Gumption & Gumshoes by Alex Kidwell

Gumption & Gumshoes by Alex Kidwell 4*
BLURB: August Adahy Mendez would rather be buried in the world of his detective novels or a good film noir movie than in real life. He’s overweight, undermotivated, and stuck in a dead-end job. As a Chincha, he’s part of a long line of chinchilla shifters, but the greatest accomplishment in his life so far has been moving an hour away from his close-knit herd. That all changes when August’s grandfather leaves him enough cash to pursue his dream: becoming a detective himself.
Sam Ewing is a bitter divorcé who enjoys watching football and being alone. It’s easier when his only interaction with people is when he collects rent from his office building tenants. Then August rents space from him to set up his new detective agency, and Sam is drawn to him despite his misgivings.
Sam soon finds himself involved with one of August’s cases, and the men join forces to catch their criminal. The greater challenges they face, however, are how August makes Sam want to give love a second try and how Sam makes August believe that real life might be even better than fiction.
My Review: I loved the idea of Chinchilla shifters and combining it with a gay romance and a detective novel really sparked my interest. I was well rewarded in the story I read. It had everything I could want. There was a hero with body image problems who was actually a little chubbier than the norm (none of this silly 'beautiful person who thinks s/he is ugly' to be found here!), a love story that is believable and to top it off a pretty good detective story. There were also lovely touches of humour and the Chinchilla appearances were so much fun I wanted more of them. Overall this book was well worth reading and I recommend it to anyone who likes warm, loving, feel good stories, and CHINCHILLA Shifters ! Who can say no to that?