After a recent case with a treacherous client, North and Shaw are ready to go back to work building Borealis Investigations. They’re also ready to go back to dodging their feelings for each other, with neither man ready to deal with the powerful emotions the Matty Fennmore case stirred up. Everything is getting back to normal when their secretary asks for help: her girlfriend’s boss has gone … missing.
Shep Collins runs a halfway house for LGBTQ kids and is a prominent figure in St. Louis’s gay community. When he disappears, however, dark truths begin to emerge about Shep’s past: his string of failed relationships, a problem with disappearing money, and his work, years before, as one of the foremost proponents of conversion therapy.
When Shep’s body turns up at the halfway house, the search for a missing person becomes the search for a murderer.
As North and Shaw probe for answers, they find that they are not the only ones who have come looking for the truth about Shep Collins. Their investigation puts them at odds with the police who are working the same case, and in that conflict, North and Shaw find threads leading back to the West End Slasher—the serial killer who almost took Shaw’s life in an alley seven years before. As the web of an ancient conspiracy comes to light, Shaw is driven to find answers, and North faces what might be his last chance to tell Shaw how he really feels.
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Here we are again… another Gregory Ashe story… another Borealis Investigations… and I’m an emotional mess in all of the ways that an author can only hope to achieve with their readership! So, I put several newer Ashe releases in between Orientation and Triangulation, not because I didn’t love this series, but actually the opposite—these characters and their highs and lows touch me so profoundly that I had to delay between books because 1. I needed to draw North and Shaw out and 2. I needed to gather my strength to continue.
As with any Gregory Ashe book, the mystery is absolutely fantastic and the growth of the characters in between the greater plot, is both heartbreaking and so utterly uplifting that you completely forget the 300 pages of glass and fire you walked through to reach the end with one perfectly and eloquently phrased line of love and understanding. In Triangulation, we have the return of private detectives, North and Shaw, and another LGBTQ situation. Namely, their secretary, Pari—her girlfriend’s boss has gone missing. Shep Collins, who runs Iris, an LGBTQ youth house in St. Louis, has vanished, and his disappearance has alarmed the staff enough to hire someone to look into the situation. But when his personal life begins to suggest issues of money, cheating, and complicated relationships stemming from his time running a conversion therapy camp in Arkansas—this is anything but an open and shut case. From old loves to new, enemies, dirty cops, and everything in between—North and Shaw are against the odds.
I just loved this book so much. I know that this statement seems silly, given I’ve probably said something similar for most of Ashe’s books, but honestly, this is probably one of my favorites he’s ever written, even compared to Hazard & Somerset, The First Quarto, and more. North and Shaw are such incredible characters—North especially. He has a particular brand of vulnerability, relatable-ness, and utter realness that makes him a character all authors wish they could write. He’s such a savvy investigator, so damn funny in his back-and-forth with Shaw, but underneath the bravado and snark, is a very romantic and scared man. He’s utterly terrified of taking a step away from his husband, of exploring the love he deserves, and most importantly, of handling Shaw being in trouble while they investigate their newest case. I feel like my message to Gregory on the daily is: How’s my baby, North? lol
But speaking of the case, I have to commend Ashe time and again for his ability to tell a story that is both tight and expansive. He’s one of few authors in the genre that I feel can cast a wide net across multiple suspects and those people’s personal relationships (quite often important in the dirty details) but are not lost on the reader with too many names and connections. Speaking as an author, that’s very hard to do, but as a reader, I was personally never overwhelmed.
From beginning to end, this is just an incredible exploration of mystery, romance, studying the setting as a character, and not being afraid to make North and Shaw get dirty to learn a thing or two about themselves and each other. What a fabulous read.
I love this series! A definite page-turner. North and Shaw are awesome together and so very flawed.
Please just for gosh sake, start with the first book of the series (Orientation: Borealis Investigation, Book 1) because of the complexity of the story, you simply must. And you’ll be so very glad you did as it will increase your enjoyment immensely. Let’s start with the synopsis, shall we? In Gregory Ashe’s ‘Triangulation: Borealis Investigations, Book 2’, Shaw and North are approached about the disappearance of Shep Collins, who runs a halfway house for LGBTQ kids. Shaw looks into the man’s background, they discover working with LGBTQ youth is nothing new for Shep as he has run a Conversion Therapy camp sometime in the past, though at present Shep Collins is an openly gay, happily married man. It seemed that the man had a habit of picking up and running when he decides to remake himself, so the guys are hard-pressed to determine if this is just another example of the same. When he is found stabbed to death and placed in the trunk of the car of the very person that hires Borealis to locate him, North and Shaw are divided on who is the likely culprit, especially when it is discovered that one of the Conversion Camp’s past clients is currently working at the youth center. North and Shaw unearth additional information that Shep Collins wasn’t as upstanding as was initially believed. This constitutes the major plot for Triangulation, Book 2.
Continuing with the plot for the series arc is Shaw’s belief that the wrong man has been convicted and imprisoned as the West End Slasher. He goes to visit the prisoner only to find that he conveniently died the night before. North and Jadon Reck of the St. Louis Police Department (Shaw’s current boyfriend), are not particularly thrilled about Shaw’s decision to visit the convict but both agree that the wrong man was punished for the crimes. This prompts Jadon to do some digging on his own, as he is certain a coverup concerning the police department is at the heart of the prisoner’s death.
As for Shaw’s current boyfriend, things between them are complicated by Shaw’s love for North that has continued unabated since their time in college. By North looking after Shaw during his physical and mental recuperation from the West End Slasher attack, his love is completely relatable. It is compounded by North’s continued willingness to save Shaw’s life, as was the case in the previous book when the betrayal results in an understandable setback concerning Shaw’s disposition towards sexual intimacies. As demonstrated in the first book, Shaw is quite willing to protect North, too and he does so in a way that gives readers a glimpse of the ferocity of which Shaw is capable. For the most part, things do not work out with Jadon and their relationship ends while Shaw and North become lovers at last!
