Book Review: Second You Sin by Scott Sherman

Reviewer: Alan Chin

Publisher: Kensington Books

Pages: 314

This is the second book of the Kevin Connor Mystery series. Kevin Connor is a New York City callboy, who also spends his off hours volunteering at the local daycare center. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, has a heart of gold, and his circle of friends/family are all rather wacky and entertaining.  His only problem is that, one by one, his circle of friends is shrinking. Someone is killing off Big-Apple hustlers. Kevin decides to investigate these strange deaths, only to end up a target himself.

Let me state up front, this is a comedy. It’s meant to tickle your funny bone, and nothing more. It’s what I call ‘a beach read.’ The kind of book where 1) everybody is gay, 2) everybody is buff and beautiful, and 3) the plot is as paper thin as the characters. That said, it is hilarious and will keep you turning pages.

This is a light-hearted, speedy read that has something amusing on almost every page. People who enjoy gay comedies will undoubtedly love this story. It’s funny, often witty, and sexy.

I don’t normally read comedies, because I personally start off enjoying the humorous banter, but after fifty pages or so I begin to tire of it. This book was no exception. I found that the author often went off on long, sometimes chapter long, tangents where he blathered on about something unrelated to the story, simply to amuse the reader.

The last thing I’ll mention is that Kensington is a large and respected publisher, yet I found numerous grammatical/spelling errors. My opinion of this publisher has plummeted.

For readers who like a frivolous and funny gay romp, I can highly recommend this book. For readers who prefer a more serious and complex look at life, I suggest you pass on this one.