"Wintergreen"

Review - "Wintergreen" by Jane Davitt

Fantastic Sequel to "Wild Raspberries"

Highly Recommended

I really enjoyed this addition to "Wild Raspberries". Revisiting the characters was wonderful - if you haven't read about Dan and Tyler, please go back and read that firs, then come and read this one.

To recap from WR"

Dan is a young man on the run, scared, taken advantage of, and hungry.

Tyler is a man of mystery, a hermit in the woods, in the run himself, isolating himself.

When Dan chances on his property, in search of something to eat and a safe place to rest his weary feet, this chance meeting changes both of their lives.

This book picks up six months after the two meet, and is set in the winter. As Elisa (who is my FAVORITE reviewer EVER) so astutely points out in her review, this book is more of a character study of the growing relationship between these two men, and how Dan becomes more of a man. The feel is very claustrophobic during the first half of the book. There is little action; Tyler is asked to complete a job (not what you would think), and that decision and it's impact spurs all the friction in this wonderfully crafted tale.

Dan needs more than Tyler thinks he can give, and Tyler just can't seem to get past his training and open up to share with Dan how much he means to him. For such a smart man, he really is rather dense at times (heh).

After a totally unexpected (to me) interlude of action, the fallout of which is horrific for Dan, the story again builds in ways I didn't expect. Dan grows, becomes more of a man in his own skin, and confronts his fears and his past. Not because he wants to, but because that is a part of being a man, and growing the hell up. Tyler cannot see that initially, being the stubborn mule he is, but the question becomes, how important is Dan? Can Tyler move himself and his fears out of the way, and can Dan do the same?

Read this very worthy continuation. I hope there is a third book in the series. I love these men.

Enthusiastic two thumbs up!

Tom