Sleight of Hand

Volume 5 in the 50 Reasons series but can be read as an independent novel. Sleight Of Hand finds Mark living in Colombia with Ricardo. But there is more to Colombia than paradisiacal beaches and salsa music, and though Mark believes Ricardo to be his perfect soul mate he is torn between the security of home and the rich tapestry of his Colombian lifestyle. When a friend's mother dies, Mark hopes that attending the funeral will enable him to decide where his future lies but no sooner does Mark set foot in England than bonds of love and obligation from the past begin to envelop him with such force that he wonders not only if his relationship with Ricardo will survive, but if he will ever be able be break free again. In Sleight of Hand, Nick Alexander weaves universal themes of honesty and happiness, desire and obligation into a rich narrative we can all identify with - a narrative that prompts laughter and tears, frequently on the same page. Is it just my imagination, or are Nick Alexander's novels getting darker? They're certainly getting better, and considering the high standard and huge popularity of his first, that's no mean feat. This isn't just a great piece of gay fiction. It's a great book, period. - Paul Burston, author of The Gay Divorcee Sleight of Hand is novelist Nick Alexander's latest volume following the life of the now beloved character Mark. It is a tender,deeply moving portrait of what it means to be gay in the twenty-first century. Alexander has looked beyond stereotypical representations of sexuality, both gay and straight, to show us the infinite possibilities of what love, family and belonging truly mean. It re-imagines the boundaries of gay fiction and inspires us to re-evaluate our lives. A subtle, deeply moving examination of the ways we can re-imagine our lives. - Alex Hopkins, Out There magazine