A Dangerous Man [Kindle Edition]

Anne Brooke (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Michael Jones, a young gay artist and part-time prostitute, will do anything to stage his first exhibition. When he falls in love with rich financier, Jack Hutchinson, he seems set to achieve his goal. But a net of antagonistic relationships and inner battles encroaches upon him, so that the consequences of Michael's pursuit emerge in tragedy, leaving him having to fight for all he holds dear, and in the only way he knows how.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 478 KB
• Publisher: Bristlecone Pine Press (October 22, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004DI5V5O
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,443 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I write gritty novels, energetic short stories and often quite dark poetry. I am also a regular reviewer for the Vulpes Libris review site

I grew up on an apple farm in the heart of rural Essex. After gaining 3 A levels and 1 S Level, in which my specialist subjects were Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron, I read English at Durham University. There I focused on Medieval and Old English, and must be one of the few people who has read the Anglo-Saxon poem, "Beowulf", in the original language. However, I remember almost nothing about it now.

After University, I spent six months doing voluntary work before taking a series of administrative jobs in insurance, education and legal conferencing. When I could stand it no more, I went back to Durham University to take my MA in Medieval English and Latin.

I married my husband in 1993 and moved to Surrey, where I have lived for the last seventeen years. Interests include playing bad golf, theatre-going, birdwatching, reading books with at least one dead body in them, and of course writing, which - sometimes - keeps me sane.

My website can be found at: http://annebrooke.com and I also blog regularly at http://annebrooke.blogspot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intense and Dark, January 10, 2011

By 

Erin K. Bailey "Trex1018" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dangerous Man (Kindle Edition)

NOT for the light hearted reader. Extremly well written which just makes it even that much more intensely dark and painful. No HEA with this one folks. With that being said if you are looking for a good intense read that strays from the typical M/M then give this one a shot, you won't be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A dangerous man, January 10, 2011

By 

Tabitha Books "Tabitha Books" (Exeter England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dangerous Man (Kindle Edition)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, so much so that I did it in one sitting.

The reader is soon totally immersed in the seedy world of Michael Jones, a gay artist who had a dream is on a mission to open his own art gallery. Whilst harrowing at times this psychological thriller has it all.

Well worth a read - 4*

Graham Sclater

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars top2bottom reviews, February 7, 2012

By 

lyne - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dangerous Man (Kindle Edition)

A Dangerous Man could just as easily have been titled A Desperate Man, as Anne Brooke weaves an acutely suspenseful story which slowly, methodically, and brilliantly exposes the dreams and despairs of a twenty-four year old artist, Michael Jones, whose ambitions might very well exceed his talents. He is also a man who isn't above trading his body for both money and favors to ensure those ambitions come to fruition; he prostitutes both himself and his talents, justifying his behavior in the name of his personal goals.

Michael presents a chilling portrait of a steadily discontented man who believes in himself and his abilities far more than anyone else believes in him. His surroundings, the gray and desolate part of the city in which he resides, do their best to shape Michael into something he doesn't wish to be. It is when he meets Jack Hutchinson, the older, wealthy man who becomes a potential benefactor and redeemer for Michael, that the reader becomes invested in the conflicts Michael will endure, and endures the manipulations that Michael employs to obtain that which he covets.

There is a certain beauty to this book's narrative; it is at once oppressive and aesthetic, creating the perfect mood and environment for the reader to witness the psychological, physical, and emotional unraveling of a man who, it becomes apparent, seems intent upon sabotaging the potential for his own happiness and success. The prose is dense with emotion and imagery, lush in atmosphere. This is a story that unfolds as though the reader is seeing an optical illusion--what at once appears to be one thing becomes something entirely other, the longer it is studied and analyzed. It is akin to watching the stark lines on a blank paper evolve into a destructive and frenzied image that couldn't have been predicted at its inception. It is dark and it is intense and evolves as such in concert with Michael's deterioration.

Michael is the narrator and director of this tale, relating, in retrospect, the events during a nine month period. Telling his story with the gift of hindsight lends a despondent quality to the narrative, as the reader realizes the events to come have already been set in motion and there is nothing that can possibly be done to alter their outcome. The only thing the reader can do is to witness, then to interpret the finished work. And the final product? It is stunning, explosive, and absolutely pitch-perfect.

A Dangerous Man is a taut psychological thriller that one doesn't necessarily consume as much as savor. It is too rich and satisfying to finish quickly.

Reviewed By: Lisa