When an archaeological dig is looted, Killian is hired to find the thief, but his investigation gets darker when the bodies aren't just ancient.
A routine archaeological excavation of an ancient Native American site goes horribly wrong when a tribal elder is assaulted. The attack uncovers tampering and thefts from the dig, escalating the growing mistrust between the tribe and the archaeologists.
When the tribe hires private investigator Killian Kendall to look into the thefts, they’re hoping to settle the matter quickly and peacefully. All hopes for a simple resolution are dashed when the lead archaeologist is found murdered…and a tribe member is the chief suspect. Suddenly, Killian’s investigation is a matter of life and death.
To complicate matters, the spirits of those who once dwelled on the land are furious at being disturbed, and they have very real ways of manifesting their anger. Killian isn’t just facing danger from the living, but also the dead.
“The dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds.”
Professional Reviews
This Series is Fantastic
Killian Kendall is still a PI in training at Novak Private Investigations and is now in his second year of college. He’s also just been given an ultimatum by his current boyfriend, Micah, and now his ex-boyfriend, Asher, is back in town. Needless to say, Killian’s feelings are confusing and overwhelming. He’s also feeling guilty about not spending time with his family, especially Tad, who has not adapted well to Adam and the family.
In addition to all his personal issues, Killian gets a request from his friend Nikki, who puts him in touch with Lily Snyder, to investigate the assault of her father, Fletcher. Fletcher Snyder is a shaman, a Native American of the Pomocatan tribe, who was assaulted at an archeological dig site on his property. Killian also meets Jacy, Fletcher’s grandson, who’s a shaman-in-training, and a friendship blooms. While investigating the assault, Killian and Jacy become involved in the murder investigation of an archeological professor as well as the investigation of stolen relics from the dig site.
As much as Killian has always tried to avoid his “gifts”, he finds himself getting a sort of crash course in Native American folklore and traditions. Fletcher and Jacy have opened Killian’s eyes to the talent he may possess, and Killian is willing to take guidance from them. Fletcher and Jacy are two great characters, and I hope there will be more to come from them. They add a mysticism to this story, and I like how this case is set in Native American lore; it makes Killian realize he needs to examine his gifts.
A Change of Worlds is another amazing addition to the Killian Kendall Mysteries series. Killian is not always on the mark and does find himself in some suspenseful and dangerous situations, but I think what makes this series special is not only the complex mysteries and detailed investigative process. Killian Kendall being a young adult is special too, and this fifth installment highlights his innocence, maturity, and determination. There are also some good surprises for Killian in this one.
I was disappointed with both Asher and Micah. Both are worldlier in their sexual experiences, and neither seemed to really think about the future Killian was gradually building for himself. Growing up is certainly difficult, and I was so glad Killian opened up to his mother and took her advice on his personal issues. This helps him to be honest in his feelings and face that he’s just not ready to make a commitment. He’s still a young man, and he has a lot of new experiences to come. He also wants to make up for his neglect of friends and family. The most heartwarming and heartbreaking, though, is the conversations between Killian and Seth. I hope Seth comes back.
If you enjoy a good mystery in the YA genre, I highly recommend reading the series, beginning with Bleeding Hearts, which is special and will introduce you to Killian Kendall and Seth Connelly. I so admire Josh Aterovis. Although he was discouraged, he didn’t give up the fight to get this book published. This series is fantastic, and I hope he gives us more to look forward too!
-A Novel Approach
A Charming Teen Detective Novel
Gay mystery finds an earnest YA voice in Josh Aterovis’s enjoyably homocentric detective novel A Change of Worlds. It’s his fifth and latest book in the Killian Kendall series, which was recently re-released by MLR Press. I hadn’t read the early installments and found the story newcomer-friendly.
Eighteen-year-old Killian is the book’s teen sleuth and forthright storyteller. He’s a likeable young man who just finished his freshman year of college and is working for a private detective in a small town in coastal Maryland. He’s something of a crime-solving prodigy, having saved the day on a local murder case, which is hinted at though not necessary to fully understand in order to follow along.
As such, the story has a Hardy Boys feel and a requisite suspension of disbelief at times. Taken as a salute to that genre, reclaimed for fans of gay YA, A Change of Worlds provides a comfy ride through mystery intrigue and the contemporary trials and triumphs of young gay men.
Those issues of young adulthood share the stage at least equally with the detective work at hand. Killian’s painful backstory and unique living situation is presented early on. He was thrown out of his home by his homophobic father and happily taken in by a gay couple who own a bed-and-breakfast. They’re named Adam and Steve, with full intentionality I suspect, and they’ve become caretakers and ombudsmen to gay teens rejected by their families.
The theme of found families/chosen families permeates Killian’s world. One of his tasks is to help a formerly homeless boy Tad adjust to living under Adam and Steve’s guardianship, to do his part around the house, and stay on the path of recovery from his traumatic past. Killian’s client Fletcher is a gay Native man who raised his gay niece and grandson due to the lack of acceptance of their families.
