MURDER ON THE MOUNTAIN by Jamie Fessenden

Publisher:               Dreamspinner Press          

Published:               August 22, 2014    

ISBN:                     978 1 63216 203 8

Genre:                   Mystery, Romance, M/M

Book Format:          E-book

Obtained via:          Publisher

Reviewed by:          Helena Stone, helenastone63@gmail.com

Rating:                   4+

         

 

Jesse Morales is on his last day as a volunteer on the summit of Mt. Washington when what up to that moment had been an unexciting week takes an unexpected turn. When a young tourist goes missing, Jesse joins the search party and is the one to find Stuart Warren lying dead among the rocks with his head crushed. Shocking as the discovery might be, Jesse, a recent college graduate and aspiring mystery writer, can’t help taking an interest in the death and the subsequent investigation.

Kyle Dubois and his partner Wesley Roberts are state police detectives and called to Mt. Washington when the body is discovered. Attraction between Jesse and widower Kyle is instant but a seven year age difference and Jesse’s fascination with murder make it hard for Kyle to take the younger man seriously.

When Jesse finds a way to check into the same hotel as the victim’s family and to infiltrate their circle he makes himself invaluable to the investigation. But as the attraction between the two men grows stronger, so does the danger to Jesse. As he gets closer to solving the case he also puts himself firmly in the killer’s spotlight.

For a very long time mysteries and thrillers made up the vast majority of books I read. When I say a long time, I mean decades. Then, when I discovered M/M, I sort of fell into that genre and started neglecting my older love. While I’ve read M/M titles of almost every description imaginable, most of them tend to be romances. I have no issue with that since I enjoy them. Having said that, it always feels that little bit extra special when my two favourite genres come together and provide me with both a good mystery and a charming love story.

Murder on the Mountain is such a book.

The murder in this book was well plotted and gave us a limited number of suspects all of whom appeared to have valid motives. The reader is taken along on the journey as motives are discovered, suspects investigated and subsequently dismissed. The riddle certainly kept me guessing until the final moment and that, for me, is of vital importance when it comes to a good mystery.

The romance was as well balanced as the mystery. There may be instant attraction between Kyle and Jesse there is no unrealistic hurry to end up in bed together. While I wouldn’t call this an angsty romance, it isn’t all smooth sailing for Kyle and Jesse either. None of their issues are contrived though and none are dragged out.

The writing in this book is good, giving the reader a smooth read with just the right balance between romance, suspense and humour. And, while I’m on the topic of humour, there were some laugh out loud moments in this book. Jesse’s nickname, ‘Jessica’, made me smile every single time it was mentioned, as did his frustration with the, for him old, joke. The best laugh was found at the very end of the book though. It made me finish the book with a huge grin on my face.

I think I may have read somewhere that the author plans on writing more mysteries featuring Jesse and Kyle. This reader certainly hopes he does and can’t wait to meet these two charming men again.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.