Jack Gets His Man by D.E. Haggerty
Series: The Gray Haired Knitting Detectives, #2
Romance Contemporary/MM
E book
Self Published

Jack should be on top of the world. His clothing store, Fabulous, Darling is making money hand over fist and his best friend has found love but Jack can’t seem to shake his restlessness. Quickly approaching his fortieth birthday, Jack is unsure of where his life is headed. When his office manager comes to him complaining he can’t handle the workload by himself anymore, Jack hires a new bookkeeper who is easy on the eyes and puts a new pep in Jack’s step. When his new bookkeeper discovers someone is stealing from the store, Jack’s best friend Izzy and the senior knitting brigade jump at the chance to help Jack catch a thief all the while determined to fix his love life while they’re at it. Jack isn’t sure who the thief is or who will be his next boyfriend but one way or another, Jack will get his man.

When I first requested this book, I was excited because the blurb hinted at humorous romance filled MM mystery thriller which is right up my alley. What I read was a directionless story with weak plotlines, an alarming amount of filler, and melodramatic characterization. The engaging premise never develops beyond face value. Loosely wrought together, Haggerty flips between the protagonist’s love life and the mystery of whom is stealing from his store with a lack of focus and grace. It’s all very superficial with no real romance or real investigating. Instead we are given a comedy of errors that should amuse but really only serves to annoy and in some cases offend the reader.

Strong foreshadowing informs us who the villain and the potential romance is right off the bat, then attempts to build the roads that lead us to the author’s desired results. New and old characters make an appearance and some share equal stage time with main character, finagling their way into every aspect of his life.  Unfortunately, the secondary characters are as equally underdeveloped as Jack and come off more annoying than helpful.

The entire main cast is written in glaring stereotypes. Jack, the protagonist, is a written as a flighty, superficial gay man with a heart of gold. He hires based on looks, gets pouty when he can’t sleep with his employees, and enjoys making his bestie’s husband uncomfortable by ogling him every chance he gets. His best friend, Izzy, is the grounder in their relationship, struggling to keep Jack from going off the deep end and indulging in illegal activity. Of course, when she becomes pregnant, she becomes a cliche as she eats her way through whole pies, growls at everyone around her, and wants sex 24/7.  My favorite (sarcasm alert) character is Tim who lies about being gay in order to avoid being set up on dates but when introduced to an attractive woman, he says no to pursuing her because women are “crazy bitches.”

What?

Add in an obnoxious and intrusive group of gray haired pseudo detective mobster like little old ladies who spike the food of their enemies and rule their church and neighbors with an iron fist, and an ex boyfriend who is just like Jack but more flamboyant, spazier, and unstable to boot and you have a book that annoyed from page one.

The lack of romance only served to further disenchant me with the story. The author wants you to believe Jack is falling head over heels for his book keeper, Darren, during the investigation but there is nothing to back it up beyond some internal dialogue on Jack’s end and a few steamy looks. There is no chemistry or sexual tension to lure us in. It’s all tell and no show. Even the sexual scenes are fade to black with a few mere sentences that allude to sex.

The predictable ending wraps up the mystery and assures us Jack has indeed gotten his man…but for the life of me I couldn’t tell you how or even why.

RATING: F

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