The Deadliest Fall by Charlie Cochrane

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Some truths can’t be left buried.

The second world war may be over, but for Leslie Cadmore the scars remain. His beloved dog died, there’s a rift between him and his lover Patrick, and his father inexplicably abandoned the family for life in a monastery. Fate’s been cruel.

A chance meeting with Patrick’s sister stirs old memories, and Leslie starts to dig into both his father’s motives and long-unanswered questions around the death of Fergus Jackson. The worst of a group of disreputable pre-war friends, Fergus was a manipulative rake who allegedly fell on his own knife in a training accident. An accident for which Patrick was apparently the only witness.

Leslie’s persuaded to meet Patrick again, and the pair easily fall back into their old dynamic. They uncover connection after surprising connection between their hedonistic old friends and not only Fergus’s murder, but Mr. Cadmore’s abrupt departure. As their investigation deepens, Leslie and Patrick’s bond deepens too. But no reconciliation can occur until Leslie knows for sure that his erstwhile lover wasn’t Fergus’s killer.

Rating: C

The Deadliest Fall is a standalone cozy mystery set shortly after World War II, in which two former lovers, Leslie and Patrick, come together again while working to find out the truth behind the murder, some years earlier, of a mutual acquaintance.

There are two different story threads here. One is the suspicious death, during a training exercise during the war, of the manipulative and debauched Fergus jackson – who was widely known among their set for being a total bastard, taking drugs and shagging anything in trousers – and the other is Leslie trying to find out the truth about his father’s retreat, a few years earlier, into the monastic life. Both storylines are interesting, but the pacing is extremely slow and the book is very ‘talky’ – everyone explores and explains everything to death, and, especially in the early stages, the dialogue is very much of the ‘as-you-know-Bob’ variety. The set up – one of Leslie’s acquaintances visits Leslie’s mother and gets her thinking about Fergus’ death (and this is a few years after it happened) which starts her and her son thinking and talking about it – feels very contrived, and it’s extremely frustrating when some characters ‘in the know’ about certain elements of the story and plot refuse to talk about it because they promised someone else they wouldn’t. Keeping promises is all very well – here, it just feels like a way of making sure Leslie doesn’t find things out too quickly.

The story is all told in Leslie’s PoV, so Patrick is really a peripheral character, and I never really bought the reasons for the fight that estranged them. They’d been a couple for years, but didn’t attempt to repair their relationship after the argument? And for over half the book, Leslie suspects Patrick may have killed Fergus, for reasons that are fairly tenuous – I just didn’t buy it.

The author does a very good job with the period feel, with period appropriate language and attitudes, but that’s really the best thing about it. The characters – with the possible exception of Abbot Barnabas – are all two-dimensional, and having such a large group of suspects, most of whom never appear on the page, made for confusion.

The book blurb makes mention of Leslie and Patrick’s bond “deepening”, but honestly, blink and you’ll miss it. There’s a little bit of flirting but there’s no chemistry there. I know this is a mystery rather than a romance, but the synopsis implies the reparation of a damaged relationship and that just doesn’t happen.

In the end, I enjoyed the mysteries themselves, but didn’t particularly care for the execution or the characters.

Count the Shells (Porthkennack #6) by Charlie Cochrane

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Michael Gray returned from World War One injured, but at least he returned. Others were not so fortunate, including his first and greatest love, Thomas Carter-Clemence, with whom Michael had parted bitterly before the conflict began.

Broch, the Carter-Clemence home in Porthkennack, was an integral part of pre-war holidays for the Grays, the two families drawn together in the wake of their sons’ friendship. Returning to the once-beloved Cornish coast for a break with his sister and her family, Michael has to find the courage to face old memories . . . and dare new relationships.

When Thomas’s brother Harry makes an unexpected appearance, Michael is surprised to find himself deeply attracted to Harry for his own sake. But as their relationship heats up, it unearths startling revelations and bitter truths. Michael must decide whether Harry is the answer to his prayers or the last straw to break an old soldier’s back.

Rating: B-

Count the Shells, by new-to-me author, Charlie Cochrane, is the sixth entry in Riptide Publishing’s Porthkennack series of standalone romances that are linked by virtue being set in and around the fictional Cornish town of the same name.  The series boasts a mixture of contemporary and historical stories, and this is the second historical (the first was Joanna Chambers’ excellent A Gathering Storm), set – I’m guessing, because it’s not actually made clear what the year is – not long after the end of World War One.

