Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: No Good Deed
AUTHOR: Michael Rupured
PUBLISHER: DSP Publications
LENGTH: 222 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2016
BLURB:
On Christmas Eve in 1966, Philip Potter, a kind-hearted Smithsonian curator, wraps up his last-minute shopping. Meanwhile, James, his lover of several years, takes his own life back in their home. Unaware of what awaits him, Philip drops off gifts at a homeless shelter, an act of generosity that will later make him a suspect in the murder of a male prostitute.
Following James’s shocking death, two men enter Philip’s life—and both drive yellow Continentals. One of them, though, is a killer, with the blood of at least six hustlers on his hands. And both are hiding something.
As Philip is about to discover, no good deed goes unpunished.
REVIEW:
This story is told in third person and from more than one point-of-view, which was a bonus for me as it’s my preferred style of narration.
As per the blurb, the story begins with Philip arriving home to find the young man he’d taken under his wing had ended his life. From that night, Beau comes to his rescue, offers him a place to stay, until he can return to his own home. Not long after, the next suspect enters the story. It didn’t take long for me to figure out who the most likely killer was. In fact, it was so obvious I figured I had to be wrong and would be thrown for a loop once all was revealed. Was I thrown for a loop? Hell yes, but not because of who it was but for his reasoning. It made me feel physically ill.
I liked the era the story was set in. Being a child of the eighties, I think the author did a wonderful job of recreating the time period without going over the top. I say that as I recently read a book set in the same time period and the constant reminders of the era gone by became tiresome. So kudos for getting the facts and balance right.
Harold was an interesting character who also got a lot of page time. So much so at times I began to wonder whose story this was. Philip’s I think. Right, so back to Philip. He’s a great guy although almost every guy he laid eyes on he described as being sexy which struck me as odd given he’d just been through a harrowing ordeal.
James’s father was a homophobic asshole. Thankfully his attorney brother didn’t share the same opinions. Even though he wasn’t able to save James he became an anchor for Philip.
Then we have sergeant Shirley White, given the onerous task of trying to catch a killer. I didn’t envy her position one bit.
I hovered between 3 & 4 hearts for this story. Four because it was powerful, three because it came close to hitting one of my hard limits. The few references to a character’s incestuous thoughts, brief as they were, could not be unread! And, unfortunately colored the entire story for me. I liken it to how it would be for me walking through a morgue, ‘I’m cool I can do this’, then I catch a glimpse of a dead body. From that point forward the room is a blur as I can’t the image out of my mind.
In summary this story was hit and miss for me. There is no mistaking the author is a talented story teller, the story flowed well and I admire his ability to keep track of each character. The story is certainly explicit but there’s no on-page sex.
RATING:
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