Albert is the most intriguing character - a bit like Dexter without his urge to kill or his attempts at being nice. Not many people can deal with Albert’s brutal honesty. Luckily, Ash can.The most refreshing thing about the book: Albert’s love for Ash doesn’t make him overly affectionate or less brusque all of a sudden. Quite the opposite. He's actively fighting it: "The whole idea was completely out of the question. He would simply have to bury it deep, and let it wither." But his actions will soon speak for themselves; especially if you go onto reading the sequel.
So, this is not a standard m/m read for many reasons.
It’s also not a romance, but first and foremost it's a thriller, therefore the investigation part is taken seriously. Julie Bozza covers a wide range of topics, too, such as morals in politics, minorities, the FBI in the post-Hoover era. So don’t expect a light read either. Chapters are from Albert’s (FBI, forensics expert), Ash’s (FBI) or John’s (killer) perspective which works well IMO. At the beginning, I thought Albert’s widely expressed “everyone’s dumb except me” attitude came on a bit too strong (his dialogue seemed stilted), but this got better fast.
Having read Bozza's [b:Butterfly Hunter|15769299|Butterfly Hunter|Julie Bozza|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1343215477s/15769299.jpg|21476075], not more than a two star read for me, this couldn't have been any more different. I won’t put this on my favorite book shelf anytime soon, but it was a complex and compelling book and the MCs stayed with me for a while.