FictionWriter

Posted by tinturtle

https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/457055.html

Welcome to this weekend's reading room discussion of These Layers of Charnel Air by Slantedlight.

The meat of These Layers of Charnel Air can be found in what is said and unsaid in the conversations much more than in the summarizable plot. Still, a summary is customary, so here it is:

A CI5 investigation into Coleman and Verity, the owners of a construction company, has Bodie working undercover as a construction worker in a small seaside town. Doyle was fired from CI5 eight months earlier, we discover, after blowing an investigation so he could continue the liaison he had started with one of the men being investigated, Robbie Maguire. Doyle subsequently left London with Maguire without telling Bodie where he was going, despite the fact that they had been lovers as well as partners.

Soon after arriving in town, Bodie sees Doyle on the street and follows him, first to the shore and then to the caravan park where Doyle is living. They have a tense but inconclusive conversation. When Bodie returns the next day, Doyle is out, but Bodie encounters him the following day in a pub. Doyle slips away before they can have a substantial talk. Yet one of Bodie's coworkers, after seeing them together, warns Bodie that Doyle is frequently arrested for offering sex in the men's public toilet near the shore. Bodie finds that difficult to believe.

Between his own work and the small amount of time Doyle seems to spend at home, Bodie doesn't manage to catch up with Doyle again for several more days. When he does, it is in the public toilet. There he finds Doyle loitering but avoiding the other men who enter, even those who appear to be looking for sex. Nevertheless, Doyle claims he is there to sell sex. Bodie offers to pay him but demands to be taken back to Doyle's caravan. In the midst of their conversation, the local constable arrives. Upon seeing nothing illegal and being assured by Bodie that Doyle is not bothering him, however, the constable leaves. Bodie and Doyle return to Doyle's caravan and have sex that is filled with more emotion than Doyle has shown in his interactions with Bodie so far. During the night, they have a short conversation about Robbie Maguire, whom Doyle is still seeing, but the next morning they don't talk at all.

Bodie gathers information from one of his coworkers about Robbie Maguire, including where Maguire lives. Bodie feigns illness and takes the next day off his construction work to investigate Maguire's mansion. There he finds large quantities of cocaine and heroin. Bodie can't believe Doyle would stay with someone who dealt drugs, which triggers the realization that Doyle has been undercover all this time. Bodie calls Cowley, who sends him to speak to the local constable, who turns out to be Doyle's contact. The constable tells him that his presence in the public toilet prevented Doyle passing on some important information that could have led to the arrest of Coleman and Verity, who have been moving the drugs in hollowed out lumber, Maguire, who has been dealing them, and Frobisher, a politician who has been masterminding the scheme. The constable also tells Bodie that Maguire has had Doyle beaten because he perceives Bodie as a romantic rival.

Bodie goes to Doyle's caravan to help him clean up, and they talk about Doyle's decision to go undercover without telling Bodie. Doyle relates how Maguire and Frobisher are involved not just in selling drugs but also in using them to manipulate underage girls into appearing in pornography, including the daughter of a woman Doyle had been friendly with. When Cowley demanded Doyle investigate by seducing Maguire, Doyle did not feel he could refuse, especially because Cowley knew he and Bodie were lovers, meaning Doyle was capable of having sex with men. The assignment had to be secret because Cowley had been told by the minister to back off investigating Frobisher. Cowley forbade Doyle to tell Bodie, which Doyle went along with because he was afraid if he explained the situation to Bodie, he wouldn't be able to go through with the assignment.

Bodie and Doyle talk a long time and come up with a plan to get conclusive evidence against Frobisher, Maguire, Coleman, and Verity. They invite Coleman and Verity to Frobisher's club when Frobisher is lunching there with Maguire and Doyle. The construction men have never met Frobisher, as he has tried to maintain plausible deniability in case things unravel. With plentiful recording devices, CI5 is able to capture the compromising reactions of the various criminals when they meet unexpectedly.

Doyle and Bodie then have one final discussion in which it becomes clear that Doyle would take a similar assignment again if he deemed it necessary. Bodie asks him to promise not to do it secretly, however, and he does. Bodie feels this is enough.

What are your thoughts on this story? What questions do you have for Slantedlight?

Do you think Doyle would leave Bodie in the dark this way? Would Bodie be able to accept it?

What do you think Cowley's intent was in sending Bodie to the town where Doyle was living?

There are many nice turns of phrase in the story. Do you have a favorite?

https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/457055.html

Posted by tinturtle

https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/456718.html

If you want to participate in the reading room discussion that will start this Friday, 24 April, don't forget to read These Layers of Charnel Air by Slantedlight this week.

Also, don't forget that you will be able to ask Slantedlight questions as part of the discussion, so be sure to keep a note of anything you wonder about while reading.

https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/456718.html

Posted by tinturtle

https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/456538.html

I forgot to announce the fic yesterday. Ack!

Starting next Friday, April 28, I will facilitate a discussion of These Layers of Charnel Air by Slantedlight (byslantedlight). That isn't the fic that received the most votes the poll, but it's the choice this time for behind-the-scenes reasons. (I promise those weren't simply my own whims.) I hope we can return to The Assassin's Daughter for a future reading room.

May you all enjoy the story or, if not, may you have meaty thoughts about it. Slantedlight will be participating in the reading room as the story's author, which I hope will add depth to the discussion. It doesn't mean you can't talk about things you didn't like. Slantedlight has said that she will not get huffy, and I believe her. She is one of the people I know who most supports open discussion among fans.

Happy reading, all. (Especially those who voted in the poll: krisserci5, sc_fossil, gilda_elise, and f_m_parkinson)

https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/456538.html