{"id":12326,"date":"2019-12-15T10:14:30","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T15:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12326"},"modified":"2024-06-13T14:42:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T18:42:47","slug":"the-bellingham-mystery-series-volume-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12326","title":{"rendered":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2<\/a><\/em> (2015) Nicole Kimberling<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

One Man\u2019s Treasure
\nBirds of a Feather
\nPentimento Blues<\/p>\n

When I read The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1<\/a><\/em> I noted that the first story was the weakest, and each successive story got better and better. This volume takes off where the first ended, both story-wise and quality wise. The author is fully comfortable with the characters now, and each story just takes off and is delightful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m serious, though. Why do you think you love me?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does anybody love anybody? Nick shrugged. \u201cWhy are you asking? Are you filling out some kind of quiz again?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Peter closed the yoursoulmate.com window. \u201cI\u2019m just curious.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As with the previous volume, this book is three stories, each a mystery that Peter Fontaine is involved in and pulls his partner Nick Olson into each mess.<\/p>\n

One Man\u2019s Treasure is set in 2011, and finds Nick and Peter at the local Farmer’s market assisting Peter’s best friend, Evangeline, at her booth. When a local artist dies almost at Peter’s feet, he is of course drawn into what happened. And when Officer Patton offers a reciprocal information sharing agreement, Peter is all in.<\/p>\n

In addition to solving a murder, Peter and Nick decide (almost on a whim) to get civilly registered. <\/p>\n

The papers, he realized, were necessary. He wanted to stay with Nick, and Nick wanted to stay with him. They were most important to each other, most qualified to make decisions about one another. These papers were the evidence with which he could force others to accept that. The papers weren\u2019t romantic, but they were pragmatic. <\/p>\n

That was the source of his fleeting sadness\u2014that he should need them at all to fight disapproving strangers who would separate them, given the opportunity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It fascinates me how this story exists so squarely in a very specific time–the years when gay marriage was illegal, but domestic partnerships were becoming available across the country.<\/p>\n

But aside from that, we see just how well Peter and Nick work as a couple.<\/p>\n

Peter rolled his eyes. \u201cI won\u2019t get into trouble.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what you always think. Then you end up in the dark in the middle of nowhere facing down some lunatic,\u201d Nick said, shaking his head. \u201cYou have no common sense.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI do so have common sense. It\u2019s just that sometimes it gets wrestled to the ground by my sense of curiosity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nick’s sensibility and Pater’s ability to be honest with himself.<\/p>\n

And, despite Nick being taciturn, they do teach each other and can have fun.<\/p>\n

What is it about cats that they can\u2019t get enough dirty old paint water?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it tastes good,\u201d Peter offered. \u201cPuts the yum in cadmium.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Birds of a Feather is set about a year later, and is set around Nick and Peter’s wedding.<\/p>\n

Peter meeting Nick’s parents is utterly delightful. I kept reading bits and pieces of this story to Michael.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway, I\u2019ll get Nick. Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge.\u201d As he walked to the studio, he felt a brief irrational fear that there was something terrible in the fridge.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s also a very sweet scene between Peter and Evangeline, before Peter’s bachelor party (which is occurring at the same time, but a different location, from Nick’s party). She gives him something she made for him that she hates and is embarrassed by:<\/p>\n

\u201cBeauty is in the eye of the beholder,\u201d he said. Then at her expression added, \u201cWe look through the eyes of love.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The mystery here starts with a shooting and the discovery of a bald eagle corpse and I shan’t tell anything else, since it would give everything away.<\/p>\n

I also want to note that Nick’s father is delightful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found out about Nick from the Internet,\u201d Erik said. \u201cI sleuthed it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou confirmed it,\u201d Ingrid corrected him. Then to Claudia, \u201cOf course we already knew. No one stays a bachelor for that long.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSome serial killers do,\u201d Erik countered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And we get the wedding. <3 <\/p>\n

Pentimento Blues is the final story, and is set three years after the wedding. <\/p>\n

A gentleman who attended the wedding comes in to town and asks Peter if he can see one of the last remaining deKamp pieces in the house. <\/p>\n

Nick reacts badly, to say the least.<\/p>\n

This was probably my favorite mystery in the book, since all the pieces fit together, and it was also logical that Peter knew nothing about what was happening. <\/p>\n

There’s an adorably sweet scene where Peter has to write a piece of a local brewery, and ends up getting extremely drunk.<\/p>\n

He wordlessly allowed himself to be poured into the passenger seat of the car and closed his eyes. He should keep his mouth shut, he thought, to avoid saying anything stupid. <\/p>\n

Aloud he murmured, \u201cI still need to get my bike from work. I can ride it home.\u201d <\/p>\n

To which Nick responded, \u201cOkay, I\u2019ll get your bike, and you can ride back home, but first you have to take a nap.\u201d <\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s eyelids drooped. A nap did sound good\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That is so lovely. <\/p>\n

There were again bits in this story that made me giggle and laugh out loud.<\/p>\n

It was a lovely story, and a lovely conclusion to the book (and probably the series).<\/p>\n

I very much enjoyed this book, and highly recommend the entire series.<\/p>\n

Publisher: One Block Empire
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man\u2019s Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues When I read The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 I noted that the first story was the weakest, and each successive story got better and better. This volume takes off where the first ended, both story-wise and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,292,8,148,26,56],"tags":[50,544,351],"class_list":["post-12326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-ebook","category-mystery","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-mm","tag-nicole-kimberling"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3cO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17747,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17747","url_meta":{"origin":12326,"position":0},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","author":"Michelle","date":"September 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling Primal Red Evergreen Black Cat Ink Like Grilled Cheese and Goblins, the story is fun and enjoyable. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of circulation, which meant that every Thursday morning he drove bundles of the free weekly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17749,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17749","url_meta":{"origin":12326,"position":1},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","author":"Michelle","date":"September 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man's Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues This book starts in 2011. Which is important since events changed quickly in the world (specifically the legality of gay marriage). \u201cBut,\u201d Kjell continued, his brow still crumpled in confusion, \u201cam I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14140,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14140","url_meta":{"origin":12326,"position":2},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","author":"Michelle","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is a collection of three stories: Primal Red, Evergreen, Black Cat Ink \"Primal Red\" finds Peter Fontaine hoping to break a big story. He likes working for The Bellinghamseter, but he wants a story that will be noted, that will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14142,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14142","url_meta":{"origin":12326,"position":3},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","author":"Michelle","date":"March 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is three stories: One Man's Treasure, Birds of a Feather, and Pentimento Blues. One Man's Treasure (Set in 2011) Evangeline needs help with her food truck, and although she'd prefer Nick she gets both Nick and Peter. 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In addition to writing articles,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22074,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22074","url_meta":{"origin":12326,"position":5},"title":"Mystery on the Menu: A Three-Course Collection of Cozy Mysteries","author":"Michelle","date":"June 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Mystery on the Menu: A Three-Course Collection of Cozy Mysteries (2023) Nicole Kimberling After rereading Grilled Cheese and Goblins I was wishing I had more mysteries by Nicole Kimberling when LO! I see she has a new mystery coming out! I can preorder it! DONE! 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