Where do I start?
Well this is the third book in the unfinished business and as such has a very high bar to beat the first two books, especially Jonty’s story in book one. You only need to follow the MM book community on Facebook to see just how popular Jonty is. Reinventing Cato is a little darker and has suspenseful nail-biting moments, compared to the previous books.
Well we have a Cato, a top scientise, Vigge is a Detective inspector, Snowstorms, Cato’s two Ex’s, Murder’s, Death Threats, Trapeze act, Violinist, a flat mate that wants into Cato’s pants. Grumpy vs Funny guys stuck together for a long car journey. Suspense, tears, and lots of funny chats.
So, let’s look at Cato, who has featured briefly in the previous books as Jonty’s boyfriend’s brother. Cato is at a crossroads in his life. He has recently come out of a bad relationship and is lonely and hungers for someone to love. He is also at the top of his game in his career, head hunted by Nassa. But as the new year draws in, he decides he needs to reinvent himself, stop the one-night stands and seriously search for the guy to have a meaningful relationship with that desperately wants.
Vigge carry’s a lot of baggage from his past and especially the death of his brother. He barely has a relationship with his parents since that fateful day when he came out to his parents, and his brother ran out of the house.
Both characters are at a crossroads in their lives, and when they are thrown together in a attempt to get from Scotland to the south of England after a severe snow storm closes the airports and train stations. Vigge reluctantly agrees to give Cato a lift in his hire car.
It is soon obvious both characters are attracted to one another, and when they stop at a roadside motel, they get it on. But it is only the start of a very bumpy relationship. Vigge must decide if he can honestly have a relationship with Cato and he knows that to do so would eventually require him to come out at work.
And Cato has to decide whether to go to work at Nassa in the US or try for a relationship with Vigge .
Barbara has such great skill in creating interesting characters that you soon feel like they are a part of your friends /0r family circle. They are always colourful characters that you can not help but feel their emotions good and bad. She is also skilled at balancing those emotions of light happy moments and darker moody and in this book fearful emotions.
The tension builds almost from the start as to what the threats mean, who they are from and what is the motive. As we get deeper into the book the darker and more dangerous the threats become.
Of course, Cato is beside himself, and won’t allow Vigge to call in the threats in case it causes the person behind them to follow through on his threats.
Vigge of course must battle his police training to keep his promise to not call in the threats.
I am usually quite good at guessing the ending of stories and solving the who done it before I read the end of the book. But I was guessing right till the end any changed my mind several times before we find out.
Barbara’s sneaky writing gives us hints of who it might be then she kind of throws a curve ball and makes you think, no it can not be that person, or can it?
I really enjoyed getting to know Cato, after the glimpses of him in previous books. He is like a milder version of Jonty. I can not imagine what would happen if Jonty and Cato were in the same story all the way through, like if Cato an Vigge, and Jonty and Devon were on holiday together. Not sure the world would be able to cope, but we would defiantly die laughing.
