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Portrait #2
A Portrait of Emily
When Peter Brandon is commissioned to paint Emily Hastings' portrait, his keen psychic awareness unlocks the dark secret that has haunted her since childhood. Now on the brink of at last finding happiness in the arms of the man she loves, she is faced with her father's resolute desire to destroy her life.
When her father, Charles Hastings, is found murdered, Emily is suspected of the crime, and it falls to Jeff Stevens, Peter's lover, to try and clear her name. His investigation turns personal when his ex-lover is also found murdered and he finds himself tracking two killers - at considerable risk to himself.
His discovery that Hastings was involved in using the services of a child prostitution ring enrages Jeff and he agrees to be the bait in a police 'sting' operation...but when that goes wrong, Jeff's life is suddenly, once again, in danger.
When her father, Charles Hastings, is found murdered, Emily is suspected of the crime, and it falls to Jeff Stevens, Peter's lover, to try and clear her name. His investigation turns personal when his ex-lover is also found murdered and he finds himself tracking two killers - at considerable risk to himself.
His discovery that Hastings was involved in using the services of a child prostitution ring enrages Jeff and he agrees to be the bait in a police 'sting' operation...but when that goes wrong, Jeff's life is suddenly, once again, in danger.
212 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2003
40 people want to read
About the author
J.P. Bowie
136 books232 followersJ.P. Bowie was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland. He wrote his first (unpublished) novel – a science fiction tale of brawny men and brawnier women that made him a little suspect in the eyes of his family for a while.
Leaving home at age eighteen for the bright lights of London, he found himself in the midst of a “diverse and creative crowd” that eventually led him to the performing arts. For the next twelve years he sang, danced and acted his way around the theatres of London and the provinces, appearing in shows with many famous British singers, actors and comedians.
After immigrating to the US and living for many years in Las Vegas where he worked for that incomparable duo, Siegfried and Roy, J.P. found himself entranced by the fair city of San Diego where he currently lives with his partner, Phil.
J.P. loves to hear from his readers and can be contacted at jpbowie@cox.net
Leaving home at age eighteen for the bright lights of London, he found himself in the midst of a “diverse and creative crowd” that eventually led him to the performing arts. For the next twelve years he sang, danced and acted his way around the theatres of London and the provinces, appearing in shows with many famous British singers, actors and comedians.
After immigrating to the US and living for many years in Las Vegas where he worked for that incomparable duo, Siegfried and Roy, J.P. found himself entranced by the fair city of San Diego where he currently lives with his partner, Phil.
J.P. loves to hear from his readers and can be contacted at jpbowie@cox.net
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 2, 2013
Okay I admit to being a little wary of this story because of the whole plot with Joey. I remember Jeff reminiscing about him quite fondly in the first book and I'm always apprehensive about the ex-boyfriend storylines with their usual potential for love triangles and second thoughts and other unpleasant issues.
I'm so glad all my worries were for nothing! :)
I've been absolutely delighted how Jeff and Peter handled this situation, how Jeff was totally sincere and honest about Joey's visit and what he's been up to. I'm happy this incident just strengthened their bond actually. And I'm glad Joey's dead. Sorry, but zero sympathy for him from me after seeing his behaviour towards Jeff. Good riddance. And while I'm at it I'm also glad Jeff's main interest in solving Joey's murder was in helping Anthony and not avenging his ex-lover's death.
Well the whole Hastings family was so fucked up it was sad and heartwrenching to read about them. I'm happy Emily and Anthony finally found love and happiness and their parents got what they deserved.
Another great book from the series, a real page-turner, I stayed up very late to finish reading it and I'm not sorry at all. I love the guys all the more and I wanna chime in and say I'd like to meet them in real life and maybe hang out with them sometime )))))
I'm so glad all my worries were for nothing! :)
I've been absolutely delighted how Jeff and Peter handled this situation, how Jeff was totally sincere and honest about Joey's visit and what he's been up to. I'm happy this incident just strengthened their bond actually. And I'm glad Joey's dead. Sorry, but zero sympathy for him from me after seeing his behaviour towards Jeff. Good riddance. And while I'm at it I'm also glad Jeff's main interest in solving Joey's murder was in helping Anthony and not avenging his ex-lover's death.
Well the whole Hastings family was so fucked up it was sad and heartwrenching to read about them. I'm happy Emily and Anthony finally found love and happiness and their parents got what they deserved.
Another great book from the series, a real page-turner, I stayed up very late to finish reading it and I'm not sorry at all. I love the guys all the more and I wanna chime in and say I'd like to meet them in real life and maybe hang out with them sometime )))))
December 4, 2015
Although I gave the first one 1.25 stars, I'm willing to give the second one a try since I've liked other books by this author.
