Getting It Right

Arthur’s fourth Belonging contemporary (after Stand by You) struggles to keep the reader interested in a minimally dramatic romance. Therapist James Taggert’s work with molested children amplifies his feelings about his sisters’ abuser getting out on parole. Meanwhile, police detective Nate Wolf’s hidden homosexuality rises to the surface as he hunts a serial killer who’s targeting the rent boys of Wilmington, Del. A half-remembered drunken kiss between Nate and James brings up deep mutual feelings that had been suppressed since their college days. A long hospital stay for Nate, and James’s ongoing alcohol issues, form barriers to the relationship but fail to be interesting in their own right. Their friends and family never seem to worry about the potential problems of best friends suddenly falling in love, and police drama with a little jealousy doesn’t provide much in the way of emotional intensity and intimacy. (Mar.)