Liquor (Rickey and G-Man #2) in Queereaders

Apr 04, 2017 Christine rated it really liked it

This was my first PZB book, and I must try another soon. I've never read a book about the restaurant "life", and it was a great change to my typical reads. ...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Kassa rated it really liked it

Liquor may not be perfect but like any great drink with ingredients that shouldn’t go together but do, you simply enjoy the ride and ignore the aftertaste. The mix of fantastic New Orleans setting, great foodie descriptions, an intimate knowledge of the underbelly of the cooking scene, and some interesting characters combine to create a fun book with a hefty dose of classic New Orleans style. On the downside, the characters are flat and predictable, from beginning to end, and the mystery is so o Liquor may not be perfect but like any great drink with ingredients that shouldn’t go together but do, you simply enjoy the ride and ignore the aftertaste. The mix of fantastic New Orleans setting, great foodie descriptions, an intimate knowledge of the underbelly of the cooking scene, and some interesting characters combine to create a fun book with a hefty dose of classic New Orleans style. On the downside, the characters are flat and predictable, from beginning to end, and the mystery is so obvious it’s painful; yet the easy prose and great setting carry this book. Reading at the beach, this is the perfect light story with enough interest to keep me reading and flavor that I enjoyed, flaws and all.

Liquor introduces Rickey and G-Man, a couple of cooks in New Orleans bouncing from job to job, paycheck to paycheck. Rickey has ambition though while G-Man is the more stabilizing force of their partnership. When Rickey comes up with the idea to base a restaurant around liquor, because after all New Orleans’ natives do like to drink, they soon find themselves on a fast train with backers, employees, and even a murder mystery. The mystery of the disgruntled lunatic ex-boss is obvious from the start and not really the focus. It’s annoying to read sometimes since it’s a distraction and not the strength of the book. I personally wished they’d gotten that issue out of the way early on and just focus on the various characters as they get the restaurant running. Perhaps not the most exciting aspect but the stalker/mystery aspect didn’t help much in my opinion.

What really works is the description of pre-Katrina New Orleans. Anyone who visited or is familiar with the area will instantly recognize the setting in an intimate way. The city is perhaps the best loved, most important character of the story. The city is essential and the book wouldn’t have been nearly as successful for me if it hadn’t been included at this level. Additionally the great descriptions of the culinary world are simply fascinating. The cover quote mentions a similarity to Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and that’s very apt. The hard drinking, hard working, drugging, crass, rough and tumble nocturnal life that makes up kitchen professionals is offered here with clear knowledge and detail. From the various restaurants to the owners to locations, the cooking world is the second best developed character after the city.

These two aspects are enough to carry the story for me. The high entertainment factor combined with clean prose and a quick pace make the pages fly by and enough interest and flavor to always make me want to read. The characters are decent and memorable and the story does a good job of differentiating the large cast from each other. Unfortunately they all feel flat and predictable. The typical evil stalker does everything you’d think he would and makes every obvious choice. This ties into the mystery aspect which is meant to keep tension in the story, which it does, but this is one of the weakest parts. I found it annoying whenever the story focused on the stalker but thankfully the strengths of the story kept the pace going.

The characters of G-Man and Rickey are fun to read. They’re not well developed and there is a lot of weight and depth missing from them. They’re best friends and lovers and have been together since they were young kids. There is a sense of permanency to their relationship and they simply can’t or won’t do without each other. Their personalities balance and compliment well, creating a fun duo of men that are interesting to read. Yet the entire time I wanted more from them. I wanted to know more about them individually and together. They felt like a normal couple with dry spells, frustrations, arguments, and romance but also with a sense of two men that are in love and this is it for them. Perhaps since this is the first book in a series, they’ll develop and evolve as the series continues.

The themes of friendship, love, cooking, and the city setting are what really offer a great read. It’s not perfect and there are some things that may turn off readers. There is some head hopping with the point of view, extraneous characters and details, but for the most part I didn’t notice these issues very much. The story engaged and entertained me from the start. This is easily a book I’d re-read several times and I’m looking forward to continuing with the series. If you’re a fan of New Orleans and find the cooking profession fascinating, check this out. I think you’ll really enjoy it as I did. ...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: done, gay, fiction, 2011

Very good gay fiction about a couple who are line cooks in New Orleans and are approached by a financier interested in helping them open a restaurant. I especially enjoyed reading this while in New Orleans.

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