Rating: 
Summary: Another Great Read From Craft
Review: Another wonderful work from Michael Craft! I read it in less than 48 hours, not because I wanted to quickly finish it, but because I found it so damned intriguing. Once again I was drawn into Mannning's character and psyche. Craft has portrayed a serious, intelligent, charming - and yes - flawed human being anyone would want to have as a friend.A great find for anyone who enjoys a fast-paced mystery replete with shady characters, big city power brokers and everyday people.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely. It was fast paced and real. Enough sexual tension and romance coupled with the page turning momentum of a good "who done it". I'm always sensitive to the protrayal of man 2 man relationships, and I feel that Craft does a honorable job in this regard. It will bring out all the emotions, arousal, curiousity, humor, and passion.
Rating:
Summary: Focus on Character
Review: I like this series more with each book. Journalist Mark Manning is a likable, thinking man's hero, and his lover, young architect Neil Waite makes an appealing foil. The more Michael Craft developes these characters and their relationship, the more I like his mysteries--although, I gotta say, the religious fanatic thing is getting real old (there ARE other motivations for evil). Mark and Neil talk more than most gay protagonists, and about an interesting variety of topics. Craft has toned down the artificiality which affected characters and dialouge in FLIGHT DREAMS, first book of the series. Craft has plotted a solid mystery this time with plenty of action, and I particularly liked the way he handled the threat which developed in Mark and Neil's relationship (although it was far too easily and unrealistically resolved). I look forward to the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: A startling disappointment.
Review: I quite enjoyed Craft's first Mark Manning novel, "Flight Dreams," but "Eye Contact" is howlingly bad in many places. While the relationship stuff between Manning and lover Neil Waite is still solid and often touching, the author has surrounded these engaging characters with a ludicrous storyline that reveals a stunning ignorance of how newspapers work (just for starters, he has Manning plant an intentionally misleading story on the front page of his major Chicago daily to lay a trap for a bad guy -- and it gets far worse after that). The cartoonish and glaringly obvious villains would have been deemed too over-the-top on the old "Batman" series, and the painfully contrived plot is so mind-bleedingly preposterous that I found myself wondering whether Craft actually was sending up the political thriller genre. Are there two Michael Crafts? I simply can't believe this laughable tripe is from the same guy who craft-ed "Flight Dreams." (Poorly edited, too: On page 36, one character addresses another character by the first character's name.)
Rating: 
Summary: You blinked!
Review: I read gay mysteries because I like action and adventure with my romance--and because there is no such thing as a gay romance novel (unless we're talking pirates or slave princes--yeech)! So relationships mean a lot to me in a book like EYE CONTACT. I find the relationship between Mark Manning and Neil Waite tantalyzing but unsatisfying. They always talk AROUND the point of whatever it is they are jabbering on about. I did think Manning's "temptation" was realistic and well-handled, but as usual the reader is left out of the juicy reconciliation. Come on! And enough with Manning in jeopardy. We know he is not going to be killed off. Let's have more of Neil, and more of Neil at risk. We already know Manning's in for the long haul.
Rating:
Summary: Good Ride
Review: If people can put aside that the main characters of this series are gay, what they'll find is a very enjoyable and compulsively readable detective series. Mark Manning, investigative journalist for a Chicago paper, leads the cast of characters in this exciting second installment of the series. Perhaps what is most provocative is that while Mark is gay, it doesn't define who he is. He's a good reporter who just happens to be gay. Yes, this is dealt with throughout the novel, but it isn't shoved down your throat. The basic plot is that Mark becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that involves astronomy, bad actors, and an assassination plot that reaches all the way to the White House. The action scenes are enthralling and encompassing. At times the dialogue is a bit stilted, and there is some redundancy, but the story is compelling and the conclusion satisfying. Give this a chance, and I'll bet you'll be reaching for the next in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: It was too long a wait for this latest edition of Michael Craft's new book since "Flight Dreams". While indeed it turned out to be worth the wait, it was a bit overdue -- I had finally stopped looking. Well plotted, clear, well written. One objection: It was too easy to have "a certain nice guy character" (not to spoil it for readers) killed off as a means to avoid any future "domestic" tensions. This might have been a good thing to have to deal with in future novels -- and probably a bit closer to real life. (Plus, I liked him; he could have been a fine continuing character).After all, we don't knock off every person who rubs us the wrong way (or the "right way" as was the case here)... unless you're a mystery/fiction writer. He should have lived! Otherwise outstanding! Great Job!
Rating:
Summary: Overall, I thought the book was excellent!
Review: It was too long a wait for this latest edition of Michael Craft's new book since "Flight Dreams". While indeed it turned out to be worth the wait, it was a bit overdue -- I had finally stopped looking. Well plotted, clear, well written. One objection: It was too easy to have "a certain nice guy character" (not to spoil it for readers) killed off as a means to avoid any future "domestic" tensions. This might have been a good thing to have to deal with in future novels -- and probably a bit closer to real life. (Plus, I liked him; he could have been a fine continuing character).After all, we don't knock off every person who rubs us the wrong way (or the "right way" as was the case here)... unless you're a mystery/fiction writer. He should have lived! Otherwise outstanding! Great Job!
Rating:
Summary: Great Blend of Real Life & Intrigue, With a Splash of Camp
Review: The second book of the Mark Manning series establishes Mark and Neil in Chicago and also brings Mark head to head wih temptation. The mystery may require you to "suspend belief" on occasion, but it does not disappoint in being action-packed, suspenseful, and a thoroughly satisfying - even if your ashamed to admit - call to justice for someone. This is a departure, to some degree, from the first novel. The series takes another turn down the line when Mark & Neil move to Wisconsin. The cast of characters continues to evolve; they are likeable, relatable, human and you can't help but care about them. This is a thoroughly enjoyable series.
Rating:
Summary: Great Blend of Real Life & Intrigue, With a Splash of Camp
Review: The second book of the Mark Manning series establishes Mark and Neil in Chicago and also brings Mark head to head wih temptation. The mystery may require you to "suspend belief" on occasion, but it does not disappoint in being action-packed, suspenseful, and a thoroughly satisfying - even if your ashamed to admit - call to justice for someone. This is a departure, to some degree, from the first novel. The series takes another turn down the line when Mark & Neil move to Wisconsin. The cast of characters continues to evolve; they are likeable, relatable, human and you can't help but care about them. This is a thoroughly enjoyable series.
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