The Mystery of Nevermore

The Mystery of Nevermore (2016) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter)

Sebastian Snow’s relationship with his boyfriend has been circling the drain for years. But things come to a head and Sebastian is involved in a crime, and Neil’s only concern is to keep from being outed to his co-workers.

“Where were you Sunday night?” Lancaster asked. “After eight.”

I could feel Neil’s desperation rippling off his body. I had been at home with him. I believe around eight we had been fucking, which had ended prematurely and dissolved into an argument until about nine. That’s where I had been.

This is a re-read, because I needed something I knew I was going to love and I’d been wanting a mystery to read.

Sebastian is an extraordinarily interesting main character to me. He has achromatopsia, which means he has no color receptors in his eyes, and is extremely sensitive to light. It also means he is legally blind, and often feels like a like a burden–a feeling not helped by his relationship with Neil.

I’m really bad at texting. I’m a seventy-year-old man inside the body of one in his thirties.

The other important thing about Sebastian is that he loves his job, as owner of an antique shop.

Every little item had a story, a past. The gramophone now in a closet had seen how many owners in the last century? How many different records had it spun? What was the music that moved that person?

There is a lot of sex in this story, but (sadly for me) it is integral to the plot, as we see the way Neil treats Sebastian as opposed to how Calvin treats him. Those scenes make it very clear that Neil is terrible for Sebastian. Not abusive, just a bit self-centered and not capable of putting another person first.

The mystery is good, and what initially drew me to this story when I first read it (and was just dipping my toes into MM romance). Yes, Sebastian meddles where he should not, but he is aware he shouldn’t meddle, and recognizes that inability to stop meddling as a problem.

This book is good both as a romance and a mystery, and I very much enjoyed the re-read.

Publisher : Emporium Press
Rating: 8.5/10

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