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Rating: 
Summary: An excellent follow-up to Different Women Dancing
Review: Gash continues the chronicle of Dr Clare Burtonall and Bonn the "goer" - a male prostitute in an un-named city in Northern England. Very different from the Lovejoy stories. There isn't much to laugh at here. Despite the almost impenetrable vernacular, Gash's quirky handling of dialogue carries conviction. (The dialogue is hard work - this reviewer was born and raised in that corner of England and, despite these credentials, struggled to keep up with the speech flow - has Gash invented a new slang, or has this reviewer been away too long?)The characters of Clare and Bonn are developed - engaging the reader's sympathies further - as are their relationships with the other main players, although Clare's property developer husband steps back from the main action whilst posing a significant potential threat to Clare's future. Gash has successfully created a new series, totally breaking away from Lovejoy and his band of lovable rogues. The crimes in the "Dancing" series are not capers - they are violent, vicious and nasty. Bonn and Clare's world is hard, grimy and dangerous. A good read - can't wait for the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Original & Powerful & Ultimately Depressing in the Extreme
Review: Gash has created a world in PREY DANCING (and the earlier book in the series DIFFERENT WOMEN DANCING) in which everything is tainted. The only two well-meaning characters, Bonn and Clare, must live in this world of darkness, sorrow, and violence. Bonn, the fallen seminarian turned male prostitute, is pulled along through a life filled daily with beatings, murder, and fear, a life empty of any genuine feelings of affection. Clare, a dedicated doctor, is sullied, too, by being tricked by her criminal husband into being a party to his deceit. Both of them are trapped, with no possibility of escape--ever. If you are easily depressed, this is NOT the series for you. It's also about as easy to follow at times as A Clockwork Orange or Faulkner's stream of consciousness writing. The overall effect is powerful, but with the modern lifestyle most of us are forced to follow and the bad news screaming from the headlines and evening television reports, I for one would prefer something more "up" to relax with at the end of a long day.
Rating: 
Summary: too weird for me
Review: The book is really well written, and may fascinate some. But for me it was to jarring, reading a book with characters so very different and not-admirable. Moreover, I find it impossible to believe that a 28 year old, at least attractive woman, who is also a doctor (let alone all the other women who keep this business going), would pay for sex. And then, towards the end of the book, this woman who apparently was alienated enough to pay for sex decides that she needs to have a real relationship with the male prostitute. I just don't believe it. I also am not charmed by the male prostitute himself, who is supposed to be sympathetic despite his profession. Again, i don't believe it. Further, I agree with the reviewer that found the language virtually impenetrable; often i could not figure out what was happening. I stopped reading Lovejoy books because they became too desolate for me (couldn't Lovejoy be at least respectable enough to live a halfway normal life in a house?. This is far more so.
Rating:
Summary: too weird for me
Review: The book is really well written, and may fascinate some. But for me it was to jarring, reading a book with characters so very different and not-admirable. Moreover, I find it impossible to believe that a 28 year old, at least attractive woman, who is also a doctor (let alone all the other women who keep this business going), would pay for sex. And then, towards the end of the book, this woman who apparently was alienated enough to pay for sex decides that she needs to have a real relationship with the male prostitute. I just don't believe it. I also am not charmed by the male prostitute himself, who is supposed to be sympathetic despite his profession. Again, i don't believe it. Further, I agree with the reviewer that found the language virtually impenetrable; often i could not figure out what was happening. I stopped reading Lovejoy books because they became too desolate for me (couldn't Lovejoy be at least respectable enough to live a halfway normal life in a house?. This is far more so.
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