Reilly works as a bartender,and he seems satisfied with his life and job. He lives with his much younger boyfriend, Ronnie Chen. There’s something peculiar about Dom and Ronnie’s relationship – they argue about whether they are sixteen or twenty years apart. There are also other things that they differ on. The truth is oddly distorted between them, but they get along well enough regardless. Dom often gives Ronnie important advice when it comes to Mia, Ronnie’s mother. He has his reasons.
Ronnie is in real estate, and he wheedles his way to get Dom another job. Dom is somewhat reluctant to become an investigator for lawyer Lydia Gonsalez. Lydia works for the Freedom Agenda, and takes on cases of the wrongly accused.
Dom finds himself immersed in the case of Danny Osbourne, who was incarcerated at the age of seventeen and has served eleven years of his continuing sentence. There’s a mountain of evidence against Danny, especially his own confession. As Dom starts to settle in this new venture, he finds so many things wrong, and many other suspects.
When he brings what he’s found to Lydia, they have to be very careful with the evidence, or the case many never be overturned. The deeper Dom get’s into his investigating, the more dangerous things become for both him and Lydia
Usually Marshall Thornton presents his mysteries from the police and private investigator side of things. With this new series, he takes us through a case that’s already been resolved through the courts, and what it takes to get it overturned. Dom gets deeply involved in this case and the process of investigation.
Dom is definitely a peculiar character – he had me wondering at every turn. Not so much about the investigation, but about him as an individual. The interactions with his boyfriend and his overbearing mother Mia are an interesting side aspects of the novel.
Lydia Gonsalez is an excellent secondary character. Karen too – without her, there’s a lot that wouldn’t have gotten done. John Gallager, nurse and roommate to Dom and Ronnie, also contributes to important moments, and Junior Clybourne is the a new and nosy roommate.
In several of Thornton’s historical series, he continues in bringing attention to the issues of HIV/AIDS. Thornton always provides appropriate information about an illness that still exists and causes heartbreak, even today.
I highly recommend “Year of the Rat,” and I am looking forward to the next installment to this new, brilliant series from Marshall Thornton.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
