Whenever I finish a book by Gregory Ashe and open my laptop to write a review (after I’ve scooped my insides up and put myself back together) I wonder how on earth I can possibly encapsulate everything he’s packed into the book in a mere few-hundred words… and then wonder how I can possibly do that AND not sound like a broken record, because he bangs out winners, book after book, each one containing a nail-biting, gritty mystery and a brilliantly written central relationship that makes me laugh, makes me cry and makes me want to throw things, often at the same time.

Note: This is a book in a same-couple series with an overarching plotline, so it’s advisable to have read book one, The Strangest Forms before tackling it. There are spoilers for that book in this review.

The Old Wheel, book two of The Adventures of Holloway Holmes, delivers all those things in spades, as high-school dropout Jack Moreno – now attending classes at Walker School – and the enigma that is Holloway Holmes find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery that turns out to be far more than it seems, and which will prove to have serious implications for their friendship.

The previous semester, when Jack was still covering most of his dad’s custodial shifts at the Walker School – a place in remote Utah where rich families send their ‘troublesome’ kids to keep them out of sight, out of mind – he found himself suspected of murder and teaming up with the aloof, icy (and gorgeous) Holloway Holmes to prove his innocence and to uncover the identity of the killer. Jack’s home life and situation have improved since then; his dad is in better health and is able to work again (and also, unfortunately, to take more of an interest in what Jack is up to), and the new head teacher has allowed Jack to attend classes. But after a year away from formal education and of doing whatever side-hustles he could find to generate a quick buck to keep his and his dad’s heads above water, sitting in a classroom all day isn’t a good fit for Jack. He’s an indifferent student at best, and even though the finances have improved a bit, there’s still a never-ending stream of medical bills to pay, and Jack’s reputation as a guy who knows how to get things still brings him plenty of customers – students after various types of contraband, from drugs to condoms to manga, and lots of things in between.

When an appeal for help comes from a most unexpected quarter with the promise of a hefty ‘fee’, Jack can’t say no. Five grand is five grand, even if Aston Young is a total dickwad who tried to kill Holmes. Aston, whose family is extremely wealthy and a Big Deal in the Mormon church (his grandfather is an apostle) is gay and afraid of his family finding out, and is being blackmailed by someone who has video footage of him having sex with another student at the school. (Side note – I wonder if Aston is somehow related to the despicable Ammon Young from The Lamb and the Lion series? Maybe Young is just a common Mormon surname.) Aston is absolutely petrified – not only was he sent to Walker as a kind of punishment, he’s also being threatened with being sent to a conversion camp, and all but begs Jack – and, by extension, Holmes – to help him.

Jack had originally intended to keep this arrangement a secret from Holmes – Aston did try to kill him, after all, and Jack feels shitty about taking his money when Holmes is his best friend – but of course, there’s no keeping a secret from Holmes and he won’t hear of Jack going it alone. But as the plot really does thicken and the suspects – and bodies – begin to pile up, Jack and Holmes start to realise that the blackmail and the murders are just a smokescreen to conceal something else. But what is it? What does the cold, sadistic Blackfriar Holmes think Jack possesses that he wants back? Where does Paxton Adler fit in? And why does finding out the truth feel like the worst kind of betrayal?

There’s no question that Gregory Ashe knows how to craft a brilliantly twisty mystery full of red herrings and misdirection, but at the heart of this series – all his books – is the relationship between the two leads. Jack and Holmes’ interactions are full of yearning, warmth and humour, of understanding and heartfelt tenderness, and Jack’s narrative voice – self-deprecating, honest and utterly captivating – is wonderful. These guys are young and have been through a LOT, which has forced them to grow up quickly. Jack is still refusing to deal with the grief and guilt he’s experiencing over his mother’s death and instead, indulges in high-risk behaviour (drink and drugs) as a way of numbing himself to it. He’s not doing great at school, and on top of everything else he’s not dealing with, he’s now also worried that his dad won’t accept that he’s bisexual. But for all his recklessness and his propensity for rushing towards self-destruction, Jack is an incredibly intuitive and compassionate individual. He may be in denial about his need to process his trauma, but he’s very self aware – he knows he’s fucked up, he knows when he’s fucking up, but he does it anyway – because he’s sixteen and it’s the only way he knows to make the pain go away, even if only for a short while.

Holmes’ trauma is something he’s endured his whole life. He’s had it drilled into him that a Holmes has to be in control at all times, that they survive by controlling their emotions, their thoughts, their reactions. He’s never had a childhood, he’s never had real love or affection (before Jack, that is) and he’s trying, evey minute of every day to live up to the impossibly high standards set by his authoritarian father, in the hopes of one day fulfiling expectations and gaining Blackfriar Holmes’ approval. Holmes knows, rationally, that’s never going to happen, but he can’t stop himself yearning for it, and resorting to conditioned behaviour whenever he’s in a situation that threatens his iron-clad control. Situations that sometimes include being with Jack.

Yet together, they’re just… perfect. Holmes tries so hard to retain his stoisicm in the face of Jack’s teasing and bad (and dirty) jokes, and watching him fail is EVERYthing; Jack getting to see one of his geniune, elusive smiles, even to provoke a laugh, makes him feel like he’s won at life no matter how badly it sucks the rest of the time. Holmes, helping Jack with his chemistry homework, talking about covalent bonds and how they allow the atoms to be more than they are on their own, is just beautiful. Their fierce protectiveness of each other, their genuine, deep affection, the banter, the gentleness and understanding… It’s funny, it’s poignant and it’s heartbreaking, sometimes all at once. Despite Holmes’ attempts not to exhibit or feel anything resembling emotion, Jack has got well and truly under his skin, and Jack is clearly head-over-heels – but love doesn’t come easily to anyone in a Gregory Ashe novel, and Jack and Holmes are no exception.

The Old Wheel is a tough read at times, and the angst is turned up to the max, which I realise isn’t for everyone, but it works for me. The couple of niggles I have are fairly minor – I still struggle with Jack and Holmes being so young – but maybe that’s because I’m not! And I’m not wild about the way Jack takes Ariana (his sort of girlfriend) for granted, and how he’s so clueless as to the way it makes Holmes feel when he talks about her or when she’s around. But then, he’s sixteen, so… yeah, par for the course. My logical mind also wonders, sometimes, if they’re just too damaged – Holmes is going to need a lifetime of therapy to unlearn everything that’s been browbeaten into him!

But none of that spoiled my enjoyment of the novel, which is brilliantly written and had me turning the pages into the small hours. I’ll warn now that it ends on a cliffhanger, but fortunately, the final book in the trilogy is scheduled for release in a couple of months, so there’s not too long to wait. The Old Wheel is another treat for the author’s fans – and I’m on tenterhooks waiting to find out how everything is going to pan out!

Note: The warm rating is for on-page sex, but not between the leads. There are also scenes featuring drug use and an attempted (not graphic) sexual assault.