Update 6/6/15
Well that was a mistake.
He was held at gunpoint by a psycho cop (as he says) a year before and it's just faded to an unpleasant memory?
Just a few pages in and we already have a sex scene.
Info dumps galore.
Used whom wrong.
Head jumping mid paragraph.
Cheating. Out of the fucking blue. (He let the kiss progress, and got hard before he pushed him away and a few minutes later thought about how he wanted him still.) I'm glad he told Peter about Joey buy did he tell him everything?
Arriving late to a party is appropriate. Being right on time is actually not classy. These are very wealthy high society people. They need to keep up appearances that they're terribly busy.
Why on Earth would Jeff Joey won't learn anything except that he can whine and get what he wants.
So often in books where a character has been sexually abused, the person is sure that their boyfriend or husband or whatever won't love them anymore if they find out. I don't understand that at all. Why would a person no longer love someone else because they'd been treated horribly? And it's not just that character. Other characters are unsure of how a person could react to the news. I really don't get it. The guy already knows that she's been traumatized by something. It's not like he thinks she's 100% together. They actually advise her not to tell him yet!
How can you marry someone if they don't know the one thing that most shaped you, no matter how horrible it is? Then this guy does look at her differently. Is this a true thing? Do good people actually react this way? If you have an idea about what this is all about, please tell me. I just don't get it at all. Wait, what? He wondered how a little girl let it go on for as long as it did? How on Earth is he that ignorant?
Too many POVs. Nothing's even happened yet and I'm a fourth of the way through.
"Couldn't care less" not could. The latter means that the person actually does care at least somewhat.
She said she kept the abuse from Anthony and now he's talking about when they confided in him.
Why are we in a secondary character's head when he's masturbating thinking about his dead boyfriend? Ewww.
Way too many words emphasized in italics. I can infer where to emphasize all by myself.
This is ridiculous. She hasn't even told her fiancé but she's telling someone she's only met three times?
Why do they keep calling Peter's boyfriend his "friend" when talking with other people who know they're gay? They wouldn't use that word to describe a heterosexual relationship.
Over halfway through and now the murder happens.
Three of the important male characters have names starting with J and now a fourth J name is mentioned. There aren't that many characters here. There are 25 other letters of the alphabet that could be used. Except A. Because two of the important guys have A names that are similar on length, Anthony and Andrew. Those names look too much alike for those of us who read faster than we talk and don't sound things out. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when authors make names so similar. (Don't even get me started on shifter story names--Keegan and Kieran and Kellen and Deacon and Devlin and Cory and Cody and Coby etc etc.)
Cop tells PI to stay out of the way. PI agrees then he asks cop what they have so far and the cop tells him!
The cops are interviewing them with the others also in the room listening?
I'm so bored. This is definitely not a romance.
So stupid that
I'm not going to even go into everything that was wrong about the scene
Very simplistic and black and white way of looking at these people, the horrors and how people are dealing with them. Simplistic police investigation and too pat.
The writing itself is much better in this over the first, despite all the head hopping. But the plot is not nearly as interesting and is rather all over the place. Way too many characters, too unrelated murders.
The resolution to the murder was totally lame. The reader couldn't have solved it which is unfair.
The statute of limitations is past for some of this stuff.
Peril almost non existent, over within seconds. There was a little more for a secondary character buy at that point I just didn't care.
I hated the first one, but because I liked something else the author wrote and this had high ratings, I gave it a chance. But it's not worth it. Too boring and the psychic stuff seems superfluous.
Update 6/6/15
Well that was a mistake.
He was held at gunpoint by a psycho cop (as he says) a year before and it's just faded to an unpleasant memory?
Just a few pages in and we already have a sex scene.
Info dumps galore.
Used whom wrong.
Head jumping mid paragraph.
Cheating. Out of the fucking blue. (He let the kiss progress, and got hard before he pushed him away and a few minutes later thought about how he wanted him still.) I'm glad he told Peter about Joey buy did he tell him everything?
Arriving late to a party is appropriate. Being right on time is actually not classy. These are very wealthy high society people. They need to keep up appearances that they're terribly busy.
Why on Earth would Jeff Joey won't learn anything except that he can whine and get what he wants.
So often in books where a character has been sexually abused, the person is sure that their boyfriend or husband or whatever won't love them anymore if they find out. I don't understand that at all. Why would a person no longer love someone else because they'd been treated horribly? And it's not just that character. Other characters are unsure of how a person could react to the news. I really don't get it. The guy already knows that she's been traumatized by something. It's not like he thinks she's 100% together. They actually advise her not to tell him yet!
