Title: For the Love of Luke
Author: David C. Dawson
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 200 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
At a Glance: Don’t let the title fool you! For the Love of Luke is a suspenseful and dark murder mystery, and I like how the author brought Luke and Rupert together and that it didn’t result in insta-love.
Reviewed By: Maryann
Blurb: A handsome naked man. Unconscious on a bathroom floor.
He’s lost his memory, and someone’s out to kill him.
Who is the mysterious Luke?
British TV anchor and journalist Rupert Pendley-Evans doesn’t do long-term relationships. Nor does he do waifs and strays. But Luke is different. Luke is a talented American artist with a dark secret in his life.
When Rupert discovers Luke, he’s intrigued, and before he can stop himself, he’s in love. The aristocratic Rupert is an ambitious TV reporter with a nose for a story and a talent for uncovering the truth. As he falls deeper in love with Luke, he discovers the reason for Luke’s amnesia. And the explanation puts them both in mortal danger.
Review: Rupert Pendley-Evans is a well-traveled BBC anchor and journalist who’s always looking for the next intriguing story that could lead him to better opportunities. He’s very much a free spirit, has had several relationships that didn’t last, and he’s learned some hard rules from those relationships. After a visit with his parents in Middle Claydon, he comes home to a wet bedroom, and when he makes his way to the apartment above him, he finds a very wet, naked, and injured man with an overflowing bathtub.
Luke Diamond, an American artist, can’t remember anything other than he’s complicated and trouble. When Rupert has his co-worker, Sandra Giles, come over to check out his demolished bedroom, Luke peers down from the hole in the ceiling. He makes his way down to Rupert’s apartment and objects to Rupert having to sleep on the couch. Since Luke feels very much at fault, he offers Rupert his spare bedroom to sleep in. Even though Rupert finds his curiosity growing about this gorgeous man, he’s also caught up in the mixed messages coming from Luke.
As Rupert is in the midst of investigating specific cases of young men committing suicide, with similarities in methods and characteristics, he finds himself also wrapped up in the mystery of Luke. He and Luke have been spending more time together, and Rupert finds Luke’s reactions to specific noises very odd. To top it all off, Rupert has been approached by a stranger and is warned off Luke.
Don’t let the title fool you! For the Love of Luke is a suspenseful and dark murder mystery about homophobia. There’s a puzzling plot, and how the clues connect make this an intriguing story. I like how the author brought Luke and Rupert together and that it didn’t result in insta-love. The relationship is gradual, as Luke wasn’t willing to just jump into it and Rupert respected Luke’s concerns. I also liked how the author handled the physical part of the relationship and left more to the reader’s imagination.
Secondary characters fit really well in the storyline. Luke’s parents, Cynthia and Clarence, were a fun surprise. I think it made Rupert look at them differently, for himself and how Luke was treated. Sandra Giles is a strong, energetic force that will have you laughing at times. Rosalind Goodwin, the pathologist, adds her own flavor of snark to the story too.
David C. Dawson also gave this novel a real London flavor with his detailed descriptions of the setting. If you read the author’s bio, it seems he is a little like Luke. I’ve read his Delingpole Mysteries series and enjoyed those novels just as much as I did this one, and I hope there’s more to come from this author.
You can buy For the Love of Luke here:
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