Genre/Tags: Queer Cozy Mystery

Author: Gregory Ashe

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Narrator: Andrew Gibson

Narrator Rating: 5 Stars

Length: 6 hours & 2 minutes 

Audiobook Buy Links: Audible, Gregory Ashe

They say bad things come in threes. Usually, they don’t mean murder.

After several months (and a few murders), Dash is finally starting to feel at home in Hastings Rock. He’s enjoying the quiet after the end of tourist season, he’s comfortable at Hemlock House (the jury is still out on whether it’s haunted), and most importantly, he has friends.

Friends, unfortunately, who have a tendency not to take no for an answer. Which is how Dash finds himself at a cold-water surfing competition only a few days before Halloween—and, even worse, attending a costume party at the surf camp later that evening.

When Dash stumbles across the body of a predatory local real estate developer, he’s the only one who believes it’s murder. Worse, Dash’s friend Deputy Bobby (they’re just friends, thank you very much) is on leave from the sheriff’s office while he and his fiancé prepare for their move to Portland. But Dash is determined not to let a murder go unsolved. And as Dash works to prove that the death was anything but accidental, the killer turns their attention to him.

Review: 

Doom Magnet starts with Hastings Rock having a surfing competition run by a local community member, Jen, and bankrolled by a property developer, Gerry. It’s a great place and time for a murder/mystery to start rolling because it’s coming into Halloween. Gerry gets into blows with a local car dealer/council member, Nate. Oh, and there’s an activist who’s graffitiing everything development in sight, making a general nuisance.  

The Last Picks are all at the surfing competition to cheer on Deputy Bobby (he’s officially on leave) and Keme. Keme is a novice and Deputy Bobby is a more seasoned board rider. Also, Deputy Bobby in a wetsuit that is half on half off is apparently quite the sight. It piques Fox’s interest and Dash’s.

Everyone not surfing comes in costumes for the event’s afterparty where Dash gets groped by Gerry, the property developer, and a blow-in bartender, Damian, also seems more than interested in Dash. And Deputy Bobby is in trouble from West for getting between the two men, also for making sure Keme isn’t going to drink alcohol – he’s only seventeen. West feels Bobby is always getting involved, even though he’s technically on leave from the local sheriff’s office because they’re leaving town. 

  “And that’s scary for me. That’s terrifying, Bobby. Because I love you. And I know we’ve talked about this before, but that actually makes it worse. You promised me that when you were off duty, you weren’t going to do stuff like that. Get involved, I mean.”

West being upset has been getting more persistent. I mean, you can’t blame him, a lot of people are murdered in Hastings Rock. I suspect it’s become even more of an issue since Dash came to town. Anyway, not long after Gerry and Nate have their tussle, Gerry falls off a cliff. At around the same time Dash follows Deputy Bobby because after his fight with West, Dash believes Deputy Bobby might be upset, and they’re friends. In doing so Dash discovers Gerry’s body at the base of a cliff and he believes he saw someone up on the clifftop just after. But it was quick…. Yep. It’s murder/mystery time, folks, even though the policing consensus is Gerry was drunk and fell. However, shock horror, Deputy Bobby has the same idea as Dash right from the outset. And it seems nasty old Gerry is blackmailing quite a few people. All good material for a cozy mystery. Which does play out but as second fiddle to the growing but purposely buried feelings of Dash and Deputy Bobby.

So yeah, there’s a lot around relationship in this series instalment. And a lot around communication and how badly the two love interests (don’t) communicate about things that are important. The most they speak is nearer the end – outside Deputy Bobby being pissed that Dash puts himself in danger, helps him when he is – and they still manage to cock that up. But, to his credit, Dash has a moment where, when Bobby is in complete denial about not wanting to leave Hastings Rock, or his job, Dash won’t accept ‘it’s fine’ as a truth. He encourages Bobby to speak to him. Then Bobby behaves like a teenager, stomps off, and won’t talk to him. And every person and their dog, meaning the Last Picks, think Dash needs to apologise. For what? Actually not accepting a friend’s bullshit relational situation. Or leaving a job he loves. He wasn’t being rude. He wasn’t trying to goad, he tried to encourage Bobby to talk to him. He pushes him to say he isn’t actually “okay” or “fine” because both of them use those words consistently to move away from confronting anything meaningful. Then there’s the whole “we’re friends” thing. FFS, that’s only a partial truth, because every time they’re near one another, when not in dangerous situations, there are breathy moments, and sparks, and furtive looks. There is enough emotional space and pauses to do an entire Polyvagal session in.  

I mean, how about “I see you as more than a friend but I need to get my shit together first because both of us have just gotten out of significant relationships.” Hello. It’s a smart conversation, guys. It also helps avoid hurtful, unhelpful communication. But nope, we need to have that for some mild-mid range angsting before any of that purposeful communication stuff happens. 

Also, Dash is pissed off that Deputy Bobby got a friend to look up the transient Damian, on whatever police data source they have, and discovered he has charges, including sexual assault. He told Dash and Dash was unimpressed with Deputy Bobby. All right, Dash feels like everyone, especially himself so he projects, thinks he’s a screw up around men. Maybe Deputy Bobby overstepped the mark, I get it, but he was also being a friend. Here, we can look up CDA to check this information. People deserve to know if a potential new partner has (sexually) assaulted other partners, people. No one should be blindsided by that. Sadly, I do not know any women my age, I can’t speak for gay men, that hasn’t been SA. So, it’s serious. But, later in the book, Bobby wonders out loud to Dash if he could maybe give Dash’s phone number to Damian. *Face palm. Like, fuck me dead. I get it, Bobby wants to sound casual and see what Dash says, which is basic. It’s all, ‘see, we’re friends.’ *Rolls eyes.  

“He’s definitely interested in you. He’s also the jealous type; he stared daggers at me until he decided I wasn’t a threat.”

A possessive sexual assaulter, it made me feel ick. *Sighs (very) LOUDLY. 

As for the rest of the Last Picks-

Fox remains snarky.

Keme finally speaks to Dash but he’s pretty out of line around it.   

Indira’s idea of fixing things is to bake. If there’s something that ails you, Indira cooks up a storm, including cakes and eight cheese pasta – when four is not enough. You have a home here in Australia, Indira. 

There is note swapping on parents between Dash and Bobby. Both of their parents seemingly have expectations of their respective adult children that don’t take into consideration that they are grown and with that comes choices of their own. 

Oh, and Dash sends off a short story to his parents for an upcoming anthology. Big news.   

Because it’s Halloween, Millie exclaims, in LOUD Millie fashion, that it’s a travesty some of the Last Picks haven’t seen Hocus Pocus, and Millie would be 100% RIGHT. I’m also guessing the song she told Keme about was the Sanderson sisters, really it’s all Bette Midler, singing I Put a Spell On You. Again, Millie nails it. 

There is something about these cozy mystery books that is so much better listening to them via audiobook of a night with minimal lighting, relaxing to the lovely cadence of Gibson’s narration. Maybe it’s also because the books, except occasionally, seem to have very little urgency to them and it’s simply relaxing.   

Again, even with a few things that bothered me, I liked this instalment of The Last Picks. 4 Stars!