This second book in Gregory Ashe’s new The Last Picks series of cosy mysteries picks up a few months after the events of Mystery Magnet, and finds our hero – Dashiell (“just Dash”) Dane settled in to Hemlock House, his friendships with the other ‘Last Picks’, and his… er… friendship (you keep telling yourself that, Dash) with Deputy Bobby, whom he hangs out with from time to time.

When Dude Magnet opens, Dash is having second thoughts about his decision to rent out Hemlock House for a large wedding to make some cash. Things go from bad to worse when Mason, the groom, announces his intention to give away all of his trust fund money to charity, but Dash doesn’t have the opportunity to think too much about the family’s reaction because he’s preoccupied with the fact that his ex-boyfriend Hugo has shown up unexpectedly – and appears intent on getting him back. That Dash isn’t interested turns out to be the least of Hugo’s problems when Mason (whom he’d been out drinking with the previous evening) is killed and Hugo is the prime suspect. Dash is horrified to learn this – Hugo has his faults and Dash might not want to be with him any more, but there’s no way Hugo is a murderer. The Last Picks are going to prove it.

Like the previous book, Dude Magnet is a fast-paced, light-hearted and often very funny read, and now the characters have been introduced, the author is starting to flesh them out and deepen their personalities and relationships. While the mystery is the raison d’être behind the series, the characters are the real highlight of each story and I enjoy their banter and the way the Hemlock House crew are not blind to Dash’s faults but have taken him to their hearts anyway. I already love Dash’s unique narrative voice; he’s endearing and charming in a bumbling sort of way, he’s deeply kind, he’s bright and he’s wonderfully waspish, and I liked the greater emotional depth introduced as we start to learn more of his backstory.

Reading between the lines (and more than that if you’ve read the newsletter prequel, Engineered Public Confession) Hugo was emotionally manipulative – throwing his socially awkward boyfriend a birthday party he didn’t want, turning up unexpectedly at Dash’s work ‘to bring him lunch’ (aka, check up on him), subtly controlling what Dash eats – and it took a lot of courage for Dash to get out when he did. And now, here Hugo is in Hastings Rock, charming all Dash’s friends (except Deputy Bobby), eroding the sense of safety he’s built, and trying to worm his way back into Dash’s good books. The author’s insight into what makes his characters tick never fails because Dash’s feelings are so perfectly relateable – the anxiety and resentment at seeing HIS people falling, just a little bit, under the spell of someone he knows isn’t good for them come across very strongly. But while Dash is still the awkward, anxious guy who hates making decisions, and even though there’s one point at which he thinks that maybe it would just be easier to give in, he doesn’t entertain those thoughts for long and stands his ground. He’s grown. He’s moved on. He didn’t love Hugo, wasn’t prepared to settle, and isn’t going back, and I was cheering inwardly when he stood up for himself and what he wants from life.

And speaking of What Dash Wants… while The Last Picks is a cosy mystery series and Gregory Ashe is certainly adhering to the ‘rules’ of the genre (no on page sex, swearing or violence), his very particular brand of relationship angst kicks up a gear as Dash and Deputy Bobby continue to circle around and misread each other. The heartfelt conversations. The pining. The UST… and that ending. Ouch. Long-time Ashochists will know the author is going to make us wait a while for Dash and Bobby to work things out – but we also know it’ll be worth the wait.

The mystery is tightly plotted with enough twists and red herrings to keep the reader guessing, the teasing and banter between the ‘Picks’ is fresh and funny, Dash’s inner monologues are delightful, and my cravings for a bit of relationship angst were well satisfied. Dude Magnet is a strong second outing for The Last Picks and I’m looking forward to book three.