Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Held for Ransom
AUTHOR: Layla M. Wier
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 Pages
BLURB:
A Heatherfield novel
Two weeks before Christmas, the small town of Osmar is gearing up for its annual winter carnival, but the death of the event’s long-time organizer might mean the end of the festivities. Everyone is turning to her son DJ to save the carnival, but DJ can barely save himself. He’s spinning his wheels in Osmar—working part time at the gas station, living in his parents’ house, and trying to figure out what to do with his life. DJ is caught in a large, loving web of well-meaning family and friends, but they can’t fix his life for him.
Into this mess comes Ransom, a handsome mystery man on a motorcycle. Ransom is traveling around the country, making up for his past sins by doing “good deeds.” He and DJ have a one-night stand that neither can forget, but that’s just the start, because Ransom has a plan to save the carnival, and DJ has a plan to save Ransom… and possibly himself.
REVIEW:
I’ll admit it, the cover convinced me to read this book. I’m a motorcycle guy, who also happens to be gay, so if you throw a motorcycle and a couple guys on the cover I’m sold!
Osmar, Illinois is one of those one stop-light towns like the towns where so many of us grew up in the United States. A notoriously bad place to be a young gay man. DJ grew up in Osmar and is related to the local “questionable” family who lives in the local trailer park. One of his cousins is an unwed mother and the other runs a meth lab! His mother has recently died and his dad took off on an around the world tour with his new “love interest”.
As the story starts we learn that DJ’s mother always ran the local winter carnival, which is held annually the week before Christmas. This year no one thought anything about it, because they were so used to DJ’s mother doing it all. Suddenly it is the week before the event and no one has done fundraising, no one has contacted vendors, no one has even looked at the booths that are stored in a local barn.
They all come running to DJ to help them. DJ hasn’t a clue and is quickly overwhelmed. As he is putting up flyers that he printed at home, he runs into an intriguing young man, Ransom, who it appears arrived on a motorcycle, at the local park cleaning up trash. Ransom leaves on his motorcycle with a bunch of flyers for the carnival which he promises to put up in the next town over. Neither expects to see each other again, but neither can stop thinking about what could have been.
Happily, events bring Ransom back to DJ for a one night stand. Unhappily, Ransom is hiding a huge secret, so rather than stay and reveal too much he sneaks out in the middle of the night and takes off on his motorcycle. As he is leaving, Ransom leaves behind an envelope full of cash with a note that it is for the carnival. He rides off into a heavy snow storm and while leaving town he crashes his motorcycle on the ice and snow covered road and both he and the motorcycle plunge into the icy river.
When DJ gets stuck running his employer’s tow truck the following morning, he is called to the accident scene and pulls Ransom’s bike from the river but there is no sign of Ransom. What is Ransom’s story? Where is he? Is he dead? Where did the money he left for DJ come from? All questions that are answered in time. And DJ still has the darned carnival to try to pull off!
I liked this book. It was a fast moving, light evening read. I would personally have liked more detail at the end of the book, which I felt was a little rushed. A little more character development in the supporting cast would also have been warranted. There were teasers about things like the father’s story and the fact that DJ’s cousin’s ex likes both girls and boys, but they weren’t developed in this book. That said, I’ll be keeping my eye out for future Heatherfield books.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: