Bodies of Work

The Avondale Stories #1

by Etienne

George Martin and Mike Foster have been best friends since childhood, but recent events have brought them even closer together: Mike has moved into George's house now that George's unfaithful boyfriend has been kicked out. It puts Mike in a pinch, because he's always loved George-maybe more than a best friend should. George doesn't suspect Mike's feelings, being wrapped up in his job as the youngest lieutenant in the Jacksonville sheriff's office and investigating a series of murders. But it will all come to a head when George is stalked by a psycho and Mike steps in front of a bullet meant for George. George then realizes there's much more to their relationship than he thought.

Genres: M M Romance, Mystery, Romance, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Fiction

396 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2010

Reviews

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have difficulty to categorize this one: It doesn't have enough mystery/investigation focus to be called m/m mystery. It doesn't have enough romances/love-making to be called m/m romance or m/m erotica. It doesn't have enough moral/social issues to be called LGBT/gay fiction. I guess I have to stick it as m/m contemporary read for now.

I think this book starts as free-online reading ... and I don't know whether is it BECAUSE of that, the story comes pretty much flat all the way through. It's like a steady pulse where the only jump happens when Mike gets shot by the bullet meant for George, and George realizes that he is in love with his best friend (they have been friends for twenty odd years).

For a story that spans for almost 2 years, you only get a day-to-day, almost BANAL (if not boring) recount of their life. Even the lovemaking is done behind the doors, and you will NOT get any description of it. You just have to trust George's narration that they do it.

Sure, along the way, we meet other characters that become part of George and Mike's life, especially after the two going to "their honeymoon" and buy themselves a piece of property ... but that's about it. Nothing really special happens. You will not get emotionally attached to them and there are no intense scenes happen that CAN make you get emotional as well.

I will not check out the rest of the series (nor I would try other stories by Etienne. Don't think that the writing is for me).

[Yvonne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm setting this one aside. This is a story completely devoid of emotional content. It's also excessively detailed, mundane and dull where we're told every meal they eat, every restaurant they go to, and all in the same tone as we're told about their sex life. One of the main character continuously has sex with twins and we're told about it in the same tone as one would say I just fed and walked the dog.

There's a scene where the main characters realize they're in love with each other but the characters seem to act the exact same way before and after this revelation. They walked around naked, showered together and had sex with each other and several others before this big revelation anyways so it hardly makes a difference.

And I found the plot line where they decide how to deal with a stalker ridiculous especially considering George is supposed to be a police officer. In conclusion, this is a story that is told not shown and is also monotonous & dull. Time to move on to something more interesting.

[Arthur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I consider this book a missed opportunity. The materials are there, but the book fails to be a good mm romance novel because it basically devoid of any emotion. Reading it like reading a police report about things that happened. Consider the scene where one of the MCs is shoot and almost dies, which makes the other character realizes how much he loves his friend. Instead of making it a bit emotional by telling us how he feels about his friends, the author makes him going back to the house and gets the 'power of attorney' letter. All while his best friend is lying on the street with a neighbor. Yes, it is important for hospital administration so he can make decision on behalf the patient, but not in a mm romance.

The rest of the book is like that. Cold descriptions of what's happening. There are a lot of details about business strategies, administration, etc., but not much about the emotions, the feelings that the characters have.

[MostlyDelores · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hesitate to say this, but I may need to read this book again. I can't remember it well enough to give a fair review, but I know it's not good.

I do remember it being an oddly hypnotic "not good" though, where the endless minutia of trips to McDonald's ("Mickey D's") or Walmart ("Wally World") were faithfully recorded, and I want to say, a lot of conversations on speaker phone? At the time I found it soothing, but my tastes can be odd.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't very happy with this but I took 3 pages of notes and that's just too much to twist into lucid text at this hour. Suffice to say, I agree with most of the not-so-great reviews. It started out pretty good but then it just fizzled. It was slow moving and I just didn't care enough. All of the emotion is in the dialog, the men saying what they feel. There really wasn't any true impression of these emotions. They could have been lying or felt stronger than it sounded, etc. I just couldn't relate to them so well or believe their love was real. They eat constantly, usually out, and usually at a restaurant (that the author says are real) whose history is described in detail. Then the food they eat is described. We are told about every single meal they eat. And the guys drank way too much wine, especially given that they're both blue-collar workers. I'm not saying that blue collar workers don't drink wine, but it just didn't fit well with the image I have of them.

I might write more later if I can be bothered.

Happy ending? Yeah, at least we did have our HEA.

[G G · Rating 4 out of 5]

George and Mike, the heroes of this book, are strong, masculine men. The kind of men not given to a great deal of 'lovey dovey' talk, which is fine, because you instinctively know how they feel for each other long before they articulate those feelings. Best friends since childhood, and roommates when the story begins, we learn that Mike has always loved George. And when Mike steps in front of a bullet meant for George, George realizes the truth of his own feelings.

