Aaron’s Wait

by Dorien Grey

Zumaya Boundless
Trade Paperback, 240 pages
$14.99
ISBN 978-1-934841-40-2

Booklovers who enjoy mysteries and the supernatural are going to love this fun novel that combines both.  The book can also be categorized as “gay genre.”  That said, I think mystery lovers of any sexual orientation will enjoy this read.

The protagonist, Elliott Smith, comes from a wealthy family, which allows him to work at leisure in a field he loves; he buys and restores historic homes in Chicago. When I read, I like enough historical information and description to picture the setting, understand the back story and make the book “come alive” without being bogged down in page after page of “fluff” information. The author is adept at satisfying me with just the right amount of detail.

When Elliott purchases his next renovation project, he discovers the reason the current owners were so eager to unload the old Victorian.  There is an uninvited tenant on the second floor, Aaron. And Elliott won’t be able to sell the building or get rid of Aaron until he helps the man solve a mystery.  Why did Aaron’s partner, Bill, disappear four years ago? Bill left the apartment one day and never returned, leaving all his earthly possessions behind. Problems are, Elliott is a reluctant P.I., and Aaron is not a very good communicator. Oh, and he’s dead. Is Bill dead, too, and if so, who killed him?  The search for Bill evolves into a who-done-it that keeps the reader guessing and turning the page.

Of course, Elliott wouldn’t be able to solve this case without some help.  Enter the homicide detective brother-in-law, the intuitive boyfriend (and artist) Steve, and friend John.  John is especially helpful in trying to communicate with the dead. Because John’s dead, too.  Elliott mostly comes to John in dreams, but Elliott can also feel John’s presence in the waking world.  Aaron’s Wait is the second in a series, and I “can’t wait” to buy the first book and find out exactly how Elliott met John and how the relationship grew.

You know how you get to the end of some books and feel kind of sad that it’s over? How you miss the characters and wish you knew more about this or that angle? The author piques the interest of the readers in just such a manner. How will Steve and Elliott’s relationship develop? Will Steve’s own intuitiveness develop into something more? Why hasn’t John moved on into the next life? These questions and others will have me rushing out to buy the first book  in the Elliott Smith mystery series.

The book cover instantly lets you know this is a dark mystery.  The title is easy to read, the white pops against the blue-grays, and the lone figure backlit in the window is creepy. The cover begs a reader to pluck it from the shelf for further investigation. My only cover complaint is that the picture is of attached townhouses, and the book takes place in a detached Victorian. Of course, no one would know that until they started reading the book… Oh, picky, picky me.

I love the premise for Grey’s series—the unlikely team of the living and the dead working together to solve mysteries—and greatly look forward to the next book.

Copyright ©2009   Gray Bridges