Ruined by Murder, Addicted to Love

Like any game, love serves up winners and losers.

In this story crafted by newcomer P.J. Stirling, a long and winding road leads lifelong platonic friends, Carlos Almarón and Carmela Ariana, in and out of Cupid’s embrace.

After his fiancée, Emily Logano, unexpectedly rejects his love, Almarón nearly drowns in bad memories, which, like rogue waves, leave him awash in a nightmarish flotsam of difficult daydreams, emotional turmoil, and scores of unanswered questions.

Ariana, on the other hand, suffers a gauntlet of sexual vicissitudes arguably more difficult than his, yet somehow survives, in part because she and Logano meet at college and become roommates and lovers.

By attempting to understand and resolve what really happened the night Logano dumped Almarón, the two close friends unlock and force open hidden emotions that not only reveal Emily's murder and the reasons for it, but also fulfill a lifelong dream they never knew they shared.

Every man and woman seeks the kind of love these two hapless people crave. Every one of us faces the same omnipresent choice: rise above the fray against all odds and win the game of love, or fail in the attempt.

Using this fictional set-up, P.J. Stirling examines the nature of intimate personal relations and evolving romantic cultures as far back as the 11th century, including how applications of ethics and mores affect or determine "modern" behavior.

In the end, the notion is offered that only 100 percent transparency and a spiritual connection to love can ensure the survival potential of two lovers who seek everlasting love.