Stevie‘s review of Broke Deep (Porthkennack, Book 3) by Charlie Cochrane
Contemporary Gay Romance published by Riptide Publishing 03 Jun 17
Back when I lived in Hampshire, Charlie Cochrane and I met up a time or two for lunch and antiquing at Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, and I suspect the architecture of that building has had no small part in inspiring this third book set in the fictional Cornish town of Porthkennack. Like the aforementioned mill, some of the beams in Morgan Capell’s house have been salvaged from a ship, in this case the wrecked Troilus, which came aground in a storm off Porthkennack two centuries earlier. Morgan has returned to his old family home to be closer to his mother, now in an advanced stage of dementia, and is settling back into a more peaceful life than that he experienced in London. His boyfriend is less happy about the change and unceremoniously dumps Morgan, long distance.
This bad start to Morgan’s day is not at all improved by an unexpected visitor in the form of Dominic Watson, an accountant and amateur historian, who is researching his family’s connections with the Troilus and wants to investigate the beams in Morgan’s house for further clues. Further pissed off by the fact that Dominic found him via his ex, Morgan is uncooperative. However, when Dominic follows Morgan’s instruction to put his request in writing and contact him by post, Morgan begins to warm to the man. The involvement is not without emotional complications, of course. Not only are the two soon falling for each other, but Dominic’s presence triggers a return of nightmares Morgan has suffered on and off throughout his life regarding the night of the wreck.
Unwilling to believe in a supernatural explanation, Morgan fears that the family history of dementia has caught up with him even earlier than he might have anticipated, and worries that Dominic might feel obliged to take care of him as the disease progresses, should they become involved. The explanation of the dreams, when it comes, though, is beautifully thought out and helps wrap up more than one mystery.
I loved this book and all its complexities. It’s by far my favourite of the series to date, and the house is very much a character in its own right as far as I’m concerned. I was also greatly enthused by the geekery for Age of Sail and other fannish obsessions displayed by both men, and by Dominic’s caring attitude towards Morgan, when he is taken ill, and towards Morgan’s mother, when they visit her at the nursing home. All in all, a most delightful read, and a highly worthy addition to the world of Porthkennack.
Grade: A
Summary:
Morgan Capell’s life is falling apart by small degrees—his father’s dead, his boyfriend dumped him, and his mother’s in the grip of dementia. His state of mind isn’t helped by his all-too-real recurring nightmare of the wreck of the Troilus, a two-hundred-year-old ship he’s been dreaming about since his teenage years.
The story of the Troilus is interwoven with the Capell family history. When amateur historian Dominic Watson inveigles himself into seeing the ship’s timbers which make up part of Morgan’s home, they form a tentative but prickly friendship that keeps threatening to spark into something more romantic.
Unexpectedly, Dominic discovers that one of the Troilus’s midshipman was rescued but subsequently might have been murdered, and persuades Morgan to help him establish the truth. But the more they dig, the more vivid Morgan’s nightmares become, until he’s convinced he’s showing the first signs of dementia. It takes as much patience as Dominic possesses—and a fortuitous discovery in a loft—to bring light out of the darkness.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
