Mute Witness by Rick R. Reed is a homoerotic contemporary suspense story.

Sean and Austin's life is exactly what they want. Together they complement each other. Sean's son Jason visits them every weekend. Austin and Jason are best buddies. Unfortunately, their perfect life is about to change. Late one night, Sean gets a frantic phone call from his ex-wife Shelly asking if Jason is with them. It seems that no one has seen Jason since earlier that day. Shelly's husband Paul doesn't care for Sean's sexual preference and that has made it difficult for both Sean and Jason. Jason has told his Dad some of the things that happened during the week. The atmosphere at Shelly's home is tense as Sean and Shelly try to come to grips with a parents' worst fear. While searching Shelly finds one sneaker that looks just like the ones Jason'wears. As the search continues, a hermit, Junior Parsons, is out hunting when his dog finds a young child beaten, frightened, and unable to speak. Junior never goes to town, but he knows that the child is missing and needs to find his parents. A nasty rain storm causes Junior to take the child back to his home for the time being. Could this missing child be Jason? What happened to Jason and who would do such a horrible thing? Will Shelly, Sean and Austin manage to keep their lives together or will adversity drive them apart?

Mr. Reed has created a spell binding story filled with suspense, drama, love and family. Sean has many challenges from dealing with his in-laws and Paul who will never accept him to being an active father to Jason in spite of all the road blocks placed in his way. I was inspired by how Shelly stood up for Sean against her mother and husband. Jason is a beautiful little boy who has to face the darkest situation that a child ever sees. Austin's love for Sean is strong, but will it be strong enough to survive the terrible days ahead? I was riveted by the story form the very beginning and became emotionally affected as the plot line unfolded. Thanks go to Mr. Reed for a very powerful and inspiring story.

Reviewed by: Teresa