How can you marry someone if they don't know the one thing that most shaped you, no matter how horrible it is? Then this guy does look at her differently. Is this a true thing? Do good people actually react this way? If you have an idea about what this is all about, please tell me. I just don't get it at all. Wait, what? He wondered how a little girl let it go on for as long as it did? How on Earth is he that ignorant?
Too many POVs. Nothing's even happened yet and I'm a fourth of the way through.
"Couldn't care less" not could. The latter means that the person actually does care at least somewhat.
She said she kept the abuse from Anthony and now he's talking about when they confided in him.
Why are we in a secondary character's head when he's masturbating thinking about his dead boyfriend? Ewww.
Way too many words emphasized in italics. I can infer where to emphasize all by myself.
This is ridiculous. She hasn't even told her fiancé but she's telling someone she's only met three times?
Why do they keep calling Peter's boyfriend his "friend" when talking with other people who know they're gay? They wouldn't use that word to describe a heterosexual relationship.
Over halfway through and now the murder happens.
Three of the important male characters have names starting with J and now a fourth J name is mentioned. There aren't that many characters here. There are 25 other letters of the alphabet that could be used. Except A. Because two of the important guys have A names that are similar on length, Anthony and Andrew. Those names look too much alike for those of us who read faster than we talk and don't sound things out. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when authors make names so similar. (Don't even get me started on shifter story names--Keegan and Kieran and Kellen and Deacon and Devlin and Cory and Cody and Coby etc etc.)
Cop tells PI to stay out of the way. PI agrees then he asks cop what they have so far and the cop tells him!
The cops are interviewing them with the others also in the room listening?
I'm so bored. This is definitely not a romance.
So stupid that
I'm not going to even go into everything that was wrong about the scene
Very simplistic and black and white way of looking at these people, the horrors and how people are dealing with them. Simplistic police investigation and too pat.
The writing itself is much better in this over the first, despite all the head hopping. But the plot is not nearly as interesting and is rather all over the place. Way too many characters, too unrelated murders.
The resolution to the murder was totally lame. The reader couldn't have solved it which is unfair.
The statute of limitations is past for some of this stuff.
Peril almost non existent, over within seconds. There was a little more for a secondary character buy at that point I just didn't care.
I hated the first one, but because I liked something else the author wrote and this had high ratings, I gave it a chance. But it's not worth it. Too boring and the psychic stuff seems superfluous.
February 22, 2016
Emily Hansings is a quiet, nervous and beautiful young woman who is newly engaged to marry. Peter has been hired by her fiancée to paint Emily's portrait after he sees the outstanding job Peter did on Emily's cousin's portrait. Peter senses an emotional connection between Emily and he and think there are secrets that this fragile and lovely young woman is keeping. This novel is a disturbing look at child abuse in every form, it's a book that cuts deep to the core. When Emily's secret are let out we find ourselves admiring the strength of this young woman who manages to get thru something that would have stunted other's spirit. This isn't an easy read, but it's a story that needed to be told. ****Such an intense read.I think this is a harsh tale of what child abuse can do, but there is hope for the victims in this story.2/21/16.
September 12, 2014
This story is still based on the MC's Philip and Jeff. Even though Emily is shown on the cover and plays a major role, she is not really a MC in that there are no f/m sex scenes. The sex is kept to the males and it is hot!
The book does cover incest and pedophilia, however, it does not go into describing specifics but rather the results of. Very tough subjects to write about without being offensive but I thought the author did it very well.
The characters are so engaging I found myself completely enchanted by them. Sometimes they are too good and way more forgiving than I would be but that's what makes it interesting.
The book does cover incest and pedophilia, however, it does not go into describing specifics but rather the results of. Very tough subjects to write about without being offensive but I thought the author did it very well.
The characters are so engaging I found myself completely enchanted by them. Sometimes they are too good and way more forgiving than I would be but that's what makes it interesting.
October 17, 2012
Love this series. The characters are interesting though some times cliche. It has humor, it's sexy and although the mysteries were kind of easy to figure out I enjoyed the ride immensely. This particular book had characters you couldn't help but sympathize with and some you couldn't help but want to see dead.
June 23, 2011
I'm glad that some people in this story are dead.
I have some problem with the fact that Emily didn't go to see a psychologist and that, again, sex with love, seems to be the solution afters years of abuse.
For the rest, I love everything again!
I have some problem with the fact that Emily didn't go to see a psychologist and that, again, sex with love, seems to be the solution afters years of abuse.
For the rest, I love everything again!
November 12, 2013
I love this series, and I've fallen for the main characters.
Warning: This book has a mother who needs to be smacked and smacked hard.
Warning: This book has a mother who needs to be smacked and smacked hard.
July 28, 2012
loved the book really like the main characters--somewhat graphic--would love to meet the characters in real life
April 23, 2017
3.5 stars.
March 5, 2015
Awesome
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews