Murder at Willow Slough

by Josh Thomas

Book Overview

A Gay reporter, a Straight cop and thirteen dead men: will the good guys get the killers, or will the killers get them? Jamie Foster has a lot going for himhe's young, blond and handsome, with an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 059515686X
• ISBN13: 9780595156863
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Spellbinding!

I do not usually like really long books, but this one is excellent. The first chapter was a little slow, but there was quite a bit of background to cover. After that, it moved along rather quickly.Jamie is a reporter for a Gay Newspaper. He has been following a serial killer for many years. He has tried to get a task force put together to find the killer, but can never manage to pull it off. While back home visiting his mother, who is in the the hospital, there is another murder. He goes to the local sheriffs office to find out some details, and see if it is related to the other murders. The Sheriff is straight and Jamie is gay, but there is an instant attraction between them. Neither one is willing to admit it. Will they get the killer? Of course, they always do! Will they fall in love? You will have to read the book yourself to find out! Hope you enjoy it! I did!!!

Two Main Men

Well, now, here's the thing about this book: It has explicitly developed and consistent characterization--of two wonderfully smart, honest (and goodlooking) critters who are so admirable, yet likable and human, that you'd want your daughter (or your son) to date them.Straight women can take to the different strengths that define Jamie's and Kent's masculinity and adopt them with comfort, getting into the mystery and high-tension plot along with their husbands; gay men will never--I mean never--find better heroes! Yet Kent and Jamie don't seem so fictional after their painstaking character development in this gripping story. Read it as a mystery thriller. Read it to analyze how natural, fluent dialog can more than sustain a style that is stingy with its description. Sail through its 500+ pages as quickly as through a fast-paced novella. You will suspect from the crisp, clean writing that this author has integrity like his two main men, not to mention a grip on a host of other interesting and essential characters--some charming, some evil. Get in on the ground floor with Thomas' first novel about his two lovable hunks--one gay, one straight but flexible. No telling where he will take them next. After all, it does appear at the end of this one that they could be falling in love.

RIGHT ON THE EDGE MURDER MYSTERY

I really loved this book. It was fast paced and full of action. The characters develope rather well with Josh Foster (... Reporter) starting out to solve the murders and with the help of Kent Kessler (... Cop). I couldn't stop reading this book until I found out how it ended. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was very scary in some parts especially when you realize people can be this way just because of the way you think or feel. Josh and Kent start out in helping each other with the case and then getting closer in friendship and more as the case gets closer to being solved. There are mixed emotions between the two with themselves and each other until they let their hearts decide after a very terrible experience one of the characters ends up in. I am very happy this ended the way it did. It needed to. I will look forward to his next book. Hopefully with these two people working together again as partners in Life and solving another mystery . I was very impressed with how the two heros develope and how their love developes as natural as breathing. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Great novel from award-winning reporter

Despite its length, this novel never seems slow or overly drawn-out. After Kent and Jamie work together to find a killer, the novel's romance and conspiracies continue to intensify. The more readers might think they know a character, the more complex and surprising that character becomes. Josh Thomas excels at such enigmatic character development. The dialogue seems a bit stilted in a few (and only a few) places, but that's probably because I'm overly accustomed to deep-South syntax. I love the way Jamie cares for his dying mother, and the way he cleverly defends himself against a constant onslaught of homophobic remarks. His fast wit and rhetorical skills make him believable as an award-winning reporter and a ceaseless charmer. Author Josh Thomas, also an award-winning reporter, will charm you with his careful phrasing and tremendous story-telling talents.

A Gay "Silence of the Lambs" only better!

I make this comparison because MURDER AT WILLOW SLOUGH has all the elements of the well-executed Thomas Harris thriller?the serial murders, the driving suspense, compelling characters, inside information, and the clock ticking relentlessly down toward the death of yet another victim. As a murder mystery, Thomas writes with authority, and for that, alone, the book is well worth the read. What enriches this novel, however, is not that it?s a murder mystery. It is also one of the strongest, most satisfying love stories to emerge from gay fiction in a long time. And this is the real treat that Thomas? offers in this first novel. It?s a thrill to witness the burgeoning love between two of the characters (nope, can?t give away who), because they are portrayed as decent, committed individuals who manage to find love with each other despite their differences and their life?s complications. As the murder investigation builds in suspense, so does the anticipation for these two men to find love. There were bumps in the presentation of the story, from the rather complicated beginning to some segments that slowed the pace down. My advice, however, is to trust this author. He fully develops his characters and ties up the loose ends. Most importantly he creates two of the best gay heros I?ve seen, heros I hope to see more of. ---Ronald L. Donaghe, author of COMMON SONS and THE BLIND SEASON.