The Actor & The Thief, Edward Kendrick

Rating: 3 Stars

Publisher: Wilde City Press

Genre: Gay Romance

Tags: Older MCs, Opposites Attract, Contemporary

Length: 85 Pages

Reviewer: Kazza K

Purchase At: Wilde City Press, amazon.com

The Blurb:

Once they were a couple. Now—they’re far from it.

Just out of prison, Craig heads to Denver. At the same time Adam, on tour with a Broadway show, arrives there. Also heading to Denver are two men bent on finding Craig for their own nefarious reasons.

When Craig and Adam accidentally meet sparks fly, but not of the good kind. Then Craig finds his mentor murdered and believes he’s the reason why. He calls on Adam, the only man he can trust for help. Can they work together, and possibly re-kindle their love? Or will Adam walk away again?

My Review:

Craig has just spent the last six years of his life in prison. He’s been a thief for more than twenty years. He worked mainly for Sammy who owns a pawn shop in Denver, Colorado, and it is here Craig is heading after getting out of jail. He has money stashed from his years as a thief and he needs to access the funds and see whether he wants to start working for Sammy again or not. Possibly yes, but his skills are a bit rusty after time spent locked up. He’s also in his fifties now, what else does a thief do when this is the only life they’ve known? Sammy isn’t too rusty, though, as he steals cars to get himself to Colorado, his money and Sammy. When Craig meets up with Sammy again they have an easy connection. And when Craig needs a car, and can’t rent one, Sammy offers his for a few days, but could Craig do one more job for him? Craig agrees.

Adam is an actor. He is currently touring the country in a run of the Man of La Mancha. He is now in Denver with the company. Theatre has been good to him but he’s in his fifties now and the cast seems young and he seems old. There is a camaraderie amongst the cast and he takes the new member, Josh, under his wings. He’s single and happy enough with his life.

Craig and Adam used to date twenty years ago. Neither man has forgotten the other. When they bump into one another at a steakhouse one night in Denver it is awkward but familiar all at once. Adam left Craig because he did not approve of his choice of ‘career.’ And is none to happy when it becomes apparent that Craig’s career is still with him. But things become complicated and Craig ends up turning to Adam when he finds Sammy dead after he goes by to drop off the goods he was contracted to steal. Why is Sammy tied up and beaten? Is it something to do with Sammy’s business, or could it be to do with Craig? Either way, Craig is upset because he counted Sammy as a friend in a business that isn’t exactly full of trustworthy people. When he discovers why Sammy died he decides that he will fix-up the people responsible. He needs Adam to help out, but only as a driver and confidant. Adam is reluctant but he still has feelings and he doesn’t want to see Craig end up like Sammy.

There were things that I liked and things I didn’t like about The Actor & The Thief. First of all, it was too short to fully develop the quasi-mystery component properly. I know the title of the book has thief in it, but I struggled with Craig still stealing things, it’s a real issue of mine and I did have to push that into the background. I thought that Craig and Adam being older and rediscovering each other was nice. I do like older characters in books in a primary or lead role, and I got that here. It is not what I would call a sexy book, it is really a hand-holding-kissing-romance more than anything else. Was it sweet? Yes, it was, but I would have liked a bit more development of the relationship – twenty years has lapsed and they took up pretty quickly. I really loved the musical and theatre references. Frank Sinatra singing Cole Porter’s It’s Alright With Me took up residence in my head after a couple of lines in the book. What can I say, I’m old.

Overall:

If you are looking for a quick, light, easy read that is predominantly sweet, not raunchy, with older MC’s, a little bit of a mystery and a HEA, I can certainly say that you will find all of that in The Actor & The Thief.

Review copy supplied by the publisher, Wilde City Press, in return for an honest review.

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