Cheri
Rosenberg reviews two novels this issue...The Trouble Boy by Tom Dolby
and
Under the Gun by Lori L. Lake
Contact Cheri Rosenberg for book reviews, but expect some lead time as she is one of our most sought out reviewers.
  The Trouble Boy by Tom Dolby ISBN: 0-7582-0617-8 Kensington Books, 2004 Paper, 264 pages, $14.00. Tom Dolby has accurately captured the essence of what makes twenty-something preppy gay men on the Upper East Side of Manhattan tick in his refreshing and honest novel The Trouble Boy. A native of San Francisco, Toby Griffin is a privileged Yale graduate who majored in film studies. Toby confides, “After a sexless four years at boarding school, I was ready to sleep with every available gay undergrad in the tristate area.” [p. 3] Having had his fill of meaningless one-night stands he is more mature now at twenty-two, and is looking for the one guy that he can spend the rest of his life with. He moves to the Big Apple with dreams of fame, fortune, and a long-term relationship. His accomplished wealthy parents—his mother is a famous fashion designer and his father made his fortune at a firm specializing in biotechnology—have given him one year to prove himself in NYC, if not he has to go back home and work in his father’s business. Talk about pressure…Toby’s parents succeeded in their careers while still in their twenties and expect no less from their progeny. The Trouble boy begins with Toby meeting Jamie Weissman who introduces him to the guys who become his friends in Manhattan. A Princeton graduate, Jamie is an investment banker, hardly the type of guy Toby would assume was gay. Jamie introduces himself to Toby at the type of party “…where people don’t talk to anyone they don’t know already.” [p. 1]. Jamie tells Toby about a job opening for a freelance writer at a web site called CityStyle.com. Toby becomes their nightlife editor and reviews nightclubs and interviews rent boys. The job has its perks including many opportunities for sex, drugs, and alcohol. Even after landing a job, Toby never loses sight of his dream to become a famous screenwriter despite his parents’ desire for him to get a “real job” and have a respectable career. Toby is determined to succeed and when one job ends, he lands a more lucrative position as the personal assistant to an unscrupulous film magnate, Cameron Cole. Toby feels taking the job could be just the contact he needs to break into the movie business. While Jamie lusts after Toby, Toby lusts after a series of boys, from a co-worker Donovon, to a whole cast of characters including Subway Boy, Loft Boy, Army Guy, and others. The fantasies of domestic bliss Toby conjures up as he sees a potential mate, is an endearing quality of the ever-hopeful young man. The reader hopes Toby can find true love, but first he has to get his life together and clean up his act. Will he succeed in business and in love? When I wasn’t laughing out loud, I was grinning from ear to ear at Dolby’s wit, humor, and candor. Even in the face of inner turmoil and catastrophic events, Toby maintains his sense of humor which gets him through sticky situations. Toby is portrayed warts and all, or more accurately, pimples and all. He is not always a very nice person, but he is likeable even though the reader can’t help but notice his shallow, egotistical, juvenile side. Toby makes mistakes but at least he has a conscience making him all the more human and believable. Hopefully, Toby can be saved from being the Trouble Boy and from making poor choices. Dolby intimately tells Toby’s story in the first person, except when he switches to the third person in chapter three as Toby has a flashback of his freshman year at college. What at first seemed jarring proved to be a well thought out tactic that emphasizes Toby’s feelings that “it happened to another person, another Toby Griffin.” [p. 40]. Who hasn’t felt, or wished, that certain life events had happened to someone else? With the gay Mecca Upper East Side of Manhattan lingo perfected in Tom Dolby’s debut novel, The Trouble Boy, it’s hard to imagine not being there along with the characters. Vivid descriptions, catchy phrases, irresistible jargon all add to the charm of this fast-paced gay boy romp. The Trouble Boy is reminiscent of William J. Mann’s The Men from the Boys in that Toby is like so many gay boys—he’s desperate not to end up living alone. He goes from one anonymous sexual encounter to another searching for love and a permanent relationship, most of the time for the wrong reasons and in the wrong places. Dolby’s insightful observations are wonderful. One example is when Toby admits, "Unlike those who had discovered a loss of libido on antidepressants, my libido was as strong as ever, which made the situation worse. I felt like an injured athlete who could only cheer his team on from the sidelines.” [p. 37]. The metaphor was great as Toby describes the sexual side effects of Paxil. While The Trouble Boy is classified as gay fiction, straight readers will be able to relate to Toby’s dreams and aspirations quite well. This fun but troubling journey into the gay world should not be bound by genre. The Trouble Boy is engrossing, believable, and funny. The dialogue rings true, and the pace is quick. It could easily be turned into a screenplay and major motion picture. I give The Trouble Boy five stars and look forward to the sequel. |
 Under the Gunby Lori L. Lake Renaissance Alliance Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-930928-44-0 Paperback/ 2002/ 490 pages/ $22.95 In the second gripping police drama in Lori L. Lake’s Gun series, Under the Gun delightfully picks up where Gun Shy left off and sets the stage for the third novel, Have Gun We’ll Travel. Once you make the acquaintance of the beautiful, big, strong, yet vulnerable Officer Desiree [Dez] Reilly and her partner and lover Rookie Officer Jaylynn [Jay] Savage you won’t be able to get enough of this dynamic duo. The two cops are as different as night and day in looks and personality. Always the macho cop, Dez, affectionately referred to as “tall, dark, and dangerous,” maintains a tough impenetrable shell and demeanor to hide her fears. “[Jaylynn] liked the fact that there was a defensive fortress around her taciturn partner, but that the tall cop had let her find the few chinks in the armor so that she had free access to come and go as she pleased.” [p. 378] Dez bottles up her emotions until the pressure becomes so great that an explosion is inevitable, while Jay is not embarrassed or afraid to show her emotions. “It occurred to [Dez] that one major thing she liked about Jaylynn was how alive she was. She took on life with zest, whether she was investigating a crime, talking on the phone, eating something tasty, making love, or crying at a sad movie.” [p. 271] Under the Gun begins with Dez hopelessly in love with the vivacious, white haired bundle of energy, but as happy as she is with the current arrangement, that’s how terrified she is that something terrible will happen to destroy her bliss. Jay is proving to be an excellent officer with a good head on her shoulders, but she has an impulsive streak which has Dez nervous on more than one occasion, as Jay repeatedly gets hurt on the job. It’s understandable that the introspective cop, who withdraws and equates showing emotions with being weak, is afraid of losing the one person who understands her, tolerates her moodiness, and who adds meaning, love, and joy to her life. Lake explores their evolving relationship with rich detail while Dez goes through the biggest transformation of all. Dez is so adept at concealing her inner turmoil that even she is not aware she is doing it. Having suffered serious traumatic events in her life including the loss of her beloved father, also a police officer, and her partner and close friend Officer Ryan Michaelson, it is only a matter of time until Dez snaps and ends up suspended with no alternative than to see psychiatrist Marie Montague, or be kicked off the force. Reluctantly, the skeptical secretive officer works with Marie. Can Marie save Dez from self-destructing, and going to a very lonely and isolated place where she denies her heart’s desire for fear of loss and rejection? Will the astute psychiatrist help Dez learn to bridge the gap in all of her severed relationships, including the ones with her mother Collette and her brother Patrick? Luella is Dez’s “confidante, nurturer, and friend.” [p. 17] Can Marie help Dez believe Luella when she says, “You can’t hold onto someone so tight that you choke the life out of them.” [p. 280] Luella tries to convince Dez that loving and losing someone is painful, but avoiding love to avoid pain is not the solution. She also tells her surrogate daughter “You are a strong person, Desiree Reilly, and you deserve to love and be loved. But you have to make a choice to take the chance.” [p. 280] Lori Lake’s completely satisfying action/romance novel will engage a full range of emotions that will leave the reader wanting more. No stone is left unturned as all the loose ends are tied up. The psychological journey of the characters’ growth and development, particularly Dez’s, is just as intriguing as the crime drama, murder investigation, and police work. In Under the Gun, Jaylynn’s character is delved into more deeply, we get to know Dez’s mother better, and Luella and most of the other characters are back too. There are a few new characters, including Luella’s sister Vanita, who enrich the story. A crime drama would not be complete without antagonists. Nielsen is a hateful and despicable rookie officer who graduated from the police academy with Jaylynn. He has it in for the girls and rats out on their relationship to Lt. Malcolm, adding another layer to the plot. How will Dez’s colleagues react to the confirmation of what they suspected all along…that Dez, the cop they admire and respect, is gay? Every character, no matter how small their role, has a place and reason for being in the story. Lake does not rush through her narrative and 490 pages go by in a blink. I could not recommend Under the Gun, nor praise the skill of Lori Lake any higher. She paints a vivid picture that allows the reader to jump into the story and become a part of Dez’s world. Luckily, I won’t have to miss my favorite characters for long since Have Gun We’ll Travel is now available. Five stars are not enough for Under the Gun—read it and you will see what I mean. |