Count the Shells is a gently moving, reflective story which opens as a young man – Michael Gray – ponders love and loss as he reminisces about his past lovers, some of whom fought in the war and unlike him, did not come home.  Playing on the beach with his young nephew, Michael counts aloud in several different languages as he places shells on the sand, one for each of his five lovers, while thinking about those very different men and the nature of his feelings for them.

Number one – un, uno, eins – on Michael’s list is, and will always be Thomas Carter-Clemence, his oldest friend, the love of his life… and the man from whom he’d parted following a bitter row in the Spring of 1909. Thomas had joined the army not long after that, and had then been killed in the early days of the war; he and Michael had never reconciled but Michael still feels the pain of their parting and his loss and never expects to love so deeply and completely again.

Michael is spending the summer at High Top house near Porthkennack with his sister, Caroline, brother-in-law, Eric, and their eight-year-old, articulate and perceptive son, Richard.  The bulk of the first part of the book is spent among the family, and I enjoyed the way the familial relationships are presented and developed, especially the scenes between Michael and Richard, which are gently humorous, poignant and full of affection on both sides.  Richard is a precocious boy, but never crosses the line into ‘plot-device moppet’; he’s a charming, inquisitive lad, and it’s clear he adores his uncle and that the feeling is mutual.

Change is in the wind however;  Michael and Richard are out walking when they are almost run down by a motorcyclist.  Furious and about to give the miscreant a piece of his mind, Michael is stunned when the rider removes his headgear and is revealed as Thomas’s younger brother, Harry.  Harry had always been the annoying, gangly younger sibling traipsing about  –or trying to – after Michael and Thomas and to be honest, Michael has never really given him a lot of thought.  The jolt of attraction he feels soon after meeting him again must, surely, be because of Harry’s resemblance to Thomas.  Mustn’t it?

I admit that when I read the synopsis for Count the Shells, I wasn’t sure about the idea of having the protagonist falling in love with the brother of his dead lover.  It happens in m/f stories as well, of course, but it’s not a premise that appeals to me for its own sake; however, I decided to read the book and see how things panned out.  As it turned out, I didn’t have too many reservations about that aspect of the relationship;  Harry is genuinely decent, kind and witty, and reveals to Michael that he has been carrying a torch or him for years.  Their progression from being friends to lovers perhaps happens rather quickly, but the author lays the foundations of an emotional connection I was able to believe will get stronger with time.

Michael is charmed by Harry and is surprised at the feelings of happiness that are suffusing him; it’s been a  long time since he’s shared himself with anyone, been so comfortable with another person and felt such joy.  But when, not long after Michael and Harry become lovers, Harry lets slip a momentous secret in an unguarded moment, Michael’s contentment is shattered as he is confronted with some unpleasant truths that could have serious repercussions on his family. And of course, one secret leads to another until a whole web is unravelling, forcing Michael to reassess a number of long-held memories and beliefs.  I can’t say more without spoiling this part of the story, but I can say that the plot is well thought-out and executed, highlighting the strength of the familial connections that the author establishes so well at the beginning of the book.  One thing I wasn’t too happy with, however, is the way it seems one relationship is being made palatable at the expense of another; one character has to be shown to have been duplicitous so that Michael can move on.

I enjoyed Count the Shells, although I suspect that the leisurely pace of the novel may not suit everyone. I found it like the best of the sort of lazy summer days on which it is set; warm, comfortable and unhurried, allowing me time to get to grips with the family dynamics and to understand Michael a little.  But the book has a number of flaws that are reflected in my rating; there is a little too much telling rather than showing when it comes to Michael’s past relationships – especially his past with Thomas – and that while Harry enters the story like a breath of fresh air, he remains something of an enigmatic figure and we never really get to know him.

In spite of those things, however, I liked the book sufficiently to give it a qualified recommendation. The romance is just one aspect of a story that covers a wider canvas, and while I normally prefer novels in which the romantic love story is the main focus, the author writes the other love stories, the familial ones, so well that I was just as happy to read those while I awaited developments between Michael and Harry.