Two Feet Under
By Charlie Cochrane
Riptide Publishing, 2018
Four stars
This series of books is such an ongoing pleasure to enjoy. For an American, it feels like traveling in a slightly different universe – the world of small-town semi-rural England. Even in the setting of the present day, there is a British diffidence that feels very otherworldly. Of course, I have to remind myself that Adam Matthews and Robin Bright could be my children, but I can’t help but identify with them, even though my husband and I are really closer to the older gay couple, David and George, who play a minor but visible role in the murder mystery’s roll-out. (Wouldn’t it be nice, come to think of it, if Adam and Robin actually had a small circle of gay friends?)
What is striking about Cochrane’s cozy murder plot is that it’s not about some hard-boiled urban detective and his high-powered almost-boyfriend (as the pattern runs with gay cop books). It’s about two quiet, intelligent young professionals each trying to make their way without making waves. It is as much about their relationship with each other as it is about each of their working relationships on the job. Plus, since they’re both working in new towns (while still living in the little house they share), there’s a whole world of new people to observe, deal with, and accommodate.
Of course, there is their beautiful dog, used as the cover image, Campbell; he’s a kind of modern-day version of Asta, the perky terrier who bedeviled and amused Nick and Nora in the Thin Man movies in the 1930s. He provides a wordless Greek chorus, judging their every action through his own very basic dog needs: food and love.
Adam and Robin have learned from the past, and while Robin’s investigation has ripples in Adam’s school world, they both are careful not to get Adam too deeply involved in Robin’s work. The boys continue to be cautious in the way they present themselves, which is oddly unnerving to me. They are both pretty up-front about their relationship, but they also seem to be aware that not everybody has joined the twenty-first century. The reader is reminded that this is not London. This is still the England of Brexit and Teresa May. Adam and Robin are clearly feeling their way, and (I’m glad to say) finding support and welcome.
The mystery itself is rather fascinating, in a weirdly bumbling small-town way (i.e. the criminals, potential and actual, are all rather low-key, rather than edgy and overtly dangerous). It gives the whole narrative a consistent feel, and the relative success that Adam and Robin bring to maintaining normality in their domestic bliss in spite of everything going on around them is a sure sign that they have matured, individually and as a couple.
Now I need to wait for Ms. Cochrane to think up another mystery, so she can tell us more about Robin and Adam and their evolving life together. What will they do next?