Reviewed by Sarina

TITLE: The Claiming of Patrick Donnelly

SERIES: Sequel to The Ghost of Alcatraz

AUTHOR: Carol Lynne

PUBLISHER: Wilde City Press

LENGTH: 99 pages

BLURB:

After taming the Ghosts of Alcatraz, Fisher Marx left his position as head of the World Police Unit to take a job in the small town of Toblerville. He’d hoped to live out his life in quiet splendor while still using his skills to protect the Hickory County residents, but everything changed when he heard rumors of a young man who claimed to be the victim of regular attacks by a ghost.

Unable to put the young man out of his mind, Fisher decided to investigate the situation. What he discovered in the run down house outside of town would change his life forever.

REVIEW:

Fisher Marx figures he’s had enough excitement in his life and decides to move to the quiet town of Toblerville. Rumors of a man plagued by ghosts, however, has him changing his tune as he first tries to help because its what’s right and then later because he’s come to care for the young man. Patrick’s life took a turn into hell when he turned sixteen and now, six years later, things have only gotten worse. The offer of help from the tall stranger at his door seems too good to be true and when trouble follows them both, Patrick tries to convince him he isn’t worth the bother. Fisher is nothing if not stubborn, however, and some things are worth fighting for.

This is the sequel to The Ghosts of Alcatraz and while I haven’t read that one yet, I had no problems getting into this story. There were some references in the beginning to the previous book but while I was curious, it didn’t impact my understanding of the story or the characters. Fisher is a born protector, first serving his country and later the World Police Unit before moving into the life of a small town police officer. Regardless of where he is or what he’s doing, however, he throws his all into it and once he’s set his mind on something, there’s no changing it. Hearing about Patrick, Fisher can’t help but intervene even when it results in a great deal of damage, both to his property and himself. Saying Patrick has a bit of a ghost problem is like saying Santa likes cookies; slight understatement. He’s been abused for years, something people in town have been content to ignore until Fisher steps into the picture and refuses to do the same. Patrick has to have been one of the strongest people around to have survived what he did and I admired that. I also understood his desire for everything to end, if for no other reason than to protect those around him.

What I didn’t think was appropriate was the sexual relationship he develops with Fisher. Patrick has been sexually abused for years (nothing graphic is shown) and his determination to jump right into bed with Fisher didn’t work for me. I could get behind the developing feelings and then move onto a sexual relationship at least a year down the road but seriously, the kid was abused for years and that requires, at the very least, some therapy before he’d be even remotely okay. I kind of felt like the author just really wanted some sex in the book and put that in there regardless of how appropriate it was. I actually lowered my rating for this aspect of the book alone. There’s also a great deal of violence showcased in the book, which I was fine with. Surprised, but fine. If any of this is a trigger for you or just something that makes you uncomfortable, I’d probably suggest reading something else. I do plan on reading the first book and probably a third if Sal and Ian get their own book but I don’t know if I’ll come back to this one.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Wilde City

Amazon

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