Rough Trade

In Bell’s overstuffed third Woodbury Boys contemporary romantic thriller, Ghost is young male hustler who gets saved from a sticky situation involving members of a Russian crime syndicate by Ben Spratt, a cop who takes him in—and eventually locks him in a closet. However, Ghost escapes with a USB drive that incriminates Spratt in a murder. En route to a safe house, Ghost gets into a car crash at a shoot-out, where he gets injured. He eventually connects with Duncan Rook, a big, beefy cop who has post-concussion syndrome. The men are opposites—Duncan is an “uncorrupted police officer” and Ghost is a “whore on the run”—but they are attracted to each other; when circumstances require them to hole up in several hotel rooms, they debate good and bad behavior, watch movies, and share a bed. If they can survive the dangers all around them, maybe their relationship can too. Bell’s contemporary gets off to a rocky start and features more action than romance, but Duncan’s virtuous character provides some gentle pleasure to balance the excess of excitement. (Dec.)