Tracy’s review of Rough Cut: Vincent Diamond Collected
Diamonds can be a boy’s best friend, too. Especially the erotic short stories of Vincent Diamond, sparkling with cut, color, and clarity. Here are sensual encounters between real men that will leave readers feverish to turn the next page. Cowboys and lawmen, criminals, and daredevils. Spare no expense and slip between the covers of Rough Cut.
Rough Cut is a collection of16 short stories all by the same author. Some of the stories are connected and I have to say I loved that about the book. It gave us different yet compelling scenes from the lives of the main characters together that had me turning pages to find out more and more.
While there were a few that I really liked – the scarred ex-cop who has a tryst with an ex-con – the convict seeking solace from the loneliness of prison – the remembrance of an older man remembering his time with a past lover – my favorites definitely were the stories about Steven and Conrad.
Steven is a cop who is put undercover because he looks like a young surfer. He infiltrates a crew of illegal ravers to try and bring down the drug running. But he finds himself attracted to Conrad – the man in charge of the raves. He’s confused by this attraction because he’s only ever been attracted to women but that doesn’t stop him from moving on the attraction – even though he knows he may be jeopardizing the case. Other stories deal with Conrad and Steven in different scenes before the bust and what happens when Conrad finds out Steven’s a cop. Subsequent stories tell us what happens after the bust with Conrad and Steven’s relationships and how the pair fall in love.
The intensity of the situation, the raw emotion that I felt coming off of the pages with these two kept me flipping pages. I loved Conrad and his honesty about his feelings with Steven – just my kind of guy.
Overall all of the stories were quite good and very enjoyable. A great collection of man love if I do say so myself.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from Lethe Press Books.