The Stop

By: W. Dale Jordan

Narrated by: Kenneth Fuentes

What would you do to protect what’s yours?

Donnie’s whole world changed the day he met Nate at The Stop, a cruising spot outside a small Texas town. Nate saw him, knew him, cared for him, and then one day, in an incomprehensible act of violence, Nate was taken from him.

Broken but not beaten, Donnie steps into Nate’s role at The Stop with one goal in mind: Find the man who murdered his lover and see justice served no matter the cost.

Content warning: Violence, sexual situations, sex work, rough trade.

©2021 Waylon Dale Jordan (P)2021 Waylon Dale Jordan

An impressive, unsettling novella

The Stop has a lot of impact. W. Dale Jordan's characters became very real to me in a very short time. I found myself caring about these people (well, not all of these people). The Stop approaches the subject of cruising and sex work in a very humanizing and honest way. The acts portrayed on the page, in the hands of some authors, would be played for shock value, but Jordan's characters are written so sensitively that their humanity shines through. I could have spent more time with these characters, but I think the novella length works well for telling this story.

Kenneth Fuentes does an excellent job taking us on this journey. His pacing, and portrayal of the characters was spot-on. The first person narrative of Donnie is delivered in a way that connects emotionally while also catching the seeming inevitability of events as they unfold.

There is certainly revenge and horror in this story, but there is also warmth and humanity. Well worth your time.

Baskerville Book Reviews

This novella had me feeling mixed emotions at first. I was sad at first, thinking of all the brutality and bullshit gay men had to put up with followed immediately by shock.

The Stop feels as much like a murder mystery as a suspenseful thrill ride as Donnie tries to find the man who murdered his lover. The author’s note at the end about people wishing it was longer doesn’t really make sense to me. It gets in, tells the story it needs to tell, and doesn’t overstay its welcum or needlessly pad out the story.

In a world where people have tried to be more inclusive; I think most people forget or just don’t know how brutal the recent past was. I think this novella does a great job of showing things as they were. It doesn’t sugarcoat it or make it seem less violent and terrifying than it was.

The narrator is extremely emotive and does an excellent job at breathing life into the characters. The audio is clean and clear and doesn’t feature any repeated dialogue or other background noises.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.