Strays by Garrett Leigh

Narrated by Dan Calley

Although Strays can be listened to as a standalone, I recommend you read or listen to Misfits first. (It’s terrific btw). It provides a marvelous introduction to the world of Urban Soul, a cutting-edge restaurant business founded by partners in work and life, Tom Fearnes and Cass Pearson. At the start of Misfits, the pair seem to have lost their way. They love each other, but the grind of daily life is taking its toll. Then Tom meets Jake Thompson. Cass and Tom have always had an open relationship, and it isn’t long before Cass finds himself falling for Jake, too. By the end of the novel, Tom and Jake and Cass are in a romantic relationship, living together, and Jake is the newest member of the Urban Soulteam. Together, they launch a hip, new burger restaurant – Misfits. Meanwhile, on the periphery of their story is the enigmatic Nero, the man Urban Soul turns to when they need an expert chef/manager in one of their kitchens. Like Tom, Jake and Cass, Nero is something of a misfit and a stray who found his home working in Urban Soul’skitchens. Strays is Nero’s story.

Lenny Mitchell is tired and scared. A stalker has made his life a living hell. He’s moved, switched jobs, changed his phone number, notified the authorities – who were sympathetic but unhelpful – and nothing seems to keep the stalker from finding him. By the time Strays begins, he’s lost all hope he’ll ever be free of him. Fortunately, despite leaving a job he loved (working as a dancer in a gay nightclub), he’s enjoying working as a waiter at Misfits. But when the bartender flags him over and hands him an envelope with just his name on the outside, he knows his stalker has found him again.Inside the envelope he discovers nail clippings – the same ones he’d left in the bin in his flat the previous evening. Paranoid, depressed, and newly terrified to go home, Lenny tries to drink away his misery. He’s on the brink of a complete meltdown when his boss and friend Cass finds him.

Haunted by demons in his past that he’s never shared with anyone, Nero is a loner by choice. But when his best friend (and former crush) Cass asks him to take on a new apprentice – one with no back of house experience, and to keep him safe, an intrigued Nero reluctantly agrees. A week later he arrives home late after an evening shift and discovers a stranger on his couch. Lenny introduces himself but doesn’t volunteer any information or explanations, and he seems nervous; Nero wants to know more about him and the kind of trouble he’s in, but he has his own secrets and doesn’t press Lenny for his. Instead, he feeds his guest and then tells him to get some rest since he’ll start work in the kitchen – alongside Nero – early the following morning.

Nero and Lenny, who are constantly in each other’s orbit – at the restaurant and at home – quickly become friends. Nero has always known he is attracted to men and women, but he’s never had a relationship with another man. Aside from a short-lived crush on Cass, he’s never wanted to. But beautiful, vibrant Lenny is never far from his thoughts. Lenny isn’t intimidated by Nero’s gruff and tough exterior; he’s been nothing but kind to Lenny since the moment they met, and his grumpy exterior masks a protective, kind and nurturing heart. Their attraction to each other steadily intensifies, although neither man is ready to act on it.

Time passes, but Lenny remains in the shadows – never leaving the confines of the restaurant or flat. He’s clearly afraid to go outside and/or be seen by any outsiders, but he still won’t – or can’t – tell Nero why. Fortunately, they’re content to rely on each other for companionship and they quickly find a rhythm in the kitchen and in evenings spent near their fire escape drinking beers, smoking and talking. The easy familiarity comes to an abrupt end after a frustrated Nero insists a visibly shaking Lenny join him outside on the fire escape. Lenny finally confesses what drove him to seek sanctuary at Nero’s place, and the truth proves cathartic. Unfortunately, Nero doesn’t volunteer anything about his own past in return, and Lenny despairs of ever breaking down his emotional walls.

It’s a slow burn until they give into their physical attraction, but once they do, Ms. Leigh turns up the heat and their affair is passionate and sexy. Nero revels in his new happiness with Lenny, but since Lenny is like a glittering star Nero doesn’t believe he deserves, every time they seem to move forward in their relationship, Nero pushes him away. Lenny falls hard for his brooding and quiet protector, despite knowing Nero is holding a part of himself back. He isn’t willing to settle for a casual relationship, and pushes Nero to trust him with his secrets. I loved these two trying to find happiness together, and shared Lenny’s frustration when Nero kept finding a way to keep them apart. Ms. Leigh deftly illustrates how the relationship is a balm to both their souls, while vividly showcasing the back of house side of the restaurant business, and expansion of the Urban Soul brand into a new restaurant with Nero at the helm. Urban Soul (as a setting and pseudo-secondary character) and cameos from Cass, Tom and Jake superbly enhance this opposites-attract romance. Both Misfits and Strays provide fascinating deep dives into the restaurant business and Ms. Leigh’s world building is vivid and compelling. I only wish I could go to these restaurants and eat some of this delicious food!

Meanwhile, a stalker is on the loose and Lenny is in hiding. I’m not going to say much about this subplot, except to say it’s a clever bit of storytelling that initially brings Lenny and Nero together, and then eventually provides the impetus for them to fight for their happily ever. Leigh doesn’t simply introduce this thriller element and then relegate it to the background. It feels organic to this story and a very real, palpable sense of dread permeates the story and Lenny and Nero’s burgeoning relationship. This reader nervously waited for the reckoning that was sure to come. The thriller element provides a nice element of gravitas to this already emotionally complex love story.

I often wonder if foreign listeners struggle with American accents as much as I do with all the different British accents! I think Mr. Calley absolutely nails them in this story, but truthfully I don’t really know! Suffice it to say, his narration worked for me. Calley is pitch perfect, voicing Nero at his gruff and standoffish worst, but unable to keep up the facade when he’s with Lenny, when he becomes a slightly less gruff, tender friend and partner. He masterfully captures that awkward late night first meeting between them – Nero pretending an indifference he doesn’t feel; Lenny cautiously, painfully struggling to manage something as basic as simply introducing himself. It’s a wonderful snapshot of their early relationship, and Mr. Calley does a marvelous job voicing Lenny as he slowly and carefully regains his self-confidence and finds himself as the novel progresses. The performance captures Lenny’s transformation from a scared shell of his former self, to the vibrant, fun and flirty man his stalker nearly destroyed. Calley does a terrific job bringing to life both his main characters, significant secondary characters – Cass, Tom and Jake – along with the other strays that populate the Urban Soulkitchens (and frequently drive Nero crazy). Calley is absolutely the right performer to bring this story to life.

Strays is a lovely mash-up of romance, thriller, and redemption story. It’s great on its own but works even better as a companion to Misfits. I recommend both!

Em

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