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A review by cspoe
Triangulation by Gregory Ashe
5.0
Here we are again... another Gregory Ashe story... another Borealis Investigations... and I'm an emotional mess in all of the ways that an author can only hope to achieve with their readership! So, I put several newer Ashe releases in between Orientation and Triangulation, not because I didn't love this series, but actually the opposite—these characters and their highs and lows touch me so profoundly that I had to delay between books because 1. I needed to draw North and Shaw out and 2. I needed to gather my strength to continue.
As with any Gregory Ashe book, the mystery is absolutely fantastic and the growth of the characters in between the greater plot, is both heartbreaking and so utterly uplifting that you completely forget the 300 pages of glass and fire you walked through to reach the end with one perfectly and eloquently phrased line of love and understanding. In Triangulation, we have the return of private detectives, North and Shaw, and another LGBTQ situation. Namely, their secretary, Pari—her girlfriend's boss has gone missing. Shep Collins, who runs Iris, an LGBTQ youth house in St. Louis, has vanished, and his disappearance has alarmed the staff enough to hire someone to look into the situation. But when his personal life begins to suggest issues of money, cheating, and complicated relationships stemming from his time running a conversion therapy camp in Arkansas—this is anything but an open and shut case. From old loves to new, enemies, dirty cops, and everything in between—North and Shaw are against the odds.
I just loved this book so much. I know that this statement seems silly, given I've probably said something similar for most of Ashe's books, but honestly, this is probably one of my favorites he's ever written, even compared to Hazard & Somerset, The First Quarto, and more. North and Shaw are such incredible characters—North especially. He has a particular brand of vulnerability, relatable-ness, and utter realness that makes him a character all authors wish they could write. He's such a savvy investigator, so damn funny in his back-and-forth with Shaw, but underneath the bravado and snark, is a very romantic and scared man. He's utterly terrified of taking a step away from his husband, of exploring the love he deserves, and most importantly, of handling Shaw being in trouble while they investigate their newest case. I feel like my message to Gregory on the daily is: How's my baby, North? lol
But speaking of the case, I have to commend Ashe time and again for his ability to tell a story that is both tight and expansive. He's one of few authors in the genre that I feel can cast a wide net across multiple suspects and those people's personal relationships (quite often important in the dirty details) but are not lost on the reader with too many names and connections. Speaking as an author, that's very hard to do, but as a reader, I was personally never overwhelmed.
From beginning to end, this is just an incredible exploration of mystery, romance, studying the setting as a character, and not being afraid to make North and Shaw get dirty to learn a thing or two about themselves and each other. What a fabulous read.
As with any Gregory Ashe book, the mystery is absolutely fantastic and the growth of the characters in between the greater plot, is both heartbreaking and so utterly uplifting that you completely forget the 300 pages of glass and fire you walked through to reach the end with one perfectly and eloquently phrased line of love and understanding. In Triangulation, we have the return of private detectives, North and Shaw, and another LGBTQ situation. Namely, their secretary, Pari—her girlfriend's boss has gone missing. Shep Collins, who runs Iris, an LGBTQ youth house in St. Louis, has vanished, and his disappearance has alarmed the staff enough to hire someone to look into the situation. But when his personal life begins to suggest issues of money, cheating, and complicated relationships stemming from his time running a conversion therapy camp in Arkansas—this is anything but an open and shut case. From old loves to new, enemies, dirty cops, and everything in between—North and Shaw are against the odds.
I just loved this book so much. I know that this statement seems silly, given I've probably said something similar for most of Ashe's books, but honestly, this is probably one of my favorites he's ever written, even compared to Hazard & Somerset, The First Quarto, and more. North and Shaw are such incredible characters—North especially. He has a particular brand of vulnerability, relatable-ness, and utter realness that makes him a character all authors wish they could write. He's such a savvy investigator, so damn funny in his back-and-forth with Shaw, but underneath the bravado and snark, is a very romantic and scared man. He's utterly terrified of taking a step away from his husband, of exploring the love he deserves, and most importantly, of handling Shaw being in trouble while they investigate their newest case. I feel like my message to Gregory on the daily is: How's my baby, North? lol
But speaking of the case, I have to commend Ashe time and again for his ability to tell a story that is both tight and expansive. He's one of few authors in the genre that I feel can cast a wide net across multiple suspects and those people's personal relationships (quite often important in the dirty details) but are not lost on the reader with too many names and connections. Speaking as an author, that's very hard to do, but as a reader, I was personally never overwhelmed.
From beginning to end, this is just an incredible exploration of mystery, romance, studying the setting as a character, and not being afraid to make North and Shaw get dirty to learn a thing or two about themselves and each other. What a fabulous read.