I’ve been long awaiting an opportunity to read one of Marshall Thornton’s books and when Desert Run became available I snapped it up. I am very happy I did so because the book was much, much more than I hoped. What a rush!

There’s an edge to Desert Run that I hadn’t really expected, which is rather odd when you think about it—there are mobsters out for vengeance for cryin’ out loud! Maybe it’s that it didn’t come from the direction I had thought it would. What this says to me is that Mr Thornton has a rather serpentine mind. But whatever it is, suffice it to say that I was totally enthralled throughout the book. And while I was glad that book was only 189 pages—so I could read it quicker—I was also sad when I came to the end. Well, not sad, just feeling as though I’d had to leave a good friend sooner than I would have wanted to.

The characters, especially Don and Harlan, were awesome. Don was rather an enigma, understandably so, especially in light of later events. From the very beginning I couldn’t get a reading on him, on who he was, what he wanted. And even though we were told a bit about him in the blurb, I just couldn’t find that in him.  I like mysteries and Don is very much that. The way that Mr. Thornton draws his personality out as the story progresses is very nicely done. And it makes perfect sense; Don’s been hiding who he is for a long time.

Harlan is adorable! Well, he’s more than that ‘cause he is a man grown, but there’s an innocence vying with cynicism in this young man… and that’s enough to tick me off. Not that it’s there, but that Harlan has had to develop it. I think that the contradiction in Harlan what Don responds to, probably because he lost a lot of his innocence too at a young age, but for different reasons. Even so, I think it’s this initial connection that Don feels that is the key to him opening up to the attraction that he has for Harlan.

Desert Run is a fantastic story and one that I will enjoy again.  I’ve also made a note to move up the reading queue Marshall Thornton’s Nick Nowak mysteries that are in my TBR.  After finally discovering the wonderful storytelling of the author, I’m now thinking two things: Why did it take me so long!?! And I hope that he has a very long backlist!

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Kathy K.

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Book Description: Palm Springs, 1973. Don Harris is a piano player on the run after killing a Chicago mobster’s son in a bar fight. On the lam, he meets a pretty blonde girl in town for a convention. He lets down his guard and spends the night with her only to discover she’s the younger sister of his best friend all grown-up. Foolishly, she tips her brother off to Don’s location, and he’s on the run again, hoping to find a safe place to land.

Out of money and desperate, Don accidentally walks into a gay bar where he allows a kid named Harlan to pick him up so he’ll have a place to stay. As the mob chases them, Don begins to fall for the kid, putting them both in harm’s way. Harlan has problems of his own, and Don knows he shouldn’t get involved but he can’t help but step in when Harlan gets in trouble. To save himself, Don’s got to save Harlan.

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Length: 189 pages (PDF)

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Genre: Gay Contemporary Romantic Suspense

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Buy Now At Torquere Books

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Source: Author