Boy Toy
-
-
4.0 • 5 Ratings
-
-
- $6.99
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
Journalist Mark Manning's Midwestern hometown closes ranks against him when his nephew is suspected of murder
For Mark Manning, running the local paper in his Wisconsin hometown is a refreshing change from his life as a hard-charging reporter for the ChicagoJournal. Together with his partner, architect Neil Waite, he's settling into scenic, sleepy Dumont, whose inhabitants have welcomed them into their fold.
Until Manning's nephew becomes the prime suspect in a murder case.
Teenagers Thad Quatrain and Jason Thrush alternated the lead role in the community theatre's production of Teen Play. Now Jason lies dead in his bedroom, the victim of mushroom poisoning. Amid rumors that Thad threatened to kill Jason, the town begins to turn against him. As a sweltering summer draws to an end, a shocking revelation has tempers seething—and threatening to boil over.
A novel about sexual identity, desire, and the lies we tell ourselves, Boy Toy explores the secret passions that war within the human heart.
Boy Toy is the fifth book in Michael Craft's Mark Manning series, which begins with Flight Dreams and Eye Contact.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his fifth gay mystery (after 2000's Name Games) featuring Mark Manning, editor and publisher of the Dumont Daily Register, Craft does a better job than usual of portraying the people of Dumont, Wis., as real and sympathetic human beings. Thad Quatrain, Mark's 17-year-old nephew and ward, is coming out of a difficult adolescence. His recently discovered talent for acting is now being put to use in his role as the alternating lead with fellow teenager Jason Thursh in the Dumont Players Guild's summer production of a new play by the theater's director. Mark and his lover, architect Neil Waite, who's moved his business from Chicago to Dumont, are eagerly awaiting opening night. However, when Jason suddenly and mysteriously dies, suspicions point directly to Thad. With the help of Neil, the Daily Register's engaging staff members and good friends like Douglas Pierce, the gay sheriff of Dumont County, Mark sets out to discover the truth behind Jason's untimely death. Strong characterization, vivid descriptions of a Wisconsin summer and a well-developed mystery with a surprising conclusion combine with a sensitive portrayal of two older men creating a family for a teenage boy. The only flaw in the otherwise warm tone of the narrative is the explicit sex between Mark and Neil; it just doesn't fit.
