Misdirection

Borealis: Without a Compass, Book 2

By: Gregory Ashe

Narrated by: Charlie David

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Finding a missing boy will be hard. Dinner with Shaw’s parents might be murder.

When a rising star in the state senate asks Shaw Aldrich and North McKinney to transport her son, Flip, to and from his drug testing appointments, they’re not happy - they don’t do babysitting jobs. Arriving at the boy’s dorm room, though, they discover that the door has been forced and that Flip has disappeared, and rumors of strange men on campus suggest that something seriously bad has happened. The students and staff at the ritzy private school have plenty to tell about Flip, but the deeper North and Shaw dig, the less they understand what might have happened to the boy.

Then one of Flip’s friends is found dead, and it’s clear that she was killed for coming too close to the truth. As North and Shaw search for answers, they meet resistance from every angle: from the school’s staff, from Flip’s friends, from the police, even from Flip’s family. Someone wants the boy to disappear - and is willing to kill to make sure it happens.

The home front has its share of trouble too. North’s ‘uncle’ Ronnie is back at his old games, drawing North and Shaw into a job that seems simple on the surface - find a missing man who might be in trouble - but they suspect that the request hides something sinister. Ronnie’s involvement, and the job itself, puts the detectives on a collision course with Shaw’s parents and a strain on their fledgling relationship.

As the days pass, North and Shaw realize time is running out for Flip and, maybe, for them as well. They have been misled from the very beginning - and they might be too late.

©2021 Gregory Ashe (P)2021 Gregory Ashe

Fricking North

In my opinion this book was better than the book 1 in this new series. Until the end. I just want to flick North's forehead cause he's being so stupid. Barely/Low heat (as usual), a little angst (towards the end), and a great mystery that keeps you zigging and zagging. Basically everything that you want from a Gregory Ashe book.

What a ride!

What a ride! I'm always happy to get lost again in the world of North and Shaw. Life is never slow or dull with these two.
Misdirection will have you feeling every emotion known to mankind!
Between the mysteries to be solved and the personal baggage to clear up this is a rollercoasters of a ride.
I was glued to my kindle until I finished and was left wanting book 3 NOW!
I can't get enough of these guys!
Charlie David does an amazing job of bringing this story to life!

*Hands Ashe my heart* So stop ripping it out.

Audio reread June 24, 2021

I've been putting off this review for 2 weeks, and honestly, I've been sitting here with this screen open for the last 2 hours, still not knowing how to say all the twisted up, barbed-wire emotions this made me go through.

Usually in reading any story, I always have a feel for where it's going or who did it or what the characters are going to do. Not this time, and that was also true for most of the book. I was pretty much gobsmacked by the ending though I guess I shouldn't have been *the old 20/20 hindsight*. Maybe more that I didn't want to see the ending.

Through all of North & Shaw's stories, it's always impressed me how patient and understanding North is with Shaw. Yeah, they're always squabbling and Shaw makes North yell at him a lot, but a good deal of that is Shaw yanking his chain on purpose. That's just part of their best friend dynamic, and mostly I love it, it makes me laugh. This time, North's patience gets pushed too far and all the things he's buried down deep so he can function and be who he thinks he's supposed to be finally come out.

For the first time, I was so angry with Shaw that it bordered on the edge of dislike. It's never been a secret that both guys have big issues that neither one of them will deal with. And Shaw has always just kind of done whatever he wants, and North always gives in, to make Shaw happy. However, this time he just kind of rides roughshod all over what North wants, about almost everything. I do love Shaw and he's quirky, funny and soft-hearted but that doesn't excuse the way he disregards North, however unintentionally it may be in doing. Then some of Shaw's issues that he has been hiding come out in the most painful way possible for North McKinney and breaks the dam on his own, all those buried things that he swallows down all the time. And it freaking hurt. 😭😭 It seems that I spent a lot of this book either ragey or crying. *sigh*

As if all that isn't enough, Ronnie is back pulling his benevolent uncle routine, which of course nobody buys. Coincidentally, it appears that someone is trying to infiltrate Aldridge Acqusitions, which North has been sure all along has something to do with Ronnie's end game. (view spoiler) Making a bad situation even worse, Tucker is constantly calling North, winding him up over the phone, fighting him over the divorce. Me, right along with North, every single time:

*insert gif of my head exploding*

There are truly no words for how badly I hate Tucker and Ronnie.

