The Long Way Home by Z.A. Maxfield

Narrated by J.F. Harding

Z.A Maxfield is a new-to-me author, and I was intrigued by the synopsis for The Long Way Home, a romantic mystery featuring an ex-cop who gained some sort of psychic ability following a serious car accident, and the detective assigned to babysit him when he is called in to consult on a particularly disturbing case.

Kevin Quinn liked his job and his life, but after the accident – in which he lost the sight in one eye – he started to realise that something else had changed as well, and that he could somehow sense feelings and emotions by touching inanimate objects. For the past five years, he’s hidden himself away on a ranch in Wyoming with only his faithful dog for company, has a friends-with-benefits relationship with the local vet, and is fortunate enough to be able to make a decent living as a romantic novelist (under a pseudonym of course.) ;)

He finds his gift – which he mostly regards as a curse – difficult to cope with; he doesn’t understand it, and his physical reactions can range from the unpleasant to the deeply painful. He’s assisted with a few police investigations over the years and has always insisted on anonymity, but the last one turned into a debacle when someone leaked his name to the press, so he is understandably reluctant to put himself in the firing line again. But when his brother-in-law (who is police chief in Orange County, CA, where Kevin grew up) appeals to him for help in a case in which teenaged boys are being abducted at an alarming rate, he is unable to refuse.

Kevin is assigned a ‘handler’, a relative newcomer to the department, detective Connor Dougal who is sceptical of Kevin’s abilities to say the least, but who has agreed to have Kevin stay at his place for a week or two in order to keep him as far off the radar as possible. The two don’t hit it off, and Connor’s scepticism has a couple of unexpected and unpleasant consequences when they begin to examine the evidence and personal effects of the missing boys. But when Connor witnesses Kevin’s extreme reaction to one item in particular he’s finally convinced that perhaps Kevin really can do what he says he can do, and becomes determined to help him in any way he can. One thing Kevin is able to say with certainty – all the boys abducted up until now are dead, even though no bodies have ever been found.

As well as being able to sense things from objects, Kevin can also pick up on other people’s dreams. He can’t prevent or control it; he can see what the person sees, and feel what they feel. He’s pulled into one of Connor’s dreams on his first night in the apartment, and it happens again on subsequent nights. Kevin initially keeps quiet, not wishing to embarrass his host, but when he realises that Connor’s dreams could be linked to the current spate of killings, he has no alternative but to suggest that Connor should make the authorities aware of the possible connection.

It’s not quite as simple as owning up to something that happened when he was a scared, fifteen-year-old kid, though. For Connor, bringing up the death of his best friend opens up a whole new can of worms – a can he’s kept firmly in the closet for the last decade – because he and Andrew Shilling were more than friends, they were lovers. Connor has never admitted the truth about their relationship or his feelings for Andrew to anyone and has remained closeted for the decade since his disappearance. Confessing he withheld important information isn’t going to paint him in a good light and may be career suicide, but he knows it’s the right thing to do, especially if it will help apprehend whoever is behind the abductions.

While I enjoyed The Long Way Home, it isn’t without its problems. The romance is based on insta-lust, and Kevin’s realisation that he’s in love comes almost out of the blue – although I liked that he was willing to put himself out there and not hold back about his feelings. And it’s difficult to believe that Connor, who hasn’t had a relationship or sex with a guy in a decade would so suddenly decide that was what he wanted. But in spite of those things, they actually make a cute couple once we get past the insta-lust and Connor’s abrupt epiphany; the author creates a sense of genuine affection and caring between them, and I liked the way they settle easily into a kind of domesticity (even before they fall for each other) that seems so natural to them that they don’t even question it.

But if the romance moves a bit too quickly, the mystery moves a bit too slowly. When the villain finally appears on the scene, it’s pretty obvious that’s who he is (and I should point out that there is mention of childhood sexual abuse here, but it’s brief and not detailed) and I had to ask myself several times why Kevin had no suspicions about him whatsoever until the appropriate point in the story. I suspect that had I read rather than listened to this one, I might have found these niggles more frustrating than I did, but J.F. Harding’s engaging narration enabled me to get past them fairly easily. His voice is easy on the ear, his pacing is just right, and his performance is nicely and subtly nuanced throughout. All the characters in the story are appropriately differentiated, and Mr. Harding’s interpretations of the two leads fit them really well – Connor is a fairly large man and has a deep, resonant tone to match, while Kevin is more softly spoken with a slightly husky note to his voice – and the depth of the affection that lies beneath their good-natured teasing is adroitly conveyed. The various secondary characters are all expertly and clearly delineated as well, and while his female voices are not the best I’ve heard, they’re definitely not the worst either; what I’ve termed his “little old lady voice” really suits Robbie, the psychologist who helps Kevin start to learn how he might control his gift.

While The Long Way Home isn’t perfect, the story drew me in in spite of its weaknesses, and the excellent narration tips the scales in favour of a recommendation overall.

Editor’s Note: it’s currently in the Audible Romance Package.

Caz