His Quiet Agent

His Quiet Agent (2017) Ada Maria Soto

Arthur Drams likes his job. But he doesn’t like that he is going nowhere with it.

“Hi, Arthur Drams, level two analyst, trying, badly apparently, to make friends because I’m really tired of getting promoted sideways because my own supervisors forget I exist.”

As he is already out of his comfort zone, introducing himself to everyone in his department, he decides to go out on a limb and try and befriend the guy everyone calls the Alien.

Arthur looked over at The Alien. It was a Go Away sign, but it was a very specific type of go away sign; it was the kind that said ‘Look at Me Just for A Moment. I’m Weird. If you talk to me you’re going to decide I’m weird and not like me so let’s just save both of us the public discomfort of you feeling the need to reject me.’

It doesn’t go especially smoothly.

Arthur held out his hand as he sat. “Arthur-”

“Drams. Twenty-Nine, Analyst Level Two. Three illegitimate half-sisters. Bachelors in Social Anthropology, Masters in World Economies. Conversational Spanish, French and Vietnamese, though heavily accented and the French is dated as to be useless to the Agency. Certificate in Portuguese, both European and Brazilian varieties.”

But slowly–slowly–Arthur learns bits and pieces about this complicated man.

“I’m sure there’s a culture somewhere where silently shoving finger food at someone is an acceptable form of courting. Hobbits maybe.”

“I’m not-”

“Yes, you are and it’s adorable.

I really do love this story. Although it is a romance, it never feels like one, as at least one of the characters is ace (both probably are) so instead of heart eyes and smooching, it’s a slow unfolding. We learn a great deal about Arthur, but neither we nor Arthur learn much about Martin’s past–and that’s ok.

Publisher: Rookery Publishing

Rating: 9/10

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