As the youngest (at 30) ever Lieutenant of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, George's major case team is working to solve a series of murders. In the middle of the investigation, George has to deal with a deranged stalker, which is what brings his feelings for Mike to the forefront.

They become a couple, and settle down to begin life as such, but a question about the serial murders nags at George's memory. Someone said something important to him, but he can't quite put his finger on it. While they are on vacation, George wakes up from a dream, realizes what it was he couldn't remember, and sets the wheels in motion to capture a killer-for-hire who is ultimately proven responsible for some seventy murders. The final denoument of the book is both interesting and credible.

The book contains very little sex, and in truth, it doesn't need to be there. You know how these guys feel about each other, and it isn't necessary to follow them into their bedroom.

They are strong and likable characters—characters about whom you leave the story wishing to know more.

The ancillary characters with whom they regularly interact are also well drawn and likable.

This is a book you will read over and over again.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to give this book only 2 stars. But I have to.
The story has so much potential. TONS!

But all the characters sound the same, talk the same, have the same constant phrases. And those phrases repeat and repeat and repeat. It just doesn't make sense.

There's not enough depth and development, and the language is choppy. I wish there was a good beta that could sit with Etienne and work with him on this because again, this has potential to be such a successful story.

[SueM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good story but lacked the romance spark for me.

[Pati · Rating 1 out of 5]

First and foremost this reads like a travelogue. Not only am I learning way more than I ever wanted to learn about Jacksonville but also about some of it's businesses. I read a romance because I want to read about the characters, their feelings and their actions. Not learn about a city!

Furthermore I'd like at least some realism besides the area.
He certainly doesn't act like any cop that I've ever known and I know a lot and am even related to a few. A cop wouldn't have just played those headgames with the perv... he would've said something to him.

And Emotions are non-existant. For instance If your best friend gets shot and goes down is your first thought really going to be... "Shit. I never had to fire my gun before."... Really?!.... Then you're just going to calmly call it in then check to be sure the perp is dead.... nevermind the fact that he's got two holes in his head.... then finally you callmly turn your attention to your unconcious friend who's laying there with a bullet hole in his chest. Give me a freaking' break!!

Over and over we see no feelings we're just being told that they exist. We need to be shown not told.

And how about some realistic facts.....
a)life insurance isn't going to pay for a death that happened while he was committing a crime.

b)George'd be immediately put on administrative leave effective immediately

c)He not only would need to speak with IAD but also go in for a psych eval before being cleared for active duty again.

.... Well, I could go on but I think I've said enough..... and all this in just the first 28% of the book. ~sigh~ DNF....

[Didi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a first Etienne book I read so it could be that I'm not familiar with his style. But I'm just glad I got to finish this at last.

The puppy and the food cinched it for me. The story itself was decent if somewhat boring. Didn't feel any emotion throughout; even on the relationship between both MCs. For someone who supposed to harbor one-sided love for his best-friend, Mike didn't sound like a man with suppressed feeling. Likewise when George realized his true feeling when his buddy got shot shielding him.

And the jump of POVs between MC, the stalker, and the killer kinda annoyed me. At least the puppy was cute and there was plenty mention of FOOD. That helped.

[Linda-Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been so much better all the plots, sub plots were good and the characters were great but the thing that let this book down was how it was written. I didnt really feel any real emotion apart from the killer. The sex scenes between George and Mike well their was barely any content to them compared to the ones with the killer and george. I wanted to feel the love and passion between George and Mike but didnt. I did have to read it to find out what happened so thats a plus point.

[adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

somewhat similar to reading a play- almost like stage directions w/the amount of detail that is unnecessary in books.

[Thomaidha Papa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, I'll have to agree with Amy's review and really have nothing more to add. Plain boring this one.

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't a bad book. The story and characters were interesting and a lot of the time I didn't exactly know where it was going, which I liked. But what really kept me from enjoying it were the conversations between characters. There were just a bit... Off. It sounded like all the dialog was written by an Ai that just failed the Turing test. Somewhat close to how people talk but still weird and just wrong enough to identify it as non human. I rarely felt like the conversation were ones real people have. Otherwise the writing was fine, not exactly good but not bad either. Just all in all a pretty mediocre book, which is a pitty because I think the story had potential.

[Dr Leafeater · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous waste of time waiting dor some real lif to happen. Poorly composed dialogue by an ameturish writer. A load of rubbish!!

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had seen the mixed reviews about this book before I started it, so wasn't expecting too much. However, I did like this read.
Yes, its a bit 'preachy' about the landmarks, but as I am unlikely to get to Jacksonville it was quite interesting to know most of these were real places(I'm the sort who will do an internet search on them). I also wondered if maybe this story was written initally as an installment based story as that can be a reason to see repetitive statements in a story.
It is written in a very narrative style, almost like a screen play with the 'exit stage left' sort of directions and I know a lot of people dont like this style. It doesnt bother me so much and after a while I didnt really notice too much.
The actual character narratives I did find a bit formal, especially between characters that knew each other well - George and his work colleagues for example.
The book was quite long but the story actually sped along and I didnt feel any need to skip sections or wish it was over. I did quite like Bob Jones, at the beginning of the story. But did think the stalker resolution was a bit harsh!
so overall, an enjoyable tale, one I got as a DSP Tweetaway last October and certainly hasnt put me off trying another by the author.

