Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Behr Facts
SERIES: Foothills Pride #3
AUTHOR: Pat Henshaw
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 92 Pages
BLURB:
Big, burly CEO Abe Behr is dismayed to discover someone—possibly a family member—is stealing from Behr Construction, which primarily employs Behr relatives. Abe takes the unprecedented step of hiring an outsider, likeable CPA Jeff Mason, to go over the books and help find the culprit. They are drawn to each other as they talk to workers, including Abe’s two younger brothers and their shifty cousin.
Since he has sacrificed romance all his life to build the business, Abe’s surprised by his feelings for the handsome Jeff. He’s even more shocked when they are confronted by bigotry in the Sierra Nevada foothills community, which is being inundated by gays moving from the San Francisco area. As he and Jeff get closer, Abe must come to grips with coming out to a family and community that aren’t very tolerant. Fortunately, being the head Behr helps him find his footing and grab onto love when it bites him.
REVIEW:
Ok, let’s start with my ONLY real complaint about this book…it just wasn’t long enough damn it! I really liked the story in this book and wanted it to keep going for at least another hundred pages! Honestly I really liked what there was of the story, but I will detail below where I thought there could have been more.
In Behr Facts we return to the same community in which the previous two books in the Foothills Pride were set. I think the name of the town is Stone Acres if I remember correctly, but honestly the town name doesn’t matter as much as the characters. Ms. Henshaw does a good job of painting her character canvas without going into too fine a detail. We aren’t dragged through pages upon pages of descriptions, and frankly I find that refreshing. You get a good idea of who everyone is, roughly what they look like, and that is it. The rest is up to your imagination.
What we do get to know is the story of Behr Construction and its CEO, Abe Behr. Abe has discovered that someone (probably a family member since most of the employees are extended family) has been stealing from the company. The cost overruns on every job are through the roof and there isn’t any explanation of why. Deciding to get to the bottom of the mystery, Abe hires an accountant named Jeff Mason. Jeff is from a family that the three Behr brothers have heard about all their lives. Something to do with a house, and the owner refusing to sell it to their father, which in turn caused everything bad that occurred since then to happen. Obviously they know that isn’t true, but he is a MASON!
Jeff is a well educated and nice to look at CPA that doesn’t even own a pocket protector! He can help with the Behr Construction cash flow mystery. Abe and Jeff start hanging out, fishing, going out to dinner, and working together every day. Abe has always thought he was asexual. So why is he noticing the way Jeff smells? And why is he liking the smell…..?
A couple things which were a bit vague in the book because of its length could have been expanded into more detail and might have made it a better read. For example we learn there is growing homophobia in the town, but it is vaguely attributed to the town minister and we don’t really find out much further, except for the culprits behind some spray painting. The overall homophobia wasn’t really addressed again. Another thing is that there are no actual sex scenes in the book, as with the previous books in the series. Sex is implied, but takes place off screen. In my opinion, that didn’t hurt the story of this book, but as with her previous books, I would have to say a little detail would be good. One final comment needs to be made about the cover. The bear on the cover looks to be close to my age and build, I’d say late 40’s at least and no where near the 32 year old big burly bear described in the book. I know sometimes authors don’t get a lot of choice, but that guy just doesn’t fit.
I recommend this installment in the series. In my opinion, it might be the best of the three so far. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, don’t worry, this could be read as a standalone. I would recommend though that you get all three and read them all. As for me, I’ll be keeping my eye on Ms. Henshaw’s Facebook page to be ready when she gives us hints on the next one in the series! Ok, I know I’m greedy. This review is posting on the release date of this book, and I already want the next one! Please Ms. Henshaw, try to make it a little longer!
RATING: 
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