Third & Heaven is a story about four friends from different backgrounds and educations who all stick together through the hard times in life. Sound familiar?
Well sort of…Very “Sex and the City” with queer boys (and one straight woman) and “Friends,” rolled into a quick summer read.
Freddy is an entertainment show host turned writer who develops an obsession with a Broadway Disney actor, who after an online romance and courtship turns out to be addicted to crystal meth. Claire is a single, twice-divorced doctor who spends her life attracting the wrong men and having to get restraining orders on a few of them. Ritchie is a Sicilian gym trainer from Chicago with dreams of being a movie star when none of his friends think he is good enough to pull it off. Joshua is a publicist, for has-been actors and nobodies, who spends his life trying to get his washed-up clients’ names in the paper. They all have their problems (many, many problems…) but make it a ritual to meet every Sunday at a diner they nickname “Third & Heaven.”
If you are expecting a Pulitzer Prize winner, then this book isn’t for you. If you are after a quick read to take on the long plane ride or a short weekend trip to the mountains, then pick it up. It makes you remember your friends and how, no matter what, you are there for them and vice versa.
Third & Heaven is Ben Patrick Johnson’s second book. He is one of the top voice-over actors in Hollywood and the voice of Entertainment Tonight. He has done voice work for numerous trailers, including X-Men, Anger Management, and The Pianist. Also – he is quite the hottie – check out his Web site if you get a chance – www.benpatrick.com. Third & Heaven is available at local bookstores and online.
Also – as an aside, if you haven’t been in Outloud! Books & Gifts since they have remodeled, you need to go in. They have done a wonderful job and the place looks fabulous. And if you pick up a few books – even better! Support the guys in their new endeavor to continue to deliver a quality GLBT bookstore to Nashville.
Third & Heaven
by Ben Patrick Johnson
Alyson Books, 291 pp., $14.95
