Aidan Quinn is having a good day, possibly the best day of his life, at least since moving to Dublin. He just received word that his degree committee approved his PhD and he’s on his way home, with lamb chops, chard, and a bottle of wine. Time to celebrate in the little cottage he shares with his mentor and lover, Dr. David Stokes. But, something is wrong when he gets home. Dr. Stokes has found … found a new student to “mentor.”
Like any good Irish-American lad, he gets drunk and heads home to his mother. He hopes to find himself and make plans for a new future in the quiet backwater town of Cooter Crossing. But, he forgot what it’s like being part of a large family in an extremely small town. He gets off the plane in Tampa and finds his little sister is pregnant and won’t tell anyone who the father is. His next two older brothers, Danny and Dillon, are keeping secrets, and the oldest, Rory, shows up with his son, Sean, expecting Aidan to help him navigate Sean’s coming out.
Just as Aidan thinks he’s finally getting ahead of the family drama, and settling back into life in a small Florida village, someone shoots him. And people start dying. Will he find a way to put all the pieces back together? Will he find a new direction for his life? And, what really happened to Mrs. DeWitt’s prize rooster?
“Return to Cooter Crossing” is a contemporary southern family drama with strong characterization and set in Stephen del Mar’s rich world of Bennett Bay and Big Cypress County, Florida. Although not a part of the paranormal series “The Live Oak Tales,” this story takes place after the events in “Hunter Moon and the Red Wolf” and includes a few familiar characters from that series, such as Innes Callahan and his sister Fi, Allen Clark, Deputy JJ Jackson, Max Crawford and Marcus Murphy, among others.
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I have not read anything by this author before. I read the blurb for this book and was immediately interested. The premise seemed to be very involved, and I thought that if it were implemented competently, it would be a good read. I was a bit concerned that I would miss some of the references (due to not having read previous books that contained secondary characters in this book) but decided to try it anyway. I then saw the number of pages and hesitated. This is a long book. I took a chance. I am so very glad that I did.
The author followed through on the premise, creating a world and circumstances that interwove the strings and strands of this family and county together and set the stage for a beautiful HEA for the two main characters, and several secondary characters as well.
The opening scene and flashback were shocking, to say the least. To see such a cold disregard for another and feel the nastiness of the actions taken by someone who is supposed to care about the character was mind numbing, to me and the main character. I had to re-read it to convince myself that I didn’t imagine the ugliness. It was awful but in a good literary way.
Aidan was obtuse in his interactions with others for most of his life. He learned, through trial and error after returning home, that he had to pay more attention to those around him. He had to learn to feel and understand what they were feeling and experiencing also. That was the only way he could grow and evolve into someone that others could trust and rely on. He struggled to accept that others were there for him if he would only let them in. That was a hard fought lesson.
His acceptance of others, innocent others, in his life was challenging for him, and the responsibility of caring for them on a regular basis stretched his character until it fit around his new reality.
J.J. is a sweetheart. He carried his love for Aidan around with him for years, not letting it stop the forward trajectory of his life, but knowing it was there nonetheless. He and Aiden worked together to find the HEA they both deserved. They battled insecurities and outside influences until their trust in one another was firm and stable.
The underlying story of murder, betrayal, and deceit was well thought out and spread along the length of the novel in such a way that it was always at the back of my mind, influencing how I reacted to the characters and their actions as the book progressed. The investigation was well handled by secondary characters and allowed Aidan and J.J. to move forward with their lives and personal inclinations.
The colorful, artful descriptions of the environment give you a feeling of being there, a part of this world and its inhabitants. I could almost smell the magnolia blossoms as they stood beneath the marrying tree. The darkness of the river at night had me hearing the splash of water and the buzz and chirp of the insects active along the banks. So beautiful.
I could go on and on in praise of Return to Cooter Crossing and the author Stephen del Mar. I don’t remember the last time I’ve read anything as sweeping and compelling as this book. The author has captured my attention. I will most definitely read his other works.