Fortitude Smashed

Straight-arrow Shannon Wurther, the youngest detective in Southern California, did not expect to meet his soul mate during an arrest. But his Camellia clock (a never clearly explained countdown timer embedded in everyone’s thumbnail to pinpoint the exact moment of meeting true love) times out as he’s attempting to arrest Aiden Maar, a rough around the edges but wildly successful art thief. Both men spend the bulk of the novel dithering and failing to communicate, making for a protracted and often frustrating cycle of self-doubt. Shannon’s passionate attraction teeters into possessiveness (with a dash of aggressive intimacy that is more creepy than cute) as the two men learn to combine their lives and slowly share their formative secrets, including Aiden’s depression since his parents’ death and Shannon’s frustration over living in his father’s shadow. Secondary characters—featuring Shannon’s brassy ex-girlfriend, who first clumsily attempts to sabotage the pair—encourage the men to give into fate. The refreshingly fluid view of sexuality and Brooke’s implied, off-page steamy scenes will fuel many fantasies about her two leads. Their hesitancy and constant insecurity, however, threaten to overwhelm this middling romance. (Sept.)