The Midnight Detective MM Mystery, LGBTQ Fiction, Gay Vampire Romance
JMS Publishing
June 24, 2023
Kindle
129
Amazon
What is Wyn to do when he can't find his five-year-old daughter Celyn because she and her mother Marianne have disappeared with Marianne's new boyfriend? He hires a detective.
The detective is Christoph Andreu, owner of Andreu Detection Agency. What few people know is that Christoph is a vampire, thus his definitely strange working hours. Wyn knows, however, but his need to find Celyn overrides the few concerns he might have that Christoph is more than human.
Christoph was willing to take Wyn's case. More than willing when two men attack Wyn, believing he knows where to find Marianne's new lover. Despite the fact Christoph abhors physical violence; he deals with the men to save Wyn.
Christoph finds himself drawn to Wyn, especially when he learns the man is not as straight Christoph believes, given the circumstances. In fact, Wyn is bi, which he readily admits. Bi, and drawn to the power and raw sexuality Christoph emits. As their search for Celyn intensifies, so does their immediate attraction for each other.
Can Christoph find Wyn's missing daughter? And how will the two men handle their becoming lovers in spite of the fact Christoph is a vampire and Wyn isn't?
Review by Gordon Phillips
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
At just over thirty-six thousand words, The Midnight Detective is a relatively fast-moving, adventure/mystery novella, complete with an M/M romance. The story is good enough and fairly well told.
Wyn Meyrick’s daughter Celyn is missing, so he goes up two fights of stairs from his photographic studio to the Andreu Detective Agency to hire someone to find her. A sign on the agency’s door gives their hours as 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., which is enough to tell Wyn that the agency’s investigator is a vampire. Enter Christoph Andreu, a dark-haired individual who radiates a sense of power and raw sexuality sufficient to make up for his average looks. Christoph, it turns out, is immediately attracted to Wyn and so the stage is set: mystery, adventure, and romance.
Wyn explains his situation, including that the Missing Person Bureau claimed they had no record of his daughter whatsoever—that in effect she didn’t exist. There are further oddities, such as no one being able locate Marianne, Celyn’s mother who, with her daughter has been living with another man for some time. Clearly, something strange is going on, and as the investigation continues, things become darker, and finally very dark, though Celine is found and taken to safety. At the same time, Christoph and Wyn (who is bisexual) become lovers.
All of this is standard fare, and it does take a while for the story to get a grip. But, when it does, there are interesting and compelling elements, good ideas and nice touches. However, there are drawbacks too—occasional small glitches, failures to complete in full detail a concept, and less-than-good word choices. For example, though vampires require permission to enter an abode—a nice touch—their abilities are sufficiently broad (misting, flying, mind reading and control, becoming invisible) that no vampire is ever in actual danger. In addition, the emotional arcs, both within and beyond the actual romance, lack something in depth.
Nevertheless, The Midnight Detective is a good story; that is in the end quite satisfying. The fact that the last chapter presents as a denouement something that is essentially an arbitrary divergence does not ruin the overall story. Indeed, it provides a broader context for the couple, for Wyn and Christoph, to continue on as it lends to become a series?