Review: To Serve

TO SERVE by Andrew Grey
Fiction, M/M Romance, Mystery
5*****

BLURB: Marty Waters is a computer support specialist and history buff whose main hobby is working at the local historical society. When a boy goes missing, Marty offers his tech skills to aid the police in finding him. Enter Officer Hottie and his K-9 Partner Dexter. Grant Webster, aka Officer Hottie, works as a K-9 officer with the Carlisle PD, and he’s been assigned to the recent kidnapping case. He could do without the assistance of the computer geek who insists on helping, though, no matter how cute he is. It turns out, Marty’s historical knowledge and research skills are more useful than Grant expected, and together they are able to develop a pattern of the kidnapper, but the long, intense hours also bring an intense attraction neither of them has ever experienced. Is the interest real or just a reaction to the excitement and danger? As more children are taken, they will have to set aside their attraction and rely on each other, and Dexter, to find the kids in time.

THOUGHTS: This story kept me glued to the pages from the onset. Although the romance concerns the two men – Marty and Grant – the tale is heavily about the case of the kidnapped boys. When they meet, Grant and his K-9 partner Dexter are hunting for a missing 6-year-old boy. The house they are searching is empty, but Marty, watching the cops, knows something they don’t. Marty loves digging into historical records of old buildings in town and he knows a secret this house has because his has the same thing – a hidden cistern. Which is where they eventually find the kidnapped boy, Cameron. Marty falls for the little boy as well as the handsome cop. When another boy is missing, it is Marty’s knowledge of buildings and their history that once again helps the cops find the young boy, but they have a serial kidnapper now. Marty takes homeless young Cameron home to become his foster father and also bonds with Grant. As the days go by and the kidnapper is still on the loose, Cameron, Marty, Grant, and Dexter become closer, then become a family.

The men both have pasts with foster care which gives them insight into Cameron’s life. They are well-developed characters with flaws and strengths. And their relationship grows from their initial meeting to a deeper one that ends in a HEA that satisfies. I love knowing where the story takes place and the streets and areas that really exist. Carlisle is not a fictional small town but a real place which gives the story a good base. The issue of kids in danger and finding the kidnapper really drew me in and the emotions of Cameron came through very well. All-in-all, a good, strong story with a good ending.

Recommended.