Then that ending. The first time I read it, I was truly angry *like Ashe should consult me. Well....🤔*. But on the re-listen, it really did have to happen, because something had to shake things up to make the both of them deal with all the trauma they carry. And to make Shaw back up and think about what a relationship actually means. 😒 The question really is, will they? Cross your fingers for Redirection.

Charlie David really is at his best with North and Shaw, he voices them so perfectly that I forget it's a performance or that I'm actually listening to a book and not just hearing North and Shaw.

Disclaimer: A copy of the audiobook was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

****

First read June 13, 2021

I'm serious, what is the problem with letting me be happy for 5 freakin' minutes, Ashe?? 🤦🏼‍♀️ I cannot with this right now. I need to think on this some more but back with a review after vacay, during which I am going to read the fluffiest, most sugary books I can find. *stink-eyes GA*

And I might actually, maybe like Pari just a little bit now. That's so messed up.

4.5 my tiny peanut heart survived this.🥵

Welp! That happened.

Audiobook – 4 stars
Story – 4.5 stars

GAAAAHH! What an awful way to rip my heart out Greg!

This was brutal.

Book 2 in the Borealis: Without a Compass series, technically book 5 in the North and Shaw saga and damn what an emotional journey.

This book is emotionally charged, it punches all the punches and broke my tiny peanut heart.

The writing is on another level, I am so happy that Greg is a character driven writer, I always come back to his books because of the characters. They are unforgettable and it is so easy to form a long lasting emotional connection with them. I have discovered that I love character driven stories more. Huh!

Shaw and North feel so real to me. I can clearly picture them in my head, and when Shaw goes on and on about his unhealthy obsession with his best friend Hazard, I smile because I can feel all that. The pictures are so vivid in my head it is hard not to feel the feels win.

Shaw – My bohemian health obsessed, Coca-Cola junkie. GAAAAAHHH!!! SHAW! I wanted to shake saw bad in this book. Pari, I can’t believe I am saying this, but you are my angel. Atleast I can count on someone to put Shaw in his place. Shaw is selfish, I know he loves North but he is so blinded by his selfishness that it is so hard to watch him not even realize it. I love him and his sense of humor, even that couldn’t get him off the hook. GAAHH! Shaw is frustrating.

North – My buff guy, sweet, considerate North. GAAHHH!! North you need therapy and lots of therapy. I love North and North loves Shaw, but these two need to work on themselves. North can be so mean sometimes and that stems from keeping things inside until it all comes out bursting, it ain’t pretty at all. North needs lots of hugs. He deserves better than what he is getting now.

North and Shaw as best friends is the best thing ever. Their banter is so easy going and hilarious. Their BFFS adventures throughout the years! GAAAHHH!! I was laughing out loud.

The mystery, was the most interesting so far. It brought out the best and the worst in Shaw and North and I love to see that. What a bunch of douches though. The other guys, not North and Shaw. They are darlings. I loved the twists, though at some point my theory was conformed and I screamed. I still got it.!!

Shaw’s parents??? Hmmmm!!!

Tucker??? What the fuck is he still doing here? No- no- He is not even allowed to breathe.

That ending! GAAAHH!!! I trust Greg will not make me riot.

Overall, this was sooo good and entertaining. , I laughed, I loved hard and got my tiny peanut heart broken. What more could I ask for?

Maybe some happiness?? Please!.

Disclaimer! A copy of the audiobook was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Another excellent book by Gregory Ashe

I love Greg Ashe's writing, and I particularly enjoy listening to his books, because it keeps me from reading too fast and missing things. While I prefer the narrators for Ashe's other series, this one is generally competent. This is a less physically brutal book than many of Ashe's, but the angst picks up the slack—and that's only going to continue in the next book. Since none of us would be reading these series if we weren't all about the (fictional) pain, that's a good thing.

My thanks to the author for a complimentary copy of this audiobook.

Oh My Heart

So... this was not an easy, breezy book. But then, it never is with this author or these characters. The mystery was engaging but oh! the characters and that ending! It has the hallmark of really great writing, namely I was so immersed in the story that I felt genuine anger over Shaw's actions and felt true sadness for North. These guys, sigh. I adore them even if I get frustrated with them. That's what a great author and narrator can do.

Charlie David continues to shine in this audio, with distinctive narration for the characters and deft treatment of the emotions within a scene. I am so invested that I cannot wait for the next audio!

