Genre: Gay fiction, crime fiction, part of the Gabriel Church Tale series
Release Date: January 9, 2016
Publisher: Driven Press
Length: 277 pages
Description: “Conscience isn’t something all people are born with...”
Gabriel Church is a portrait in contrast. It would be easy to get lost in his pale-blue eyes, ache with the need to feel the strength of his masculine frame. He appears to be nothing but animal and instinct. The only people who know the full depth of that truth are dead, murdered, or two thousand miles away.
Gabe is a serial killer. For the first time in his life, he has more on his mind than his own survival. This time he is running from Seattle to protect the only person he thinks innocent in his laundry list of crime and murder: Christian Maxwell, his biographer and unexpected lover. Drawn to a place he never thought to return, Gabe finds new and different realities. Realities that insist he let go of his tragic past, those incredible perceptions of God, and his own divinity. He must open his eyes to what the love of a good man can do to heal a broken soul.
But when the killer is confronted by his own willingness to love and sacrifice, he is forced to ultimately ask the question: Just how far will he go to save a life . . . when all he’s ever done is take them?
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OUR REVIEW
This second book in the Gabriel Church saga is, in some ways, even more powerful than the first. The previous book ends with Gabe leaving town. Christian has made an error that exposes him to Gabe's evil world and to serious consequences under the law. So, in Torn and Frayed, we see Gabe in his natural habitat--on the road, executing his divine justice, and staying out of sight of the law. It is chilling, fascinating, and awe-inspiring. Gabe is very intelligent and no one, except Christian, has any inkling of who and what Gabe really is.
But as the separation between Gabe and Christian extends, Gabe begins to realize the depth of his attachment to Christian, the depth of his feelings.
The allure that bound them was based on something bent and unconventional. It was this distinction that outshone all else, and was the only thing that might've remained standing. It was a Romeo and Juliet tragedy in the making; two souls who'd shared a single foxhole, yet neither could see that clearly enough in those early days.
Gabriel is also starting to realize that his "divine" justice may not be so divine after all. He's also aware that because of his efforts to protect Christian, not only is their relationship at risk, but Gabe's very life is as well. In Seattle, he grew accustomed to talking with Christian and, bereft of him, Gabe discovers the need to talk about his past has not gone away. On one of his journey's Gabriel spots a quaint church, and for some unknown reason he is drawn to it. There, he finds surprising comfort in the form of Father Kait.
If he'd learned one thing lately, it was how much danger he represented; maybe not for the general public, but for the white lighters who had the misfortune of walking past him and for those he cared about. He didn't need to get Maxwell tangled up inside his shit, and he knew he might just be swapping that preferred time with Chris for that of a stranger, but it was better than keeping everything bottled up inside. Or even the threat that his secrets might escape, only to rise to the surface, as secrets had a tendency to do. Maybe it was true that some things were better buried in the sticky mud at the river's bottom... but it was awful hard to keep them there.
A series of events brings Gabe back to Seattle and to Chris. We are drawn even deeper into Gabe's mind, his twisted logic, his protective instincts, his increasing need for love and acceptance. Chris is perplexed by his insatiable desire for Gabe, even knowing exactly who and what Gabe is. He can no longer pretend that the killings have stopped, because he has evidence to the contrary. He can no longer pretend that there will be a happy ending for him and Gabe, one that involves sandy beaches in a sunny paradise. Gabe has done too much and Christian has seen too much. So where can their relationship go from here?
If you enjoy dark, twisted tales of serial killers with some seriously steamy sex and a deep and complicated romance, then you'll love Torn and Frayed! As usual, Clark's writing is excellent. However, there were some proofreading issues and I found a couple discrepancies between this book and the first one.
OUR RATING: 4 stars!
