Suicide Point by Georgie Leigh
Silver Publishing
Gay Contemporary
ISBN: 9781614953906
Reviewed by Cassie

Police officer Ness Anderson’s second meeting with surfer Charlie isn’t in good circumstances. He and the rescue team have to get Charlie out of his wrecked van, where he’s trapped. In order to get Charlie out, his arm is amputated. Ness has been thinking of Charlie since their one-night stand months earlier, and his attraction doesn’t fade after the accident. He doesn’t want to take advantage of Charlie’s vulnerability, so he tries to leave the next move up to Charlie.

After the loss of his arm, Charlie is shattered. Surfing, lifesaving, and being on the beach were his life, but those things were taken away from him along with his arm. He feels incomplete and useless. On top of everything else, his foster brother is acting strangely, possessive and surly. The only good thing in his life is Ness, although he doesn’t know why the man still wants him.

Can Charlie find his strength again, with Ness’s help?

To me, Suicide Point read almost like two different books. The first story concerns Charlie’s accident and its aftermath. Fans of hurt/comfort stories will no doubt like this part of the plot as much as I did. Before the accident, Charlie is vibrant, outgoing, active, and full of life. Losing his arm is a terrible blow. He feels like he will never be good for anything again, now that surfing has been taken away and he can’t even do things for himself. Learning everything over again is a daunting task. He’s basically ready to give up when Ness reappears in his life. After a one-night stand between the two of them with a very awkward ending, Charlie didn’t plan to ever see Ness again, but when Ness sits in his van with him for hours to keep him calm after his accident, and comes to see him in the hospital after, all his feelings of attraction are reignited. On top of that, being with Ness soothes him. He feels safe and not useless.

After his last relationship ended in the worst possible way, Ness never wanted to fall in love again. He settles for one-night stands where he doesn’t have to lower his guard, until he helps save Charlie. Then he realizes he wants to be around Charlie for more than just a night. His fear of taking advantage and Charlie’s hang-ups due to his arm cause their relationship to progress in fits and starts. The extreme dislike Charlie’s foster brother seems to harbor toward him doesn’t help, and Ness begins to wonder if a relationship with Charlie is the best thing for either of them. I really liked the way Ness was with Charlie, protective, caring, and sweet. He doesn’t want to do everything for Charlie, but instead wants to help Charlie see that he isn’t useless. I sympathized with Ness regarding the horrific end of his previous relationship, and I understood why he often made choices that seemed a bit strange.

That said, the second part of Suicide Point took me by surprise, and not in a good way. The plot went from a sweet, emotional, and angsty hurt/comfort tale to a soap opera-esque stalker drama. The conflict concerning Charlie’s loss was realistic and dramatic in a good way, but the last part of the story sometimes had me groaning. Charlie’s brother’s behavior goes from weird to downright crazy, and nobody seems to want to do anything about it. I couldn’t believe how far he could go without repercussions. Several times I wanted to kick Charlie for being so in denial. As for Ness, his actions started out believable due to his past, but I would hope that even someone who’d been through past trauma would wise up eventually. Toward the end TSTL moments abounded for pretty much all concerned. Still, the payoff is good at the end, and the first part of the story is so enjoyable, that overall I liked Suicide Point.