Jay Hogan changes lanes for her latest book, the first in a romantic suspense series featuring two guys in their fifties who become the unwitting targets of some dangerous people when one of them discovers some unsettling facts about his late husband. The Meaning of You is a terrific read – a compelling page-turner in which the author perfectly balances both elements of the story, skilfully weaving an intriguing and suspenseful mystery together with a beautifully developing romantic relationship.

For eighteen months, forensic accountant Nick Fisher has been living in the most awful kind of limbo. Davis, his husband of thirteen years, was seriously injured in a car accident and has been existing in a persistent vegitative state ever since, his mind and soul locked in a useless body that, if there were truly a merciful God, would’ve given up its hold on him eighteen months before. It’s absolutely not what Davis would have wanted – but Nick can do nothing but watch and wait and struggle, every day, with the weight of the guilt he feels over their final phone conversation on the day of the accident.

Nick visits the care facility almost daily and is about to make his way to Davis’ room when a man, his nose in a book, almost bumps into him in the reception area. The receptionist introduces Nick to Madigan Church, whose aunt has recently moved into Golden Oaks, and Nick takes in the man’s gorgeous green eyes, his shy smile, and the hot nerdy vibes coming from him even as he’s slammed with a surge of guilt for noticing.

They don’t see each other again for several weeks, but the next time their paths cross, Madigan learns that Davis has passed away. He offers Nick a sympathetic ear any time he needs one, but Nick is prickly and clearly used to being self-sufficient, and Madigan is certainly not going to intrude or push the guy into something he doesn’t want. But as the weeks pass and he hears nothing from or of Nick, he can’t help being concerned, so, although reluctant to encroach on Nick’s privacy, he decides to go to his house to check that he’s okay.

The welcome he gets isn’t what he expected. He arrives to find the back door is hanging wide open, almost off its hinges, and voices – plural – coming from inside. He takes a few cautious steps into the house when he’s grabbed and slammed against the wall, unable to avoid the punch aimed at his head. It doesn’t land, however, and instead, an angry Nick demands to know what he’s doing there. Nick had come home from a meeting to find his house had been broken into; the police have just left and as far as he can tell, only a few small items were taken – a tablet, a couple of speakers – but the TVs, cash and expensive jewellery were left alone. It doesn’t make sense – and when Nick mentions in passing that this is the second time the house has been broken into – the first was just after Davis’ accident – Madigan can’t help feeling that’s more than a bit suspicious.

A month later, Nick is going through some of Davis’ papers when he finds receipts for a laptop and phone, paid for using a newly acquired credit card he, Nick, knew nothing about. Davis already had a laptop and phone, so it makes no sense – and why would he have bought them without saying anything? Nick immediately jumps to the obvious conclusions, but Jay Hogan is far too good and smart an author to tread that path, and what follows is a thoroughly intriguing mystery as Nick and Madigan start putting the pieces together – with the help of Nick’s brother-in-law, Samuel, a police officer – to realise that Davis had become mixed up in something he shouldn’t have and paid a terrible price. But even as they’re reaching their own conclusions about what happened, someone in the shadows is waiting to finish the job they started.

The suspense plot here is well-thought out and superbly executed; Jay Hogan skilfully builds the tension and lays out the clues for readers to follow while also dropping the odd red-herring to keep us on our toes. At the same time, she sets a corker of a romance in motion between these two, world-weary men who have experienced love and joy and heartbreak and loss, and who have to decide whether they’re willing to risk their hearts – or if they’re too set in their ways to want to go there again.

Nick is the grumpiest of grumps, and what Madigan calls being “self-contained and resolute” (read: stand-offish and pigheaded) can make him difficult to like at times. As we get to know more about him and his past, it becomes easier to understand why he would want to wall himself off and why he likes the idea of not having to deal with emotions, but he is a bit of a shit to Madigan at times and he does blow hot and cold for perhaps a bit longer than I’d have liked. He doesn’t really know what he wants – he knows Davis would want him to find someone else and be happy with them, but isn’t sure he can handle the possibility of loss and pain all over again.

Madigan, on the other hand, is like a warm blanket in human form. Kind, gentle and caring with a lot of love to give, he’s not had a lot of luck with relationships, the couple of long-term ones he’s had ending when his partner would inevitably begin to complain about him being ‘old before his time’ because he’s a homebody and prefers a quiet life. Five years earlier, and fed up with trying to make a relationship work on someone else’s terms, Madigan has decided he’s had enough of dating. It’s not that he doesn’t want someone to share his life – he very much does – but he’s not actively looking for it any more. Having someone as complicated, attractive and self-contained as Nick Fisher suddenly enter his life certainly throws the cat among the pigeons, but given what Nick has been through, and the way he pushes Madigan away one minute, only to seem to want his company the next, Madigan has to be very honest with himself about the risk to his heart Nick represents.

There’s a small but skilfully drawn cast of secondary characters, including Samuel, Madigan’s apprentice-turned-friend, Gazza, and feisty aunt Shirley, who all rally round when the shit hits the fan.

The Meaning of You is, as I said at the outset, the first in a same-couple series, and we reach a strong HFN by the end with the promise that the romance will continue in the next book. Don’t go in to this one expecting to find the author’s usual brand of earthy sexiness, because while these two have chemistry up the wazoo, there’s no bed-hopping here, and I appreciated that; Nick and Madigan have a lot of baggage between them and I liked that they are both aware of it and, realising they have real potential as a couple, want to take the time to get things right.

The Meaning of You is a poignant, beautifully written story about love, loss and moving on, combined with an emotional romance and an intriguing mystery plotline. Jay Hogan continues to prove herself to be one of the best romance authors around, and this book clearly demonstrates not only her talent but her versatility. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am really looking forward to finding out what the future has in store for Fisher & Church.