(0410/2016)
Genre: Gay fiction, crime fiction, part of the A Gabriel Church Tale series
Release Date: January 30, 2015
Publisher: Driven Press
Length: 254 pages
Description: Gabriel Church knows you can’t take a life without first understanding just how feeble life is, how tentative and weak it stands alone. If you desire murder, you hold a life in your hand. Whether you release it to grant life or grip tighter to end it, it is at your command and discretion. Gabriel is a serial killer with a story he wants told.
Christian Maxwell studied abnormal psychology in college but chose instead to focus on a career in writing. His background comes in handy when he thinks of writing about a serial killer. He can’t think of anyone more qualified to write the story of Gabriel Lee Church, and do so in the murderer’s own words. It’s been done before, but never with a killer who has yet to be captured or convicted.
There was never anything more than a gentleman’s understanding between the two men that Christian would record Gabriel’s life story. The killer did not ask for his complicity in any crimes, nor did he ever ask for his silence. Christian’s interest in the man, though, is fast becoming something more than academic. When the writer and his subject become unexpected friends and then lovers, the question remains: What is Gabriel’s endgame . . . and why does he want his story told?
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OUR REVIEW
Rubble and the Wreckage is one of the most unusual books I've read. It's a dark, twisted, fascinating tale about a serial killer and a writer that seeks to answer the often asked question: how can a person fall in love with someone so evil?
Gabriel Church is a serial killer, who has been righteously executing his duty for some twenty years. The police are nowhere on his tail. In fact, they have no idea that a serial killer is responsible for dozens of murders across the country. But Gabriel isn't satisfied with anonymity. He senses that the end of his run is near and wants people to understand why he's done the things he's done.
When the man didn't offer a conciliatory gesture, Gabe continued, "Before Florida, before Seattle, I had been somewhere else... It was a better place for me because it still held some type of promise. Nothing had been carved into stone... if you'll pardon the pun." Church's head rolled back as if he were about to break into a hearty laugh.
He was a dangerous, sick man; Christian could see that. His reference to the markers of his varied victims, as well as his nonchalant manner in describing his affinity to murder, was unsettling, even for someone as akin to pathology as Christian Maxwell.
When he discovers that Christian Maxwell has some how put together one and one, he finds young writer and convinces him to become his biographer. Christian is fascinated by Gabriel, a man who is a textbook sociopath--charming and dangerous, and oh... he's as sexy as an angel... a fallen one. But as he learns about the past killings, Christian is plunged into an ethical dilemma.
He stood there watching the bathroom fill with muggy heat, rubbing his crotch front to remind himself of the fabric straining against his own fully engorged member. Was he that fucked up that he'd consider throwing himself at a man who had so easily killed so many folks across this country? Apparently so, he reasoned... because he hadn't moved away yet.
Through Gabriel's recounting of his past misdeeds, we are taken deep into the mind of a killer, one who barely acknowledges that maybe what he's done isn't all good. For perhaps the first time in his life, Gabriel starts to care about someone other than himself. Something that could prove deadly for all concerned.
The writer was someone Gabe liked. There were few who could easily fit into that category, and it was because they were friends that he didn't want to make him into a monster. Christian represented life before the murders began--he equally represented what it could have been like if Gabe had never taken his darker road. But he had, and that was an inescapable truth. Half of him wanted Christian held pure of the same ideologies he possessed, because it wasn't a healthy way of living, but the other side of him knew he needed to bring his new companion into the fold, or risk losing him completely.
Will Christian and Gabriel's relationship be what "saves" Gabriel or will it be the impetus that leads to the destruction of Gabriel's carefully constructed world?
Rubble and the Wreckage is very well written. However, there are some proofreading mishaps and instances of head-hopping. Not enough to detract from the story, but enough to be worthy of mention. Also, like many psychological thrillers, the pacing of the story slows down at times when the characters get into long introspective modes. While there is definitely a romance in this book, it is not your typical HEA. But, perhaps, it is something even better? We're anxious to read the rest of Gabe and Christian's story in the next books in the A Gabriel Church Tale series!
OUR RATING: 4 stars
(4/8/2016)