[Tj · Rating 1 out of 5]

OH boy.. This book sounded good. It was a mystery / romance and was free a loan from my library.

People read to learn and to be entertained. Good fiction should paint word pictures so the reader can see and feel like she/he is a part of the scene. Good fiction should make the reader stop and think, feel emotionally attached to the story and either care for the main characters or want to scream at them. This book doesn't cause any of that. It doesn't instill any passion in the reader.

A great deal of time is spent on what the main characters eat and how they decorate a summer rental cottage they buy. By the end I was hoping the killer would do them both in. It is sad when the blurb is more exciting than the actual book.

This is the first book I have read by this author and, I don't want to base my opinion of Etienne based on Bodies of Work. My library recently added more e-books. The second book in this series is one of them. I am going to give it shot.

[Neet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good but it would have been better if the author had cut it in half, an editor should have told this author that he didn't have to write every minute detail like, the history of the city they live in, the history of dining establishments, and how to remodel a cabin,etc. I like the fact that the author didn't have to be graphic in his depiction of the sex scenes between the main characters, it was refreshing to read a gay novel that didn't come off as gay porn. I have also another complaint, why did the author bother to introduce the minor but still inmportant character of Debbie and then as the novel progressed only mention this character once in the latter part of the book, why have her in the book if you're just gonna discard her so carelessly. I still liked the book overall and will read more books by this author.

[Kerry sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the first Avondale story I have read but it is the first in the series and it is a series worth reading. The writing style can be a bit hard to get to grips with if you are used to fluff and very descriptive writers, Etienne does not waste words he gives the reader credit for being able to see the picture he is painting without every aspect being laid out for you. I have to be honest if this had been the first of his books I might not have completed it but I read book 4 first and that story is just too good to let anything, including writing style, get in the way. I will defiantly be reading more of not only this series but more of Etienne work as he tells a story worth reading.

[Blue Dragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rarity; I didn't finish the book. Normally if I'm not that into a book I'll at least skim through, gather the main plot points and see how it ends. I didn't do that with this one, I just couldn't get into this book even enough to skim it. Even if I hate a book because of the writing but found the premise interesting I'll skim it to see how it ends. I didn't get far enough into this to tell you whether I disliked it or not.

So to be fair to the author I can't rate this book. The writing and characters seemed to be okay, so maybe the problem was me, I just wasn't feeling it.

[bazinga ~Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was quite frankly painful to read. I started and stopped multiple times hoping that it would get better but it never did. The story was told and not shown do much that I could never engage it. I agree that there were multiple story lines going on so that I didn't know what the focus was supposed to be. I did finish by skimming quite a bit and since I bought the next installment in the Avondale series before reading this I've I it gets better.

[Jannie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not my cup of tea... The entire book is incredibly bland!!!! You don't get in to the characters head. There is no real emotion. You dont get a feel for the MC's. It's like the author is telling a story he heard from another person. After i had read 129 pages i gave up. I was really bored. If this is how the author writes all his books, I have to say that I won't read anymore of his books.

[Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great story ! it was fun to read. A little slow and some repetition both in actions and in words but the day-by-day life of our heroes was not boring at all and that is important ! The twins and Thor are so cute ! And I was really happy to see that Dreamspinner Press has already the 3rd volume on the incoming page !!! Now I'm gonna start the 2nd one !

[Brandi Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Bodies of Work. While it might start out a little slow, it is because Etienne is building George and Mike's world for us to enjoy. He really made George, Mike, and the Z's come alive for me. I wish I had my own brook :)

I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as I did. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Involved and complicated; a lot of fun! Love George and Mike, and the supporting cast is well-fleshed as well! No over-the-top mushiness; just people who fit together like puzzle pieces and can support each other in an understated way, and without one personality overwhelming or overshadowing the other.

[Alex Alden · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing quality is what turned me off here. All the dialogue is really forced, trying to shove as much exposition between the quotation marks as possible. And situations didn't evolve organically. It really read like "to do" list to get us through the plot. Nothing really pulled me in.

[F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if I will carry on with this series or not - very long-winded. I wouldn't class the story as a thriller even though one isn't sure of the killer till later in the book. Lots of repetition of certain facts and endless descriptions of all their meals

[Laura M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story - liked George and Mike and reading both about the crime solving, and the details of their daily lives.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it and it was a good book, but it felt like I was reading 2 or 3 different books at the same time. So much was happening that the story got buried in the words.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!!!