Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Detective Shane Mullin is used to domestic investigations. So when Janet Brint hires him to tail her husband, City Councilor Daniel, he doesn't think much of it. Everyone has something to hide, and Janet thinks Daniel's problem is drugs.

It's not drug abuse that has Daniel hiding out, though. As Shane follows Daniel about, he realizes the politician is having lots of sex. Gay sex at that. Shane is fascinated with Daniel's case, wondering just what Janet hopes to gain by exposing Daniel's secrets.

Shane is also fascinated with Daniel the man, so much so that attraction blooms, and he and Daniel begin an online friendship. One thing leads to another, and Shane finds himself leading his own double life, seeing Daniel while continuing to investigate him.

With no good way out of his deception, Shane has a decision to make about what to tell Daniel, and Daniel himself has some tough choices about his life and whether or not to go public with his sexuality. Can Shane and Daniel work their way through their web of lies?

BOOK REVIEW:
Sex, Lies, and Celluloid is a fun read. Chris Owen and Jodi Payne work well together to create an unforgettable story.

Shane and Daniel are memorable as main characters. They have great chemistry together, whether they're chatting online or getting physical. Shane became interested in Daniel as more than a target, despite his efforts not to, and Daniel finds himself more attached to Shane than he wants to admit. There's an exciting amount of angst after the two meet, when Shane runs into the dilemma of whether to betray his client or out Daniel, his target. Daniel also has a policy of seeing each man only once, so that he doesn't feel any unnecessary attachment to any one person, but Shane is the only one who takes the time to get to know Daniel before trying to get into his pants.

At first Shane is torn up that he can't be with Daniel, but he goes against his better judgment and contacts Daniel anyway. After they talk, he starts living between meetings and anticipating Daniel's calls. The first-person narrative is done well and it's easy to relate to Shane's problems.

Janet appears to be the strongest of the secondary characters. She is a trophy wife and a young heiress; she seems to have everything going for her. The reader learns later that her marriage to Daniel has a couple of catches for both her and Daniel. It's hard not to sympathize with her. Daniel lets on that she used to be a pleasant woman in the past, nice enough to catch his attention and make him fall in love with her. Her marriage to Daniel now is cold, because they've both lost interest in each other. What's worse, they each have their own reasons for not wanting to divorce, and end up trapped in a frigid marriage. She seems to be trapped between hating Daniel, and wanting to spend time with him and for him to be home more often. In this book, the reader doesn't actually see her character interact with Daniel or Shane face to face. All we hear of Janet are snatches of phone conversations, what other people report to Shane about her, and Shane's own investigations into her activities. Despite just that, her character invites a lot sympathy. Kudos to Owen and Payne for managing to pull that off.

The other secondary characters are much weaker. Celia, Shane's assistant/partner, works closely with him and apparently knows him better than his own mother. Her character was refreshing at first. She and Shane share jokes, stories, and have a lot of playful arguments. Their banter and their overall relationship reminded me of the one between the main characters of Will & Grace. Celia obviously cares for Shane and will do anything for him, but as happy and caring as her character is, she's hard to swallow. She should really come in small doses. Unfortunately, she works with Shane and the reader sees her quite a lot. During all the times the reader sees her, Celia is happy. How does a person manage to be so happy and perky all the time?

Susan, Celia's girlfriend, is an exact clone of Celia, and Jason, Daniel's attorney, isn't a memorable character and doesn't stand out in any special way.

The strong point of Sex, Lies, and Celluloid is the plot. The story dives right into the action and picks up pace toward the last half of the book. It was just as fun watching Shane pine after Daniel as it was watching them together.

Sex, Lies, and Celluloid is a fun and memorable story. Highly recommended.

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