The Cross Quarter Mysteries

I enjoyed this novel! It's an ambitious collection of entwined stories: a mystery, a love letter to the California coast, and gay men connecting to their hearts. All are strong and the combination makes for a solid novel.

I liked the gay men story the best. This isn't really a romance novel, definitely not erotic. Instead it's about men finding their way to emotional honesty. And developing complicated relationships: some romantic, some friendly. Also a moving side story of reconciling being gay with being Catholic. There's a wonderful interlude with a retreat to a gay camp with The Billies, a picture of gay communion that made my heart ache.

I also liked the California story. Most of the story is set in a fictional Central Coast town somewhere around Big Sur. It's well depicted and the town's cast of characters form the main structure of the story. There's a particularly thoughtful depiction of two people living on the fringes with some mental illness in the mix, they were compelling. The titular Mysteries take place in this town and I don't want to spoil anything but it follows a murder mystery novel pattern. But that's not the main focus of this book, at least not for me. Instead it's really about the people and their complex emotional interactions.

One extra setting also is remarkable. This town has a modern monastery and the glimpses of monastic life made me want for more about it. Maybe a followup gay love story set in the monastery? That might be a bit blasphemous compared to the vibe of this book.

PS: this book is written by a friend, so this review may not be quite as nit-picky as some of mine. But I genuinely liked the book.