Sheila's Reads

Gil has been requested to come to his half-brother's funeral. He refuses until asked by his cousin Percy who shows him his half-brother's book and photography collection then asks him to dispose of it of which Gil can have any money he makes from it. He strikes a deal with Percy and then, with Percy's help, loads it and takes it back to his bookstore. Meanwhile a family asks Vikmar, a solicitor and Gil's old friend who thinks Gil is dead, to look for their 16-year-old son. Vik comes knocking at Gil's door and is shocked to find Gil alive and well. Resentment is brought out as they reacquaint themselves with each other. Old feelings are also brought up. The two men band together to find the boy as well as a few other things. Will they find the boy? Will they solve their differences and pasts? Will this bring them together or apart?

I liked this story. I liked the historical element of it where people's behavior and actions can put them in jail. From the little I have read from that time period she gets it right when it came to unfit to print books, photographs, and book stores. I appreciated how Gil points out, how on the bench, a judge takes the moral high ground while he comes to Gil for his fix of books. Hypocrisy has been around a long time and few are immune regardless of station or class. I felt it was important the Vikram points out to Gil about the exploitations of those poorer than the upper classes and how they are used and abandoned and forgotten. I really enjoyed the scene when we meet Vikram.

This book and characters captured this era very well. Once Gil realizes the importance of the exploitation in his life and in Vikram's client's lives, he changes his mind and helps Vikram. He also does a lot of thinking about how he and Vikram can be together. He makes a lot of major decisions. I look forward to more books by K. J. Charles.