Title: Tensaw Blues (Southern Beaus #4)
Author: TD McKinney, Terry Wylis
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Gay, Contemporary, Adventure, Mystery, Paranormal
Length: Novel
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A Guest Review by Feliz
Summary review: A closeted workaholic comes to realize what really matters in life in this likeable and fun read.
The Blurb: Romance isn’t working for Quint Wolfe and Max Bowman as they combine business with what Max hopes will be pleasure on a trip to Bay Mignon, Alabama. Max believed he could tolerate Quint remaining in the closet, but now it seems staying Quint’s “backdoor man” is an obstacle he can’t overcome. Even in adjoining rooms in the idyllic setting of a Southern inn, Max feels alone. Soon, sabotage at Wolfe Corp’s newest plant confounds the local police. Now with Max’s life on the line, will Quint have to choose between his company and his lover ?
The Review: Quinton Wolfe and Max Bowman (from “The Wolfe Proxy” , reviewed by Wave here) have been lovers for two years now, and the need to keep their relationship secret starts to get to them. As CEO of a big business concern, WolfeCorp, Quint is dependant on his investors’ money, and he’s afraid that coming out as a gay man will affect their interest and willingness to invest in his businesses. Quint has decided that the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of WolfeCorp’s employees outweigh his own need to live openly with Max, who he deems the love of his life. Although sculptor and artist Max agreed to this in the first place, he can’t help feeling overlooked, even more so since Quint is such a workaholic. Thus Max is more than happy to accompany Quint to the opening of a new WolfeCorp plant in a small town in Alabama, since he’s looking forward to at least a few hours of alone time with Quint.
Arriving at their destination, they find to their unexpected pleasure that their hotel isn’t only gay friendly, but seems populated with gay men. Even the architect in charge of Quint’s new plant, Cameron, turns out to be gay, introducing them to the man he plans to have a commitment ceremony with in the near future, Bolt. Their landlord, David, is also married to a man, although his husband, Brian, happens to be a ghost who only Max can see, but Quint cannot.
Well, it’s a delightful surprise for Max. At first depressed and frustrated about the need to keep his love for Quint under the radar, Max flourishes in the company of the other openly gay couples. The afternoon he spends with Bolt, in particular, brings new hope of a better future with Quint to him, since Bolt is an active DEA agent, obviously accepted among his fellow law enforcers despite his unashamed openness about his sexual preferences. Nevertheless, Bolt is also stunningly attractive, which doesn’t sit too well with Quint, whose jealousy and possessiveness are woken by the growing friendship between Max and Bolt.
I liked the way Quint slowly came to open his eyes to the most important things in his life. The other couples’ examples go a long way to show Quint that it is Max who really matters to him; Max’s own insistence and ultimately, Max’s accident are only the last straw. Max, on the other hand, could have come across as pathetic, but he didn’t; he’s a man in love who puts up with adverse conditions in order to be with the one he loves and ultimately, gets rewarded for his patience. Both men were endearing, well-rounded characters whose only fault might be that they appeared, at times, better than life, especially Max.
The same could be said about the secondary cast, although every one of them was a person in their own right. Both couples, Cameron and Bolt as well as Brian and David starred in their own stories in earlier instalments of the “Southern Beaus” series. It was a pleasure to meet them again, watching them interact with Max and Quint, ultimately contributing to the main couple’s HEA. There’s enough background information on either of them that Tensaw Blues can be read as a standalone, although it doesn’t hurt to know the other books.
Although this book is labeled “suspense/ mystery”, the actual mystery takes a backseat to Quint’s and Max’s relationship. Even so, there’s a considerable amount of action. The “showdown”, in particular, is very well-crafted and really exciting.
Tensaw Blues is a solid piece of skillfully cooked-up entertainment, funny, enticing, with a liberal sprinkling of suspenseful action and laced with sweet and passionate eroticism. I can recommend it.
Feliz
what as wonderful review. I was interested in this book since I reviewed The Wolfe Proxy and I’m very happy to see Max’s and Quint’s romance come full circle. I MUST read this book soon.
This is great entertainment apparently, and it’s amazing what a little jealousy can do to get Quint to be the man that Max needs. I also have to read the other stories in this series because the characters seem fully three dimensional.
Hi Wave,
I actually thought this the best instalment of the series. as opposed to the others, I thought the writing more mature and smoother.
Feliz, I know I’ve read the reviews of the other books, but other than that I’m not familiar with this series. Having lived in the south for a period of time, I think I should check them out. Thanks!
Patty,
to me these books have a very distinct southern feeling to them!
Hi, Feliz, and thanks for the review. 🙂
I’ve had this book sitting on my reader for a while now, but now I’m thinking I need to move it up in the queue. LOL
Your review sort of reminded me why I got the book in the first place, so thanks for the reminder! 🙂
~Tis
You’re welcome,Tis. Glad I could help 😉
I really enjoyed The Wolfe Proxy and although I haven’t read the other two I’m definitely adding this to my wish list. Great review, Feliz! 🙂
It was a great book. Not quite what i expected but not bad either. Great review.
Thanks, L!
This does sound good, Feliz. I’m not so sure about the ghost, Brian. (Not a fan of ghost stories, I’m afraid.) Why is there a ghost in the story? Comic relief? Character development for Max? Some other reason? Or are you not allowed to provide info due to plot-spoilers?
Hi Val,
don’t let yourself be deceived by the “paranormal” tag; this is actually not a ghost story at all. 😉
The ghost, Brian, is an acting character just like all the others. He only happens to be a ghost. Actually, I wasn’t entirely sure why he was there at all; I think he was there because he had been there in the first instalment, which was a ghost story, Brian’s and David’s love story. The author apparently didn’t want to write David out of the story when she wrote the next instalments. Brian being a ghost came in handy in this story to emphasize the stress Max was under, and to inquire about Max’s health when Quint couldn’t get to him in the hospital. But there were no other paranormal elements, and I found Brian a little bit—pointless.
I really enjoyed this book too and thanks for the review. It reminded me that I needed to read David and Brian’s story. So many stories, so little time…although I do have some time at the moment, since I am in Brisbane, Australia, and a lot of us can’t go back to work yet due to flood damage.
Jen,
cross my fingers for you! Poor Brissie. Hope you all are going to be fine!
Wonderful review, Feliz! I really liked The Wolfe Proxy but I was unsure about this further addition to the story. I’m glad to see that you liked it, so I’ll definitely be getting this one. I also need to get the other books in the series. I didn’t even know they existed, so thank you for bringing them to my attention!
Hi Cole, the whole series is easy to get into, funny and entertaining. I liked this one best.
Looks like I´m missing a whole series, I will have to check. Not sure about the ghost BF but it looks interesting anyway.
Thank you for your review 🙂
You’re welcome Helena!
Feliz,
Thank you for the read and the review! So glad you enjoyed the book and the rest of the series. They were fun to write.
As for the Southern feel, I’m from south Alabama and the town in the story is my home town, very thinly disguised. Glad to hear the flavor of it came across.
Ebs
T D McKinney