Reviewer: Bob Lind, Echo Magazine
Publisher: Lethe Press, May 2013
Pages: 250
In this, the seventh book in Abramson's "Beach
Reading" series, the gang is in a period of transition. Artie and his
lover Arturo are taking a leave from their Castro restaurant, for Artie's comeback
singing tour. Aunt Ruth is back behind the bar, helping to keep an eye on
things while they are gone, although she would much rather be spending leisure
evenings with her still husband. And everyone in the Castro is buzzing about a
daring series of armed robberies, by a duo who seems to be very good at what
they do.
Ruth's nephew, and the restaurant's most popular waiter,
Tim is missing his boyfriend, Nick, who is away in Europe, assisting his grandmother
on a book tour, and thinking they should have had a talk about monogamy before
he left. Even Tim's usual clairvoyant dreams seem to be sidetracked by his
libido, with the exception of rather disturbing flashes about a plane crash.
Tim's erotic temptations fight daily with the potential guilt of his actions,
and he can't help but wonder if Nick feels the same way, or perhaps has taken advantage
of such situations that have faced him.
I've been a big fan of this series since its inception, and it
is always good to get to visit with Abramson's realistic, fully-nuanced characters.
I was also happy to see further development of some secondary characters
introduced in earlier books. Overall, however, I have to admit I found this one
to be a bit weak in storyline, compared to the others, and hope it is just a
temporary misstep. Overall, I still give it four stars out of five.
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