At about 30% in, I wasn't sure I was going to finish reading this one, but here we are, and it was worth the trip. I'll certainly check out the next in this series when it comes out.

Our MC is frustrated and struggling, prone to lying to himself, cantankerous... But not stupid. Thrown into a different environment after a "mistake," he's doing what he can, scoring where he can, always planning to return home to L.A. but for that he needs money... So he sets about solving a murder mystery. Should be easy enough, right?

I like this character better than the MC of the Boystown series, and I like the setting (although man did it trigger flashbacks to Montana winters). Recommended for those of you who enjoy a messy queer MC just trying to be happy while being annoying and disruptive. ( )

Henry Milch gets sent to live with his grandmother out in nowhere Michigan after an overdose scare. He's not happy about it either.

This wasn't quite the book I thought it would be, but it's not bad either. It could've used more humor, but the subject is serious enough that humor might have undermined the story. Henry has some bad habits, like stealing drugs out of his boss's purse and looking for ways to score Oxy so he can just float through life. He resents both his mother and grandmother and finds Wyandot County dull, and when he stumbles over a body, the county sheriff less than competent or interested. ( )

My attempt at an objective rating of the book: 4 stars
My actual enjoyment of the book: 3-ish? Maybe 2.5

Henry Milch is a 24 year old who accidentally overdosed at a party in L.A. one night. Now he has to endure living with his grandmother in a small town in Michigan because his family is convinced it was a botched attempt at suicide. When a man is murdered and a reward is offered for any information that leads to an arrest, Henry sees it as his way to return to his life in L.A.

This was a tough book to rate for me. It is really well written and the mystery wasn't half-bad either, but I was really annoyed at the main character - so much that it took me a half a month to read it. I kept putting it down and doing other things. I'm not really sure what it is that bothered me about Henry that much, only that it did. If it weren't for Opal as his kind of sidekick, I doubt I would have read it even this fast. ( )

Warning: No romance. Not even a boyfriend in the picture.

Fun (despite the murder) read, with a gay protagonist and a bi side-kick.
Looking forward to book two. ( )