Challenge Week Review: Billy’s Bones by Jamie Fessenden

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Billy’s Bones
Author: Jamie Fessenden
Heroes: Kevin Derocher/Tom Langois
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 254 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 22, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Kevin Derocher was thirty-two when he walked into Tom’s office, newly married, a baby on the way, and the collar of his red flannel shirt pulled up to hide the bruises around his throat from when he hanged himself in his garage. After his initial consult, therapist Tom Langois believes he’ll never see Kevin again—but Kevin turns up three years later to make repairs on Tom’s new house.

Kevin and Tom become fast friends, and Tom begins to suspect Kevin may be interested in more than friendship. However, Kevin remains haunted by something from his childhood—something so terrible he blocked it from his mind. These suppressed memories make it impossible for Kevin to get close to anyone without panicking and lashing out, sometimes violently. But as his past begins to surface, it becomes apparent that Kevin may hold the key to a twenty-five-year-old mystery: what happened to Billy?

Review: 

This book was recommended to me by my fellow Blogger Girl, Heather C, as part of our monthly challenge pick.  I had been looking forward to reading this since seeing her comments when she read it previously but just needed that extra push to make it happen.  I was not disappointed.  This was very different from what I usually read, and I loved it for that reason alone.  Once I got going, I was hooked and couldn’t wait to get to the end to solve the big mystery.

Kevin has some serious issues, most of which he is aware but which he has little to no memory as to their cause.  Though clearly he has had some trouble dealing with his issues (given his failed suicide attempt, for example), he has basically learned to live with them over the years.

Kevin and Tom meet again, three years after a one-time professional visit, after which Kevin did not return.  They are now meeting on somewhat neutral territory, at least as far as the doctor/patient relationship goes.  They become friends, enjoying each others’ company, although all the nakedness seemed kind of strange at first.  Tom struggles with wanting to help Kevin and with wanting to expand their relationship.  Kevin wants to take things further as well, but he has a much different idea as to what that entails.  They both struggle a bit with being able to meet each other in the middle, so to speak.  This is an extremely slow burn romance that worked really well given their circumstances.

So there are a few things going on here but they are all leading back to Kevin’s unknown or forgotten memories.  They are attempting an actual relationship as boyfriends, but the issues get in the way more than once.  Kevin is unable to handle very much in the way of intimacy, and Tom is trying to come to grips with that.  When Kevin is forced to really try and regain those memories, things really come to a head.  There is mystery, where we are given details like breadcrumbs.  We know Kevin was abused as a child, but it takes a good amount of time before we learn to what extent and what has truly caused him to repress the memories.  These, of course, all lead to Billy, or Billy’s Bones.

This was my first Jaime Fessenden book, and I really enjoyed it.  I loved the thriller/mystery with the side of romance.  Things seemed very realistic for the most part, and I really found myself rooting for Kevin to be ok.  I think he will be though, with Tom by his side.  This was very well done, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of this author’s work.

Overall Impression: I loved it

*I purchased my own, personal copy of this book for review.*