North’s other relationships continue to an extent that other glimpses of his past and therefore insights into his character are on offer. There’s the very crocked Uncle Ronnie who trying to track North down to have that favor returned. There’s the truly despicable Tucker who is trying to get back together with North after he leaves. There’s the father whose relationship with North is purely dysfunctional, being absent of anything remotely resembling paternal love. All give us empathy and admiration for North McKinney that is, in my humble opinion, the brightest spot of the series thus far.
Writer Gregory Ashe has this way of giving readers a blatant glimpse of ‘who done it’, yet he blind-sides us with so very many other titillating and tantalizing details that fully flesh out the narrative and leave one second-guessing. As is his usual, there is dynamic progress with the subplot in the novel as well as along the series arc. The resolutions of the subplots are satisfying without the conclusion of the conflict in the series. Yet again, he’s given readers much to look forward to! Damn, the man is good.
Where do I start… I am deeply engrossed in this series. Ashe is one of those evil authors who knows how to rile up the readers at the start and keep them incensed to the end. Vulnerable kids being put in jeopardy left me in protective big sister mode. I listened to the entire book slightly tense.
This book got only four stars from me on the first listen because I wanted to smack North and Shaw. Without any epic spoilers, I will say that Jadon sums up their situation perfectly. Maybe the book deserve an extra star because I am so invested. I haven’t decided yet.
Great mystery. Great characters. Witty dialogue. Nice conclusion. The narration was great. A few words pronounced in unexpected ways, but since I have a cowboy accent (Wyoming and western South Dakota not the Texas one) I won’t judge.
I recommend this whole series. Especially if you liked Hazard and Somerset’s series.
This book is just amazing. One thing that I love about Gregory Ashe’s books is how his men aren’t perfect. They usually have something going on with domestic violence or have mental health issues. If only they could use their words and not wait for years to go by. I cannot wait for North and Shaw to get together. Also, Charlie David’s narration did not disappoint.
The depth of these characters just increases exponentially with each interchange. The true level of the how deep the damage goes, how desperately these two need each other, and the whole mystery surrounding the slasher comes out in Triangulation. Or maybe Gregory Ashe is just scratching the surface.
Mr. Ashe is building something incredibly intense along with the wonderful mysteries in the Borealis Investigations. Shaw and North have so much history. It’s everything they’ve brought along with them over the past eight years, plus everything (and everyone) getting caught in their wake… I don’t know if I can wait to find out what happens next in Declination!
But wait I will, because I’ve so thoroughly enjoyed listening to Charlie David read these books to me and it wouldn’t be the same without him. So *fingers crossed* the audio version of Declination comes out soon!
Fans of Charlie David know what he brings to his performances, and if you’ve not had the opportunity to enjoy him yet the Borealis Investigations series is a great place to start. He definitely gets these guys and I love how he handles their banter (as well as all the drama and tension between them).
An excellent mystery, interesting characters, and a hearty dose of delicious angst, Gregory Ashe’s Borealis Investigations series is amazing.
–Audiobook Review–
4.5 stars-Triangulation is the second book in the Borealis Investigations series and is definitely one which should be read in order. I needed a bit of an adjustment period to warm up to Shaw and North when reading the first book, but the pair of friends and work partners really shown in Triangulation. I enjoyed their banter and silliness even ore this time and really loved the fast, fun pace that makes these books incredibly hard to put down.
I read the first book in the Borealis Investigations series and listened to the second, and I definitely think this narrator is a spot on choice for the series. In fact, I’d wager his performance played a big role in why I enjoyed the second book in the series even more than the first. His voice fit the characters, moments, and pace so very well, inputting emotion into the scenes without overplaying them.
The suspense element in Triangulation was well done with some good twists I didn’t anticipate at all. There’s still a bit of levity and luck involved with North and Shaw’s investigations, but the series is not lacking in suspense or action. I think what really won me over in Triangulation was the romance and character progression. I enjoyed getting to see more from both North and Shaw, including a good amount of insight into their past feelings and experiences, and I was incredibly happy that this book really furthered their relationship. Plus that ending…wow! I’m torn between wanting to dive into book three because I have to know what happens next and forcing myself to wait because I so enjoyed Mr. David’s narration. If you like some silliness with your suspense and mystery, I definitely would recommend giving this series a look or, better yet, a listen. I think many will develop just as much a soft spot in these two best friends turned PI partners as I have.
*Received ACX promo code via LesCourt Author Services. The author, narrator, and PA had no influence over this review*
Audible. Also available via KU.
The is the second book in the Borealis Investigations series and it feel like a middle book. I read the first book and was thrilled to get to listen to this one. I *think* it’s the center of a trilogy and I don’t believe it would work for someone to jump in with this one. Ashe did give a little back story, but not enough for this to be a standalone. This absolutely ends on a HFN for Shaw & North as well as a cliffhanger for the mystery/suspense.
It was missing a little something as far as connecting with the characters as I felt I did in the first book. But I’m still going to round 4.5 stars up to 5, because I’m invested in the story and characters. The big question is whether I’ll be able to wait for Declination on audio or I’ll just break down and read it.
This was my first narration by Charlie David and I really enjoyed his style. I do feel like there were times where the secondary characters could have more unique voices ~ because there were a few places in the story where a conversation involving several people was going on and it was a bit difficult to tell who was speaking. Besides that, it was fantastic and I’m definitely looking forward to him in the future. Again, I’m rounding up.
I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.