Placing Out

by P.A. Brown

At the age of ten, Dylan Daniels was a placed-out kid sent from New York's Five Points to a family in Nebraska. But Dylan ran away at the age of eighteen when he realized he preferred boys and didn't want to be a farmer. Once he made his way to Hollywood, he wound up as a popular and high-class hustler with a number of wealthy clients.

Now in 1933 near the end of the Prohibition Era in America, Dylan meets Ben Carter during a bar raid. Ben, who's a six-year veteran of the LAPD and deeply in the closet, is instantly both attracted and repelled by this beautiful man. Between them they struggle to overcome the barriers that keep them apart, including Dylan's career, and Ben being in a brutal squad that frequently raids pansy bars and beats the patrons, which tears Ben apart.

Will Ben let Dylan's love heal him or destroy him altogether?

Gay / Historical / Mystery / Detective / Suspense / Thriller

Genres: M M Romance, Historical, Gay, Erotica

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2011

About the author

Pat Brown, writing as P.A. Brown, is the author of the Chris and David police procedural novels featuring LAPD homicide detective David Eric Laine and his lover, computer network engineer Christopher Bellamere. In L. A. Heat the first in the series, David is an uptight, in the closet cop living a life of denial and dark secrets he will protect at all costs. Then his life becomes entwined with Chris who is a suspect in the brutal slayings of young gay men. Neither of them ever expected to find love. L.A. Heat was followed by L.A. Mischief which follow Chris and David as they try to reconcile their vast differences and forge their relationship into one of true love. In L.A. Boneyard, a dark thriller that moves from the bright streets of West Hollywood to the gang ridden streets of East L.A. All the while David faces the temptation of his sexy new partner, Jairo Hernandez.

Reviews

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this novella in less than a few hours, it has to be one of the most gripping, intense, romance-centered books I've read by P.A. Brown. I know she writes excellent police procedural, there's also a cop in this story, but the focus of the story is very much the historical aspect of the time and place. Very vivid description of that era and excellent atmosphere to go with the gloomy, smoky LA in the late 20s and early 30s. The plot heavily linked with the sociological content of the period, don't miss the footnotes at the end,

The romance is a classic combo: hustler and cop, the secrecy and guilt of homosexuality in those times, of course gives the story an edge and bitterness. The intense feelings the two protags have for each other reminds me of Kim Basinger and Russell Crowe in LA Confidential. It's violent, vulnearble and heartbreaking,

PA Brown wastes no space, the writing is sharp and crisp, it has a HFN ending, however, i do wonder if their Berlin dream is a little twist PA Brown put in there to indicate how they are a pair of star-crossed lovers - early 30s Berlin was a friendly place for gays and women, but it all changed rapidly in the next few years, I'd hate to see the two lovers stay there. But maybe its just my imagination going beyond the ending.

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the backdrop of this story is quite intriguing, I'm not very much in favor of structure of it: going back and forth from 1st person (Dylan) and third person (Ben) AND from past (Dylan's story is "moving forward from 1919 to 1933) and present (Ben's part "sticks" to 1933). It's a bit confusing for me and I have difficulty to really 'feel' the relationship.

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the sense of time and place (and history), but the relationship had little depth ... there needed to be more.

[Sadonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually like this story quite a bit - maybe because I'm a huge history buff and the setting is one of my favorite periods to study. It would be nice to see a follow-up for Ken and Dylan.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars