A review by anitalouise
Back to You by Chris Scully

5.0

"How could you find your soul-mate before you'd even started shaving?" Benji and Alex met when they were about six years old and were best friends in Alton, a small town in the middle of nowhere in British Columbia. They did everything together. Had adventures. Had sleepovers, etc. Both lived in rather dysfunctional households. Alex had to leave when the boys were 13 when his mother left Alex' father, a man who was fast becoming an alcoholic. Ben's father had died so he and his older sister, Misty, lived with their mother Angela. This book! So we are now about 20 years later and Alex reluctantly returns because his sister begged him to return because their father has end-stage cirrhosis. Alex is a journalist who plans to write a story about his life in Alton. There is a mystery that has enveloped the town. Ben's sister, Misty, disappeared not too long before Alex moved away. As Alex returns, there has been a development in the case. Alex also wants to re-connect with Benji but is afraid. The gloom and decay of the town is depicted beautifully. You can see the empty storefronts. The gray mist that hangs over the town. So many interconnections between the characters. Angela and Janet are excellently drawn. Tragic women who are caught in a place in their lives that to them, is inescapable. Rarely do you find MM books with women who, for me, deserve sympathy. So many things wrong. The fraught romance between Ben and Alex. Ben who is strong yet terribly fragile. You just want to wrap him up in a warm blanket to keep his safe. Alex who has surrounded himself with a shield to keep from getting hurt. Alex is bisexual and the author does a wonderful job capturing that "I'd fucked anybody who'd have me until Tanya had come along and we'd gotten married." Alex has been an equal opportunity shithead to his lovers - both women and men. The resolution of the mystery of Misty's disappearance and the fits and starts of Ben and Alex' romance was brilliantly written. I have to say that I was surprised by what happened. Lots of shoulda, coulda, woulda here. This author is new to me though I have a fair number of her books on my Kindle. Yay, because I love the writing style. "Because I'm going to fall in love with you." he replied simply with one hand on the doorknob. "And you're going to rip out my heart when you leave. And I won't be able to handle it this time."
Emotional, engaging, characters that jumped off of the page. Brava!!