A Casual Weekend Thing

Why did I think this was a shifter book? Why didn't I know it was part of a series, despite owning the other two books in the series? Should I be concerned about my mental health? Let's not get carried away and just move on like nothing's happened. [a:A.J. Thomas 3048880 A.J. Thomas https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is a ‘new to me' author, but I can see why, probably in some Dreamspinner sale, I bought their books. These are mystery/suspense police procedurals, my go to trope in books or movies and, on the strength of this first installment, well done.Christopher Hayes is a detective in the SDPD, he's made his way up the ranks, overcoming a difficult childhood, and the stigma of being a gay man in law enforcement. He's also had to struggle with a seemingly unrequited crush on his partner. All of these things are set aside when Christopher, while convalescing from a job related injury, is summoned to a small town in Montana to deal with the fallout of his estranged brother's suicide. Along the way he meets Doug Heavy Runner, who has his own luggage to haul: being of mixed race he doesn't fit comfortably in either the reservation or the small town he serves as deputy sheriff. As a bonus he's also gay, deeply closeted, and unresolved issues pertaining to past sexual experiences. This may all sound very heavy, and to be honest it's no bed of roses, but the author does a very good job of eliciting the characters' stories without resorting to undue melodrama or telling. Their individual backgrounds are brought forth in normal conversations and furthermore are not inconceivable for 30+ y.o. gay men. I liked how they talked and dealt with one another, sometimes overriding they're fears, despite or because of the brevity of time they expect to spend with each other, a casual weekend. I liked how they each had things they liked or didn't, things they were attracted to or not, and were allowed to say so. Most of all I liked that the mystery, which though I, and probably most readers will guess at early on, was done in a believable way. By that I mean that the police work described is sound and not the usual fantastical super cops. There were a few hiccups Ray, his whole 'I've been practicing gay stuff before approaching you', and then the almost teenage girl cat fight between Ray & Doug over Christopher *eye roll* but not egregious enough to diminish my enjoyment of the book as a whole. I'll definitely go on with the series, I liked this one, it's only 3 books, and I already own the others.