Rip my heart out, why don't ya!

Wow, I really did not see that coming. Mr. Ashe apparently has a heretofore undiscovered sadistic side. Although he also pulled this in the Hazard and Somerset series, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Still hurt like a mofo because I love these guys.

So in this installment of the series I really enjoyed the mystery, although it did go into some dark places. Lots of red herrings and “misdirection” (he, he, see what I did there) and at the reveal there was some unexpected violence, which was exciting. I thought that was the big ending. But no, Mr. Ashe wasn’t through with my heart. He then rained fire and fury on my guys and left me with my mouth hanging open and a broken heart. Well Mr. Ashe, you broke it, you bought it. I expect you to fix this ASAP. Also, I have never been more angry with Shaw. I can say no more less I give spoilers.

I cannot say enough about the masterful narration of Charlie David; especially for this one. The level of emotion he gave to the guy’s dialogue was fantastic. I was crying at one point because I felt the hurt so much. My only criticism, and it is not really because it is so funny, is why he can’t he figure out how to say Wahredua? It’s hysterical the very inventive ways he pronounces it.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review.

Solid story, but narration distracts from the book

Oh no. I don’t even know what to say aside from that after that ending??? I’m still reeling from the events of this book and how something that finally went so right has gone horribly, horribly wrong. I loved all the twists and turns in this story but my god, North and Shaw are definitely giving Hazard and Somers a run for the money in the relationship angst department and now we’re left with a cliffhanger? Thankfully, the audio for book 3 is already out.

Content notes include mentions/video of what appears to be a suicide, homomisia, an adult having sex with an underage student/statutory rape, blackmail, murder, violence, mentions of bulimia, losing a home to a fire, suspected kidnapping, mentions use of drugs, possible alcoholism, unresolved PTSD, and mentions of emotional and physical abuse.

I think the title is a great one and actually very fitting for what happens in this story. There’s multiple mysteries at the same time and it was hard to know which one North and Shaw should really be focused on and which one was maybe…not so important? Or maybe just something to direct their attentions elsewhere. For once, I got a good handle on who all the suspects were and it was easy enough to follow along with the cases that didn’t leave me too confused.

The first case comes straight to the Borealis offices from a state senator who wants North and Shaw to track down her missing teenage son. Who happens to attend a super expensive school for rich kids that Shaw is an alumnus of.

Then there’s Uncle Ronnie (not really North’s uncle) who has North and Shaw looking into a missing boyfriend for a guy Ronnie just happens to know and wants a favor from in the future. Why? It’s very suspicious.

And the third case is from Aldrich Acquisitions, Shaw’s father’s company who kind of has Borealis Investigations on retainer? Or whatever the right term is for their work contract. Well, the company needs someone to investigate and figure out who’s trying to break into their not-so-secret lab trying to steal proprietary information.

There’s a lot going on.

In the middle of all this, North and Tucker are going through a divorce.

And Ronnie is up to no good. Again. But is this book the last we’ve seen of him? I don’t trust him at all and it wouldn’t surprise me if he weasels his way back into the story somehow to make North and Shaw’s life hell again.

I liked that this book explores the differences in North and Shaw’s upbringing and it’s highlighted in this book more than we’ve seen in the previous books. Shaw grew up rich. I mean, he IS rich and is an only child. This is an entirely different world and lifestyle than how North grew up. I hate to say it, but the privilege and wealth Shaw is used to is entirely similar to Tucker. Shaw is NOTHING like the abusive guy Tucker was, sure. But the wealth and privilege that comes with that is something that I don’t think North would ever be used to.

North wasn’t necessarily poor, but he’s solidly working class and the social divide between him and Shaw is strongly emphasized and something that comes to a head here. North knows and loved Shaw’s eccentricities, but the case with the missing rich white kid and having to deal with Shaw’s family (and maybe a lot does have to do with Shaw himself) all in a very short amount of time is just a lot for North. His own relationship with his father isn’t at all like what Shaw has to deal with in regards to his own parents, so they definitely need to work stuff out.

I love how Gregory Ashe manages to give us books that seem to present a HEA at the end of a story arc, but manages to give us even more books that doesn’t lessen up on the relationship angst. Like, the attraction and the tension between the main characters is still a THING, but from a different angle now? He did amazing with the Union of Swords arc with Hazard and Somerset and I trust that North and Shaw will be okay after book 4 of this story arc. I guess we're just in the middle of it with this book. I just want North and Shaw to be okay.

