CincyKris

I was thinking along these lines, also. Survivor's guilt is a hard thing to get past. He wasn’t following me. He wasn’t looking for conversation. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. But he was there. And for some reason, that just bothered me. For a man who had spent years building his solitude into a kind of armor, simple presence was enough to throw me off balance. How long has it been since his husband died? If it is more than a couple of years, it's understandable that Liam has finally started to notice attractive men again. I think Adrian is probably the first person he's been attracted to in a long time.

I wonder what the guys will find in the outbuildings? Will they get to the statue before Thomas goes panther hunting?

This was a very sweet ending! We saw the characters change and grow, well most of them. Marvin needs to find a good guy.

Dean's life is unraveling, but he doesn't yet realize that it needs to happen. Unless his desperately unhappy life unravels, he won't be able to start a new happy life.

We learned a lot more about Coop's background. Perhaps not as dramatic as we conjectured! Still not a happy childhood, it seems Martin and his family were the highpoint. Adam meeting "the parents" shows how much their relationship means to Coop. I hope we find something in Martin's things to help solve the murders.

I don’t think Adam is involved. I’m hoping his involvement with the plot will be helping Coop heal and move on. The more bigwigs involved, the scarier it is for the boys!

Very sad, his family and doctors did him no favors by keeping him from the truth. I’m back to not entirely understanding the prologue though.

George at his best people schmoozing! And we get to go back to sea!!! Can't wait.

Louis is subtly drawing out friendship with both Ian, who I suspect has few friends, and Charlie. Tom's visit sounds like it will be interesting, an alcoholic workaholic taking time off will have a backstory. Naturalistic and native gardening is very much on the upswing here in the US. Although in the above picture, the plants are mostly native to the American Midwest.

I would say the conversation with Marvin was helpful. Creek found out what Martin has been going through and offered his continued friendship. But, I think Creek should have gently reinforced that it is just friendship. Leading Marvin along, even unintentionally, when he's this fragile is not smart or kind. He seems to sometimes forget he has another young man in love with him.

I'm going to guess Marvin will be a little sad that Creek moved on, but I don't think he'll be mad. At least not with anyone but himself. Marvin is obviously not ready to commit to a relationship with anyone, yet. Thanks for this sweet chapter, and for giving Creek two family members that have his back.

I'm going to paste this passage from the prologue again because I have a new wild theory. He remembered the paralyzing weight in his chest, the words "I like you" dying on his tongue during that endless, humid summer before university was to start choked by fear – fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of what it meant to feel that way. That silence became the architect of his phantom world. Because In My Mind, he did find the courage. He did speak the words, his voice cracking but clear. And Adam... Adam’s eyes had widened, then softened, and he’d said yes. What if the phantom world is the prologue? What if Adam's bleak future existence is actually some sort of coma dream and he's laying in a hospital bed? That would answer some of our questions on why this happy, smart kid with loving, loyal family and friends would be abandoned to a lonely and desperate future.

I think it's time for Creek to start what most mid-twenties adults with kids have already done, and move out of his parent's home. It will take some months for his tenants lease to expire, but he has his own home. People rarely change their minds about emotionally charged issues unless they are challenged by people the love. Arthur and Dawn are reinforcing her hate. Will dad speak up? Will it take Creek removing Forest from her life to wake her up? I felt an instant dislike for her in the first chapter, but now she's on my list!

I haven't gone out for New Years Eve for quite some years. Before my sister's family moved to Florida, we always went to hers. Now we just stay home, and I am happy with that. Too many drunk crazies out and about! As evidenced by this chapter. @Summerabbacat, as for sprinkles, very much alive and well in the US. I have some Christmas ones I use for cookies (biscuits for you). I just typed "baking sprinkles" into Amazon and got over 7000 results!

We had some of our old questions answered, but still have lots of mystery. Was the distorted timeline intentional? Summer was winding down. Prom was around the corner. Graduation wasn’t far behind. But then we had graduation before prom, at the end of summer? Our beginning, the prologue, is set in the future, since the boys are graduating in 2025. I can't make sense yet of this quote from the prologue that set up the whole story. He remembered the paralyzing weight in his chest, the words "I like you" dying on his tongue during that endless, humid summer before university was to start choked by fear – fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of what it meant to feel that way. That silence became the architect of his phantom world. Because In My Mind, he did find the courage. He did speak the words, his voice cracking but clear. And Adam... Adam’s eyes had widened, then softened, and he’d said yes.

My money is on Walter for bad guy, but who knows? Our Author, hopefully!

I realize that Marvin is recovering his mental health from being in a long-term emotionally abusive relationship, and has absolutely not developed his self-esteem back. But, I would have told Arthur to go fuck himself, preferably with the longest knife in the restaurant. I would have recorded every conversation I had with him, and I'd be suing him for discrimination. All of this loudly, in front of the other staff. If you ever watch a food show with trendy or celebrity chefs, you'll see that the LGBT community Is very well represented in the American food scene. Hopefully Emma can help him through this relapse before his ex makes it worse. And please let Creek find this out, his family doesn't seem the type to accept bigoted and illegal bullying.

I think that by “calling the police “ he means call Bane. That he’s willing to confide in Todd is a huge step forward in his trust issue.

This may be a surprise to Todd, a shock for Kilroy, but not to me! He needs to call Bane sooner than later. The killer is not only murdering club members, but making it look like they killed each other. Thank you so much for this juicy chapter.

I think this is the happiest Creek has been since his wife died. Maybe even happier since he's got Forest and a good friend who might become more.

It seems Louis is comfortably settling in to his new workplace, Nicky the harpy notwithstanding. Charlie looks to be a good new friend. Whilst Ian may not be the brightest bulb, being next door, he will notice anyone messing around the bungalow. Perhaps someone looking for a certain statue.

I hope Arthur actually does think about his words. He would be the first to go after anyone who insulted his Japanese wife, but he is spouting bigoted nonsense.

I think this was the most satisfying chapter yet. We finally delved into some honest communication and character development. There were none of the little inconsistencies or odd things that took me out of the story, which I now know was due to an author setting a story in their non-native country. But now that I'm aware of that, I'll be able to let those things go easier if they pop up again. I think that @drsawzall will be happy that Marvin and Creek have friend zoned each other! Creek's mom went into smother mode again. You sure? You’re still grieving, Creek. Whether you talk about it or not. You lost your partner, you’re raising a baby, and now you’re spending time with this boy who’s clearly attached to you. I’m not saying it’s wrong—just… be careful what you promise with your time, and with your heart.” And yet she was pushing for him to date Kate less than 6 months after his wife died?! Does this mean she will have problems with Creek's orientation if he starts dating a guy?

I love this start! We will obviously get to enjoy some more quirky characters here. Would I be mistaken to assume we have been to those "arts and crafts studios" before? I believe there was a bread baker/former policeman? It appears that Louis is wholly unaware of his uncle's dodgy past.

Wow! You crafted a great villain in Grandma! I'm eagerly awaiting the families' response when they find out. Like other readers, I'm hoping that AI Josh will fight through the fog to take over their body and escape. But I also want to know who these guys are, do they work for Walter? Maybe he could escape after we get a peek behind the curtain?