The mystery concerns an archeological dig on Fletcher’s wooded property to discover and preserve Native artifacts. When Fletcher is called out of bed by the voices of his ancestors to check on the site, he is assaulted by an assailant he never sees. Killian gets retained to find Fletcher’s attacker, who also may be looting the dig overnight. He has a cast of suspects among the archeological team, local artifact collectors, and members of the Native tribe who have mixed views about the goals of the non-Native academics leading the project.
There’s quite a lot to unpack with the premise, and Aterovis takes a thoughtful approach by considering issues of positionality and intersectionality. The tribe’s elder council is rightfully wary of the exploitation of their cultural history while some members of the archeological crew are tone deaf to that concern, adamant about the virtue of accumulating knowledge even when their dig reveals they have uncovered a sacred burial site. Meanwhile, differences in sexuality within the tribe create distrust and tension as well as pure blood versus mixed race characters. Killian stands aside as an observer while these conflicts play out not merely to be objective but to learn.
Woven through the mystery storyline, Killian must decide whether to take the big step of moving in with his boyfriend Micah or to let the relationship go so Micah can pursue a job in New York City. The appearance of Killian’s ex Asher complicates that decision, and without giving too much away, Aterovis depicts that young adult drama with restraint and a circumspect resolution.
Killian undertakes a variety of interviews and surveys of the archeological site to try to figure out who’s stealing artifacts, and then key figures are murdered, amping up the stakes of his investigation. As a detective procedural, the story is a slow burn, with lots of dead ends and detours while Killian wrestles with his romantic life and acts the part of older brother to Adam and Steve’s two younger boys. And there’s a paranormal awakening storyline. I found each of those threads to be well-crafted, but it may be quite a lot for readers looking for a fast-paced crime thriller. The book clocks in at 140,000 words.
Still, a charming teen detective novel with a refreshing focus on gay situations and Native communities.
-Out in Print
‘A Change in Worlds’ Shows the Dead are Not Powerless
It took nearly a decade for Josh Aterovis’ fifth novel in the Killian Kendall mystery series to be published but it was worth the wait. Three publishers in a row went out of business that led to the delay in the next installment in the young adult mystery/paranormal genres that feature the gay teenage private investigator, Killian Kendall.
The series has received accolades. Aterovis’ third book, All Lost Things, for example, was a 2010 Lambda Award finalist for Best Mystery. MLR Press, an independent LGBT publisher, expressed interest in the acclaimed series, which is back in print with updated editions, setting the stage for the fifth book’s arrival.
With A Change of Worlds: A Killian Kendall Mystery, Aterovis continues his mastery of storytelling, scene-setting, character development and detail. The book has a fast pace and commands your attention with a host of dramatic sequences and a bit of humor thrown into the mix.
Gorgeously written, there are passages in which the prose is near poetic. Eighteen year-old Killian Kendall describes the action in the first person and elicits likeability so there is no choice but to root for him as was the case in the previous novels. Killian is presented as a role model for gay youth and is a hero in all his adventures.
As described in the previous novels in the series, Killian had to overcome his challenges growing up gay on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. His father rejected him and was ultimately taken in by a gay couple named Adam and Steve, no less. He witnessed a friend being murdered, and Killian had also been nearly murdered himself on several occasions as well as actually having killed someone (in self-defense). He possesses Gifts in which he can be visited by the dead under certain circumstances—not something he welcomed and has had difficulty in controlling.
His earlier solutions to crimes led him to being employed as an assistant to a private investigator whose guidance and instruction led Killian to be proficient in the field allowing him to probe cases on his own. On top of that Killian had a boyfriend named Asher. They broke up. A new boyfriend Micah emerged. And the drama involving these relationships came to head in the subplot in A Change of Worlds.
The main story line in this novel centers on the theft of potentially valuable artifacts from an archaeological excavation at a Native American site on the Eastern Shore. Fletcher, a tribal elder, was assaulted resulting in his suffering a heart attack in which he survived.
Killian was asked to look into the thefts and along the way, two people were murdered and he narrowly escaped the same fate. Interspersed throughout is Killian’s awareness of angry spirits through his Gifts—angry because a sacred burial site has been disturbed by the archeologists—with one such spirit, seeing that Killian is an ally, ultimately saved his life. As quoted in the book, “The dead are not powerless…There is no death, only a change of worlds.”
Through Killian’s investigation, Aterovis takes the reader on numerous interviews of potential suspects regarding the thefts and murders. Each encounter provides a plausible reason not to rule the subject out altogether, but at the same time no direct linkage to the crimes could be established. The pace is brisk and the tension mounts as Killian attempts to solve the crimes while putting him in danger.
As that takes place, Killian’s love life is also examined effectively resulting in pressure in attempting to figure out what he wants. He is guided by his extended alternative family as well as sage advice from his mother.
There is much to describe regarding the plot and the characters but it would do no service to spoil any of the suspense here. What can be said is that Aterovis’ A Change in Worlds is a solid Grisham-esque mystery thriller with a heart-pounding climax that makes us yearn for the sixth installment of the series.
All Carson Reno Mystery Series Books are standalone novels. It is not necessary to read them in any particular order.
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