Their Own Hidden Island

2.75This is the second book in what, I surmise, is a spinoff series meant to take up the mantle of the Nick Williams Mysteries, because obviously Nick & Carter won't live forever. They're not vampires. If [b:The One He Waited For 34695427 The One He Waited For (Golden Gate Love Stories, #1) Frank W. Butterfield https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490592235s/34695427.jpg 55874221] was a companion piece to [b:The Unexpected Heiress 34709065 The Unexpected Heiress (A Nick Williams Mystery, #1) Frank W. Butterfield https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490774525s/34709065.jpg 50849071] and [b:The Amorous Attorney 40623889 The Amorous Attorney (A Nick Williams Mystery, #2) Frank W. Butterfield https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529853325s/40623889.jpg 51155447] this jumps forward to 2003 when Nick & Carter, already in their 80's charge Dr. Robert “Bob” Jenkins, a hydrologist, to find out why coral reef is dying off an island in the Pacific Ocean. To that extent they ship him on a freighter that will take him and a smaller vessel, manned by Captain Mario Ossler, near the shallow waters surrounding the island, so that he can test water and get samples. Once they reach the island a storm hits and the end up having to stay longer and there's some quasi forced proximity. They also find a house and some journals etc. I haven't read all of the NWM, but it's implied that perhaps Nick & Carter knew the owner of this retreat house, Henry Harkaway, a man from Australia, and that might be an interesting story. This one is not.The idea is to usher in Nick & Carter 2.0, but for me, the author has failed. No successful case is made for Bob & Mario as a couple. Bob is a sort of fuddy-duddy who I wouldn't mind as a BFF to a main character but somehow doesn't translate as a romance MC. And Mario? Ugh ... I kind of hated him. I really didn't see what Bob saw in him, aside from being tall, fit, and having some kind of Tarazan-like mane which Bob lurvs. He's a bit of an ass with a chip on his shoulders the size of a boulder and aside from Mario being a widower we don't really get why he has such a short fuse. All of these failings, IMO, makes the niggling stuff I've ignored in the Nick & Carter books, because of their charm, stand out in a non-complimentary way: the insta-love, which is almost like a predestination thing, the size difference, body type difference, etc. It's a pity and a bit of a loss opportunity because there's some writing about authentic people and experiences, like this:"He turned 50 last June. We had the same birthday. Both on the 25th. He was fifteen years older than me." Bob nodded but was quiet. "He was going bald. He had bright, blue eyes. He had a nice belly that I loved to rub. His laugh was infectious. He hated Bill Clinton but loved Hillary. He was good at darts but lousy at bowling. He never learned how to use a computer but he was good with a sextant. He was shorter and rounder than you and a good fuck."I want to meet that guy. Anyway ... maybe I'm being fussy and maybe you'll enjoy it. It could happen. Maybe.