Wait for Night

Author: A.J. Llewellyn
Publisher: Amberquill Press
Buy Link: Wait For Night

Cover Art:  Trace Edward Zaber
Genre: Gay/ contemporary/suspense/thriller
Length: Novella (17k Words)
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Stars

A Guest Review by Feliz

Summary Review: A story about the healing powers of love, set before a colorful, vivid Greece backdrop.

The Blurb: Former soap opera star Sean Castro has hated every second of the sensational trial at which he is the reluctant center. Being stalked and hunted, terrorized, kidnapped, tortured and raped by Justin Montgomery has left him in a despair that only a guilty verdict can lift.
When the jury reaches an impasse and a mistrial is declared, Sean feels victimized all over again. Unable to sleep, afraid of night, the mistrial takes its toll on Sean and his supportive father and brother. Though the Assistant DA is adamant he will file new charges, Sean worries about the effect a new trial and increased media scrutiny will have on both his own health and his father’s. Then he starts receiving the mysterious “Wait for Night” text messages Montgomery always sent him. Petrified, he needs to escape the confines of the small Northern California town of Gilroy famous for garlic, and now, thanks to him, gay rape.
Sean finds salvation in the form of his long-lost cousin Theoni. She lives in the ancient Peloponnese region of Greece and invites Sean and his family to visit. They jump at the chance, with Sean and his brother learning about their mother, who died when they were toddlers. Reconnecting with their mother’s sister and family, they find so much to love and celebrate in the tiny village of Akrata, including, for Sean, the possibility of a new romance.
But terror isn’t far behind. The mysterious messages keep coming, and once again, Sean is a man living in mortal terror…

The Review: The Castro men,  Sean, his brother Ren and their father Chuy, are going through a bad time. The man who kidnapped and raped Sean two years ago threatens to get free due to a mistrial, Ren is going through a painful divorce, and all three are still in mourning over  Sean’s and Ren’s mother, Xenia, who died when Sean was still a child. Thus, when the long-lost Greek relatives, Xenia’s sister and  family, invite them to Greece, all three men jump for the occasion.

Once they arrive in Greece, the Castro men immediately find themselves cloaked in the welcoming warmth of their Greek family. Especially Sean, who grew up motherless, revels in his aunt’s and cousin’s love and care, which do him a world of good.  Things get even better for Sean when he meets Spyros, who’s been just released from the Greek army. The two click immediately, and soon the mutual physical attraction becomes more. After two years of reclusiveness, constant fear and shame Sean feels that he might finally be able to overcome the trauma of his past with Spyros’s help. But then a text appears on Sean’s cell phone which looks like the messages Montgomery used to send him, and from back home, they hear disturbing news. Montgomery has disappeared, and the Castro’s link to the States, Assistant DA Ezra Cunningham, is unreachable. Even though nobody but Ezra is supposed to know that the Castros are in Greece, Sean starts to feel panicked again. But this time, he doesn’t have to go through this alone, now he has his extended family to support him, and he has Spyros to look after him. The former soldier makes it very clear he won’t let anything happen to Sean. The question is now, can Sean find it in him to trust anyone enough to heal?

Sean is well – drawn and believable in his terror and shock over what happened to him two years ago. The trial stirred it all up within him again. I found the whole order of events realistic down to the long time it takes for the trial to begin, the sensationalism of the media, the public indulgence with the rapist that adds to Sean’s re-victimization during the trial which rape victims so often have to face. Even the mistrial due to two jury members who don’t believe Sean was believable. Despite everything, Sean has retained inner strength and optimism enough to open himself to people who approach him with good intentions, so he can emerge healed out of his horrible trauma in the end.

Despite the author’s trademark concised writing style it’s the attention to the details that makes the characters come alive on the pages: Ren’s clock phobia, Aunt Lola’s love for chickens, Theoni’s delight in motorbikes… those supportive characters were persons of their own rights. Spyros was just what Sean needed, down-to-earth, reliable and strong, although he remained a bit colorless outside his interactions with Sean, probably due to the shortness of the story. I’d have liked to see more of Spyros since he was an overall likeable guy.

The Greek island was beautifully drawn; the characterizations of the Greek family adding further to the experience. I was particularly fond of Theoni who is a modern woman with a career as a lawyer in Athens and a penchant for driving fast and ruthless, and still is rooted firmly in her country’s traditions. The family interactions felt realistic and genuinely “Greek”. Together with the way the reader experiences the Peloponnes through Sean’s eyes, this made for a strong sense of place.

Although this is labelled mystery/ suspense, the focus of this story wasn’t on the mystery per se, rather on how the acting persons dealt with it. The actual crime was only hinted at but still visible enough to make Sean’s suffering plausible. The final solution to the crime happened almost off-page. It felt a bit rushed, too, not lastly to Montgomery’s over-the-top stupidity, but this was only a minor niggle. After all, it’s always satisfying to see the bad guys get what they deserve and the good guys find their happiness. Recommended.