Trey Eriksson and Daniel Gardner grew up together in Easton, PA. Their fathers even fought in Vietnam together. So when Trey's father was convicted of killing his mother in a botched murder/suicide during Trey's senior year of high school, he moved in with Danny's family and the young men became even closer. But Trey couldn't deal with those feelings and joined the Army right after graduation leaving Danny hurt and confused. Fifteen years later, Danny is an agent for Homeland Security in DC, and Trey is back in Easton working as a cop. He's always believed that someone else murdered his mother and set up his father, who died in prison. Now Danny is back in town for Christmas and to help his mother close on her recently sold house. When someone breaks into the house but takes no valuables, Trey is assigned the case and old feelings flair up. But when Danny discovers that Trey is still trying to find his mother's murderer and clear his father's name, he takes it upon himself to help whether or not Trey wants it.
This was an excellent story with just enough suspense and mystery but not too much to take away from the main theme - unrequited love. Trey and Danny are very hard-headed men who struggle to deal with their feelings, both past and present. They are loners and don't always work well together; Danny tends to joke and Trey gets defensive whenever they feel vulnerable. The author did a great job conveying their angst and longing; I would love to see a sequel! 259 pages.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