This is a very solid book, with lots of mystery and story to keep me entertained!

There are some fun Hazard and Somers Easter eggs in this book (they don’t show up though, just mentions) and I adore the fact that Shaw and Hazard oddly seem to get along? I think Shaw insisting that him and North are best friends with Hazard (unbeknownst to Hazard, I’m sure) is so cute.

So, there's a lot going on here with the audiobook. Charlie David just isn't my favorite, but it's manageable as a re-read? The thing is I don't know why narrators keep making up their own pronunciation for things (and it's not even like a regional dialect problem in this case). These are self-published books with self-published audiobooks so why is Charlie David pronouncing Wahredua all wrong. Couldn't he ask the author how to pronounce it correctly? This is the town that Hazard and Somers live, and at the very least, maybe listen to how Tristan James pronounces the town.

Then, with this audiobook, I found out the narrator has never once watched The Vampire Diaries. How do I know this? Well, he pronounces Salvatore as in the Salvatore brothers the way you would say the brand Salvatore Ferragamo (four syllables), instead of how everyone who has watched the TV show would say it (three syllables).

And besides the obvious things I've pointed out in previous reviews, the pronunciation for the word "treacle" was super weird. Instead of a two syllable word, he uses three? And the book text says Disney World in chapter 20, but the narrator decides to read out Disneyland instead? What is even going on?? They're not even the same park. Oh, and he does the whisper thing where he actually whispers in the audiobook that really creeps me out, instead of doing what other narrators do and just performing whispers more softly to indicate whispering. I am not a fan of Charlie David's performance with this book at all.

The book is a solid one, but maybe would have been more enjoyable without this particular narration.

Wow

Wow, So that's how it ended. Thank God Book 3 is already out. I loved the case. I was surprised by the killer which is what I want in a mystery. My heart hurts for North in every book I read, Although I do want to smack him some times with the things he does to Shaw. Also Charlie David does such a great job, He's the perfect Shaw and North!! On to book 3 now.

Funny and wrenching, superbly narrated

Misdirection, the second installment of Gregory Ashe’s Borealis Without a Compass trilogy, is entertaining, funny, and, true to form, extreme. The intricate story is flawlessly narrated by Charlie David, who might be my favorite audio book talent.

Misdirection has more coherence than Indirection, its predecessor, in that it feels more unified, with the main story, about missing and murdered teenagers at an elite high school, woven tightly around the trilogy’s ongoing story arc

Indirection, while also funny, felt more ad hoc, as if its various parts were forced together. Misdirection’s multiple elements, for the most part, flow easily together.

At the start of the book, North and Shaw’s relationship is at its strongest, their Borealis detective agency is going well. But the mafia-linked Uncle Ronnie turns up to spin another of his endless webs of manipulation and menace, even as North and Shaw are forced into chaperoning a conservative state senator’s teenage son, Flip. When North and Shaw show up at Shaw’s elite high school alma mater, Flip has disappeared and the duo suddenly have to deal with a number of sketchy administrators, teachers, and students.

Misdirection continues Ashe’s misanthropic vision. If Ashe were a visual artist, he’d be the painter of the abject. If his characters came to life, they’d look much like the uncanny portraits of John Currin. But where Currin’s figures are dissonant, so very close to kitschy-normality they would feel as cozy as Norman Rockwell if not for their off kilter eyes or disturbing asymmetry, Ashe’s characters are burlesques, caricatures meant to makes us, the readers, feel superior.

Where an artist like Currin seeks to shift his audience’s way of seeing, even make them uncomfortable in their complacency, Ashe’s characters placate us. By creating such obviously wretched and frequently appalling characters, Ashe plays to our conceits and egos. His characters make us feel good about ourselves simply because we can be certain we are no where near as pathetic as they are.

If I had to take the author to task on anything, it would be the imbalance in his representation of African and African-American characters. Two main Black characters are depicted as involved either with drugs or under-age sex. Sure, the White characters are often pretty despicable, but the North and Shaw books feel like a White Boy faire to begin with. Ashe might be consistent in his misanthropic writing, with everyone getting smeared with the same abased brush, but given that our country’s foundation rests solidly on demonizing and degrading people of color, perhaps more care is called for, even in narratives of the abject.

Note: An audio ARC was generously provided by the author for an unbiased review.