Weekly Reader: A Knife's Edge: A Ronan McCullough Novel by Eliot Parker; Suspenseful Tense Mystery Shows Heroism, Justice, and Most Of All A Loving Same-Sex Family

Weekly Reader: A Knife's Edge: A Ronan McCullough Novel by Eliot Parker; Suspenseful Tense Mystery Shows Heroism, Justice, and Most Of All, A Loving Same-Sex Family

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




PopSugar Reading Challenge: A Medical Thriller


Spoilers: Eliot Parker's A Knife's Edge is another book that is the ultimate escape in the difference between fiction and reality. In reality, confidence in the police force is at an all time low and with good reason, as incidents of systemic racism have increased between police forces and black civilians. Cries of protest and defunding the police are at an all-time high.


In fiction, Ronan McCullough, a good heroic cop can wade through murdered bodies, starting with one inside a vehicle that plowed through a medical center, and baffling clues, like another body inside the trunk of the vehicle. All clues lead to a point, such as missing records of blood samples leading to evidence of a conspiracy. Suspenseful chases may end in injury, but still allow the protagonist to walk away, battered but alive. Heroes and villains are clearly defined as we root for Ronan to take on the drug dealers and crooked business people who order the murders and create a conspiracy that marks others for death. We can applaud Ronan as we question the behaviors and motivations of his real life counterparts and how they relate to the people that they are trained to protect and serve.


During Pride Month and on the anniversaries of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting and the Stonewall Riots, the Trump Administration scaled back protection for health services for transgender people. States are considering banning same sex marriage and adoption and protection for LGBT victims of hate crimes. Never have LGBT rights been more threatened since before the Obama Administration.


In fiction, we are shown Ronan at home with his loving boyfriend, Ty Andolino, who provides his emotional center. While the two keep their relationship a secret from homophobic eyes, they offer each other unconditional love and support. They also unofficially adopt Ronan's nephew Nick, becoming wise, but stern father figures to the teen.


If you can get past the real world that surrounds A Knife's Edge, you will find it an enjoyable read. It is suspenseful with leads and clues that make sense and plenty of moments when our heroes are in danger. The tension is tempered with sweet moments in the McCullough-Andolino household that offer a save haven from the dangers in the rest of the plot.


In fact as exciting as the mystery plot is, the real heart of the book lies in the relationships between Ronan, Ty, and Nick. There are many moments where Ronan tries his best to protect his boyfriend and nephew by warning them from becoming too involved in the case, especially when one of the murder victims was a friend of Ty's and Nick's girlfriend's aunt. Both of them have to remind Ronan that as long as they are in his life, they are involved and he can't get rid of them that easily.


Unlike many other detective-spouse relationships, Ronan and Ty's chapters don't fall into the tedium of the "lonely-cop-embittered-ex" cliche or the "why-aren't-you-home-more-often" arguments that are so predictable. They are a couple that I enjoy reading about as much as the mystery itself. In one moving moment, Ty, a nurse, expresses the worry that any loved one of a police officer would have, when he scans gurneys and stretchers and worries every time that he will see Ronan carried in on one.


Ronan is equally committed into his relationship with Ty. He keeps their sexuality a secret so they can avoid harassment. One of the more heart warming moments is when an antagonistic colleague not only reveals that he knows the two are lovers, but that he approves and almost envies their emotional connection. When he comes home, Ronan knows that Ty will be there with an understanding word, a shoulder to cry on, and a warm pair of lips just as he is for him.


The two also form a loving bond with Nick. The two lecture him when they find out that he has a girlfriend. They give him the safe sex talk. (and are pleased to learn that he hasn't slept with her yet.) They also are concerned when he appears to be in danger, becoming the loving parental figures that he needs. He also treats them like a sometimes exasperated, but always loyal son.


While the mystery is tight and suspenseful, it is the love between Ronan, Ty, and Nick that makes this story. It is nice to know that a loving family, any type of loving family, can shine during the darkest times in both fiction and reality.