Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Personal chef Beau St. Clair, recently divorced from his cheating husband, returns to the small Ohio River town where he grew up to lick his wounds. Jack Rogers lives with his mother, Maisie, in that same small town, angry at and frightened of the world. Jack has a gap in his memory that hides something he dares not face, and he’s probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Maisie, seeking relief from her housebound and often surly son, hires Beau to cook for Jack, hoping the change might help bring Jack, once a handsome and vibrant attorney, back to his former self. But can a new face and comfort food compensate for the terror lurking in Jack’s past?
Slowly the two men begin a dance of revelation and healing. Food and compassion build a bridge between Beau and Jack, a bridge that might lead to love.
But will Jack’s demons allow it? Jack’s history harbors secrets that could just as easily rip them apart as bring them together.
This is a story full of hurt and lots and lots of comfort. It deals with PTSD after a violent attack, though the attack isn’t described explicitly.
At first, I couldn’t stand Jack. He was a mean, horrid person most of the time. Even knowing he suffered from a mental illness, I couldn’t make myself like him. But soon enough, he got his own chapter from his POV and I started understanding him better. The two POVs are essential to me. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did, had there been only Beau’s POV.
My favourite character in the whole story was Beau’s cute little pug, Ruth. She was absolutely adorable. I loved her to bits. The way Beau leads whole conversations with her made me like him instantly. I loved that she was the boss and very much the “alpha”. Beau totally failed to be the leader of the pack that every dog owner should be, leading to some hilarious scenes with her. And I can totally relate to the feeling of “she’s so ugly, you just have to love her”. That’s the feeling I always had with my cat.
Quite a few of Beau’s chapters start with a recipe. I skipped most of those, tbh, since I’m a very lazy and unwilling cook. It’s still a unique feature I haven’t come across before. Food plays a very important role throughout the whole book.
I think the PTSD was mostly described realistically. Jack doesn’t just instantly get better thanks to lots of loving. Everybody keeps insisting that he really, really should get help from a professional, but Jack doesn’t want to.
The one thing that really bothered me was the whole set up. It’s all one huge coincidence. Not only have Beau and Jack met years ago, they also happen to be from the same small town, Maisi just so happens to go looking for a personal chef on Craigslist and Beau just so happens to actually read and, despite his better judgement, also accept the job. It was just too much to feel realistic.
Still, I enjoyed “Dinner at Jack’s”. It’s not as sugary-sweet as I’d feared. There are a lot of dark elements and the mental illness is taken seriously. But the best part was still Ruth.
Cover: The cover by Reese Dante shows Jack and Beau embracing in the snow and gnocchi at the bottom. It fits the story really well.
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Book details:
ebook, 220 pages
Expected publication: October 3rd 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634776712 (ISBN13: 9781634776714)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 