Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Hard-working NYPD cop Noah Tobin didn't even want to go on vacation. But it's been a tough eighteen months since the death of his lover, so he's determined to make the most of it. On his first night in sunny Florida, a chance encounter with a handsome man in a bar bathroom jump-starts something in Noah that's been dormant for all those months. Then the man disappears.

Noah's vacation is thrown into upheaval because he can't just let it go when he learns that the mysterious man who turned his life upside down went missing. He volunteers to help with the manhunt for his mystery man, a wealthy restaurateur named Harrison Knowles.

But finding Harry is only the beginning of Noah's hot pursuit.

BOOK REVIEW:
Kate McMurray has penned an intriguing tale of love, loss, and adventure within the pages of "In Hot Pursuit." Interestingly, the book is told in the first person. Normally with such narration, the point of view character, Noah, concentrates most of the descriptive passages on their love interest. While we certainly are told plenty about Harry, we learn most about Noah himself. I’m perfectly happy with this arrangement. Noah has lived a fascinating, if somewhat unfulfilled, life as a NYPD cop.

Ms. McMurray delves deep into what makes Noah tick. I ached for Noah’s loss of his long-term lover, Josh. The hospital death scenes at the beginning were paced just right. The later trial sequences again were handled perfectly, as they told us what we needed to know but didn’t drag things out. Noah’s being in the closet at the precinct and his paranoia at being discovered was painful to read. The situation was handled with sensitivity and realism. I wanted to rail against the macho bullshit society that kept such a fine, honest, and good officer as Josh from having to hide an important part of who he is.

Harrison "Harry" Knowles was harder to like at first. He was portrayed as a rich player. I struggled to accept Harry’s sudden conversion to a monogamous lover of Noah. Admittedly the two men were forced by circumstance to spend a lot of time together at first. Harry was sincere in his devotion for Noah, rapid though the relationship developed. Part of me didn’t think two men could fall in love so completely and quickly. I’m thankful the author chose to address this by having Noah and Harry discuss how unlikely their rapid coming together was. Not unsurprisingly they didn’t have any answers, something I was glad for, as life is untidy and doesn’t come with all the answers immediately apparent.

The mystery element of the story was complex. I got lost several times with who was who and what they were alleged to have done. The numerous gun battles and police interrogations were most thrilling, however. The wrap up of the mystery necessitated quite a heavy information dump, which felt a little awkward.

Of the supporting characters, Debra Ruiz was my favourite. She was the officer in charge of finding Harry, and though unorthodox in some of her methods, I couldn’t help but like her. Much of this stemmed from the fact that she didn’t judge Noah for his sexuality ~ she saw him as the great cop that he is.

I guess I’ve not done a very good job of hiding my admiration for Noah. Ms. McMurray did such a wonderful job in creating him that I felt he was real. She showed us that six feet two inch well-muscled cops with a strong sense to protect can be sensitive and prefer the passive roll in the bedroom. These unexpected incongruities made Noah come across as believable.

Ms. McMurray has managed to put a new twist on the well-tried formula of a burned out cop going on vacation to rest but instead finding himself embroiled in a mystery. The addition of subtle details added to the depth of the characters, making this an all-round, enjoyable read.

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. However, some books were purchased by the reviewer and not provided for free. For information on how a particular title was obtained, please contact us at reviews@rainbow-reviews.com.