Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: Turtle Bay
SERIES: Tides of Change book 2
AUTHOR: John Patrick
PUBLISHER: Nine Star Press
LENGTH: 354 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2021
BLURB:
It’s 1947, and New York City is awaiting the construction of the new United Nations building, the FBI is actively pursuing Communists and Soviet spies as the Cold War begins to build, and homosexual men have even more reasons to hide who they are.
Uptight FBI Agent Arthur Mason is so deep in the closet he doesn’t even realize he’s in one. Clueless about his own sexuality, he’s surprised at his reaction to both Hans Schmidt and his twin sister, Ada. Under pressure from work, Mason investigates Hans and his boarders, including the highly suspicious Hank Mannix, a known member of the Communist Party. Though Mason can’t seem to locate Ada, he can’t stop thinking about Hans and keeps going back to visit.
Hans Schmidt is a cross-dressing German immigrant running a boarding house for “a certain type of man,” and he wants nothing to do with Agent Mason and his ill-fitting suits and bad haircut. Until he begins to see Mason more as a man and less as a government official.
Hans enjoys dressing as a woman from time to time, and once his feelings for Arthur begin to change, he realizes he needs to share his Ada persona if they are to have a future together.
Secrets on both sides must be revealed and cherished beliefs challenged if these two men are to find the love and happiness they deserve.
This story can be read on its own; however, characters from book one, Dublin Bay, play a prominent role as secondary characters, so it’s recommended to read that first.
REVIEW:
Turtle Bay is a wonderful follow up to the first book in this series, Dublin Bay. Couple of housekeeping notes, you really need to read the first book in the series. This story builds on the characters established in the first book. This story focuses on the late 1940’s and the impact of the witch hunt for communist spies and homosexuals. My love of history was satisfied in this story as the backdrop for this book is New York City and incorporates the challenges of being a gay man in said city in the late 1940’s. Our main characters in this story are Hans and Arthur. Hans was a brilliant side character in the first story and escaped with Otto and James to America, when life became too perilous for any of them in Ireland. The crisis now, though is the end of the war has brought a serious and compelling need from the US government to hunt down any and all supposed spies. Arthur is an FBI agent tasked with following up on ever lead, tracking down any and all communist spies. Mr. Patrick has created another unforgettable, action-packed world for his main characters to blossom and shine. With the occasional, well placed b it of sexy times.
Through Arthur we see the character progression in how he relates to the burgeoning Gay community in New York. As he falls more deeply for Hans, he must reconcile his beliefs that Gay men are normal, but cross-dressing Gay men are broken. There’s only one problem with his theory, Hans loves to cross dress. As the intrigue grows around one of Hans boarders, we see Hans progression as well. He embraces more firmly his feminine side and his need to right the wrongs perpetrated on his community.
“No, Mr. Herrick, That’s where you’re wrong. We don’t need to hide. The rest of the world needs to see.” – Hans Schmidt
Once again, this book captured my history loving heart. It is a work of fiction, but it’s very insightful into the Gay community in the 1940’s. This book truly didn’t disappoint. It was action packed from beginning to end. I read this one in one sitting, I just couldn’t put it down. I can’t recommend this book or this series enough. I’m highly impressed with the author, John Patrick and I can’t wait to read his next book.
RATING: 
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