Rating: 
Summary: Juvenile and totally unbelievable
Review: For 60 pages, the author sets up a plausible story. However,once the "cop" enters the story, the book goes downhill with a vengence. This is a supposedly experienced cop who says things like "Gee, Jamie, you're really teaching me a lot." To say that this book is totally puerile would be giving it much more than it deserves. Sachrine and contrived, this book is tedium to the nth degree. Worse, the constant preaching about gay rights becomes tiresome, bordering on loathsome. A total washout, once can only hope that the next time Mr. Thomas sets he finds a competant editor.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Great Book! Perfect in Suspense and Humor!
Review: I am very impressed with this book. Yes, the length, 529 pages, is quite large, but it reads very fast. This is the story of a hot-shot Gay reporter named Jamie Foster that has been tracking a series of 12 gay-related murders for over 4 years (the murders have been happening for 12+ years). Jamie is a very hot-looking, attractive, and well educated person.After another murder happens right near his hometown, he gets involved in the case with Indiana State Trooper Kent Kessler, a former pro-baseball player, and also highly attractive. The suspense in this book is very well written and really keeps you on the edge of your seat. The Author has done an excellent job in assisting the reader in developing an image of what is happening, thus transporting you there as a bystander. There were times I found myself wanting to get involved in the case. Guessing who was involved, and where were the good and bad guys. Hats off to Josh Thomas for creating an excellent book of murder, suspense, and a bit of romance. In addition to creating a book that is a very easy and smooth reading experience. I look forward to reading more of Josh's work as it becomes available.
Rating:
Summary: poorly written childish nonsense
Review: I have read an enormous number of gay and lesbian crime and detective novels and this is easily one of the worst. cardboard characters, naive and immature social and sexual notions masquerading as political commentary. Undoubtedly will appeal to the superficial... subculture that is obsessed with physical appearance and still intellectually and emotionally trapped in their high school years. I plowed through it mainly due to a fascination with how bad it could get.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but could have been better!
Review: I liked this book and recommend it, but I totally agree with a previous reviewer that said the author needed a better editor. There are whole sections in this book that don't make sense or aren't explained very well at all. Without spoiling the novel, the section where Jamie confronts the killer is confusing and seems to be missing paragraphs! I actually reread that section twice more and it just doesn't make sense. Also, the cop is quite unbelievable at times, with his 'aw, shucks' or 'I didn't know that' attitude. Also, don't be fooled by the book description or reviews- this is not a 'whodunnit/mystery novel,' because we are told within the first 15 pages who the killer is, and the 'twist' at the end was obvious to me early on (I can't even call it a 'twist,' because it's so obvious). And wouldn't it be nice to read a book about gay men in which the men aren't the hottest, sexiest men on the planet? Much of this book focuses on the beauty of the two men, who also happen to be perfect in virtually every other way (masculine, caring, compassionate, everybody likes/admires them, etc). However, the plot was dynamite and the writing has a lot of potential, and I'm curious to read another book by Josh Thomas to see how he's grown as a writer. But please Mr. Thomas, get an editor who can do a better job next time!
Rating:
Summary: A rough draft of a potentially mediocre book
Review: I slogged my way through this piece of childish over-blown writing - just to see if there was anything redeeming to it. There wasn't. What a bunch of preachy tripe. Where was the editor on this job? I'm convinced they published the first draft by mistake, instead of the final version. It's obvious the author is in love with his main character - who is a true work of fiction, by the way. And the only sex scene the author can muster is gruesome S&M. I can't believe the author is a supposed journalist. There is absolutely no writing style, no continuity of characters, way too much dialogue in any given scene. This book is a waste of your money and time. I gave this book one star only because Amazon won't let me give it ZERO stars.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: Murder at Willow Slough is extremely well written. The slow entanglement between Jamie Foster and Kent Kessler unfolds beautifully as they both concentrate on a gay murder at the slough which is possibly linked to other gay muders in the midwest. But one is straight and the other is gay. Can anything other than a business relationship be possible? The tension that builds as Jamie and Kent come closer and closer to solving the crime adds to the mystery and excitement. Half way into the book and all of a sudden I could no longer come back to it later. I had to read straight through and finish it to see how it would end. The ending left me with feelings of horror, shock and contentment. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read gay literaure especially mystery novels. If one likes the mystery genre then Murder at Willow Slough is a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: A contemporary classic for the Hoosier State
Review: Murder at Willow Slough is to the Midwest and Indiana what "To Kill a Mockingbird" was to the South and Alabama. This is an important work of fiction that harkens attention to the civil rights struggles of our times. This is a tome that should be a recommended reading for everyone in Indiana; one of four states that has refused hereto to pass hate crimes legislation and mostly because of the homophobia of Hoosier leaders and alas citizens too. Hopefully this one will become another entry into the Library of Indiana Classics.
Rating:
Summary: A great "can't-put-it-down" read
Review: This book has been cropping up at the top of my Amazon.com recommendations for quite a while, so I finally decided to order it and see if they were right. They were. I started this book just before a business trip, and once partially into it, I really didn't want to put it down. I missed several seminars just so I could hole up in my hotel room and read. Jamie Foster and Sgt. Kent Kessler [gay reporter and straight cop, respectively] are a formidable team once they start trusting each other and working together. Despite the differences in their sexual preferences, the sexual tension truly leaps off the page at you. The plot is fascinating, and the procedures involved in the solution seem authentic, but it's the interaction between these two that's gripping. I hate giving away plot points, but you'll be thrilled by the action that leads to the book's close. And you'll be delighted at the resolution to their unique situation that Foster and Kessler arrive at. I'm truly sorry that there won't be a sequel to this book. These are characters that I could really become involved with while reading. Mr. Thomas indicates on his website that this was a one-shot book. I really hope he reconsiders.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling!
Review: This is a top notch thriller with a touching love story melded into it. Jamie is a great character. He is sexy, handsome, compassionate, devoted, smart and gay. Yes he is too perfect. But this is fiction and we all like our heroes to be perfect and beautiful. The relationship development between Jamie and Kent, a supposedly straight cop is romantic, putting a smile on my face at the end. The use of words, the dialogue and editing should have been better. But the plot is great, keeping me long into the night. The love story between Jamie and Kent, from comrades to lovers is beautiful and touching. And the pain as a caregiver, a role which first Jamie then Kent undertook, brought a warmth to my heart. I wish there is a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Two Main Men
Review: Well, now, here's the thing about this book: It has explicitly developed and consistent characterization--of two wonderfully smart, honest (and goodlooking) critters who are so admirable, yet likable and human, that you'd want your daughter (or your son) to date them. Straight women can take to the different strengths that define Jamie's and Kent's masculinity and adopt them with comfort, getting into the mystery and high-tension plot along with their husbands; gay men will never--I mean never--find better heroes! Yet Kent and Jamie don't seem so fictional after their painstaking character development in this gripping story. Read it as a mystery thriller. Read it to analyze how natural, fluent dialog can more than sustain a style that is stingy with its description. Sail through its 500+ pages as quickly as through a fast-paced novella. You will suspect from the crisp, clean writing that this author has integrity like his two main men, not to mention a grip on a host of other interesting and essential characters--some charming, some evil. Get in on the ground floor with Thomas' first novel about his two lovable hunks--one gay, one straight but flexible. No telling where he will take them next. After all, it does appear at the end of this one that they could be falling in love.
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