Bridge Water

Detective Derek Cooper #1

by Allen Renfro

Forced to come out of the closet to prove his innocence in a brutal murder, Detective Derek Cooper is warned by the police chief not to get involved in the case. Consumed with guilt, Derek knows he must unravel the secrets of his own drunken actions on the night of the murder in order to help find the killer.

When he is asked to work with the detectives on the case he must face his own personal demons that he has ignored for years. As they struggle to solve the bizarre murder, Derek realizes the pieces of the puzzle aren't going to fit and a more sinister element could be involved. He then realizes something even more he could be falling in love…

Genres: M M Romance, Mystery, Crime, Contemporary, Thriller, Romance

ebook

First published August 23, 2013

About the author

Allen Renfro is a native of Tennessee and a graduate of Tusculum College. A published poet and artist in the zine culture of the 1990s he considers himself a "fringe" artist who unabashedly tackles controversial subjects. An admitted history buff, horror movie watcher and reader of fiction, he is the author of twelve novels.

Reviews

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

This is not a romance.
Parts of this book are good, but there are so many things that interrupted my reading more than once. I don't think giggling men are very attractive to put it mildly. Next, I don't know much about cars, but I am not sure that using generic (generic sedan this, generic sedan that) every time Derek's car is mentioned is the way to go. Feel free to correct me on this.

Derek Cooper is not very convincing as a detective. He can't remember the names of people he works with. I could have accepted that if not for his inner voice (written in the second person, of course). Every now and then the voice would tell him things he should or shouldn't know better. It was annoying. Add the giggling into the mix and you'll get the picture. And Derek is not the only one who giggles here.
I think this is the first story I've read where the main character is a cheater. There isn't any cheating in this book (you only get a promise of future romance), but he had a serious relationship with someone good and he cheated. I didn't feel sorry for Derek when he looked at their picture, accepting the pain and whatnot. Still, a good trope as long as it's in the past.

One of the things that completely ruined the resolution of the mystery was the cheesy ending. Even if it is acknowledged as cheesy doesn't make it less so.

I think I'll try the second one too.

[Brandon Shire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sexual tension and murder always make for an interesting read and this didn't disappoint. Expect there will be a sequel, or two.

[Line · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one, sadly, ended up being a return-for-refund.
The story didn't suck me in, and the amount of imagery used to describe EVERY-LITTLE-THING was annoying as FUCK.
Yes, her eyes were blue like the sky and and the water was soft like silk (that's not what was said, however since I don't have the book anymore I did some paraphrasing), but using that kind of imagery for every action, leaf and person was totally unnecessary and over-the-top -IMO.


So Derek is a gay cop, he's not out, but he's not exactly HIDING-HIDING it either. When he wakes up one morning after being black-out drunk, and takes out the trash, he finds the body of a woman in his trash can.
At the same time his partner is called out to investigate a drowning-victim in the river.
They start the investigation of both victims... And I threw in the towel.
It just didn't work for me; it was too slow with all the descriptions and the plot did not suck me in.
However if you like flowery language and a slowly built case, this should definitely be for you.

[Angel Pedroza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an oddly unsatisfactory book. The mystery was complete and the perpetrator trope was familiar but the detectives were not. There were no back stories for the detectives and no indication of their futures. The primary male victim's motivations and life story was also hazy and incomplete. There were hints that the main character Derek prior relationship failed due to infidelity but that was never fully described. Also, the physical descriptions of all characters were sketchy. The book was well written and there was a deadly send up of a suburban planned community. But in the end unsatisfactory.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It captured my interest immediately and never let up. The world building and characterisation were great and I got completely involved in the story. Derek Cooper was a character I really liked and felt for. This is a complete story all by itself, but I would love there to be a sequel - I'd be first in line to buy it.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise for a book, but a few things made it hard for me to fully get into it. At times the dialogue was a bit distracting and Derek's running inner voice monologue made it difficult to concentrate on what was actually happening in the moment.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great murder mystery.

Different from his other books but done well. It was a great murder mystery. The man character was easy to live and I liked the questionable love interest.

[Meep · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kindle-Sort-ReRead

Dnf 25%

This is painful.
A mash of the floweriest purple prose I've ever read and constant really distracting bratty internal dialogue coupled with deep thoughts about how the world works.

The main character is unpleasant and from his pov so is everyone else. Apparently his being gay is a big secret, but he tells fellow detectives right at the start and one says 'everyone knows'. He spends every night getting drunk past recalling his actions. His reactions waver between poetic depression and giddiness.
He claims he's a cop because he thinks too much about what could go wrong instead of what could go right. He'd have been better getting a therapist!

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping!