ci5hq | Reading Room XII - Crossovers - Contretemps by Josey (Reply)

Title: Contretemps
Author: Josey
Pairing: B/D
Link to story: Contretemps

This is a crossover between Pros and Judge John Deed. I like both, although I can’t connect John Deed with Ray Doyle, so I found it interesting that I enjoyed this story, as I have been struggling with fusions and crossovers.

The story starts in 1981, with Bodie undercover at a rather exclusive club, where he meets a fascinating man. Bodie has been hiding his love for his partner, and when he sees John Deed, who looks exactly like Doyle, he takes the opportunity to use Deed as a substitute. The affair doesn’t last long, but is very enjoyable while it does.

Flash forward to 2005, when Bodie is discovered rummaging through a box of Doyle’s belongings. We learn that Bodie and Doyle have been partners in all senses for many years now, and that there is something the matter with Doyle. Has he died? Bodie is looking for information about next-of-kin and finds letters to Doyle’s parents from an adoption agency referring to a place having been found for ‘your son, Joseph.’

Various time shifts chart the progress of the relationship between Bodie and Deed, and the development of a relationship between Bodie and Doyle. It turns out that Doyle has had a heart attack but is recovering well, and Bodie comes up with the idea of throwing a 60th birthday party for him and inviting Deed as a surprise guest. He plans this out and then on the night of the party is suddenly shaken by the thought of it all going wrong and stressing Ray’s heart again, prompting a slight change in his plans. “Now his imagination could conjure a happier end for the scenario. It put Ray firmly in a chair, with Bodie beside him just in case. Only then could Deed approach, squat down next to the chair, and place a hand on Ray’s knee. In Bodie’s mind, Ray’s hand came to rest on top of John’s, gripping it hard. For the longest moment neither man would move or speak, then Ray reached out and touched Deed’s face. “John?”

The next second they’d be in each other’s arms, tears streaming down their cheeks, hands still tightly held. Around them, the crowd would let out a sigh of relief and conversation would start up again. People would come and shake Bodie’s hand and congratulate him on finding and reuniting the long lost brothers and ply him with drinks, and everything would be perfect.”

Unfortunately for Bodie, John Deed never turns up, and when he goes to investigate it seems that John and his daughter Charlie were in a car accident on their way to the party. Bodie is determined to bring the long-lost brothers together. Doyle is distracted and unhappy. He is now worried that Bodie is having an affair, so when Bodie arranges to meet John at the club where they originally met, Doyle follows and jumps to the wrong conclusion. Doyle hits Bodie and starts a fight with John. This bit is all very Regency, with a broken foil and one brother threatening the other. Happily, Bodie breaks in on them and all turns out well in the end. Doyle and John come to agreement, and Bodies gets his Ray back again – happy ever after.

So much for the summary: now for some analysis. I enjoyed this story. I found it quite plausible and liked the way it was written. All three of the main characters ring true to life for me, especially Deed’s more selfish, hedonistic character and Doyle’s grittier, more cynical manner. I loved this Bodie. He is funny, worried, clumsy, loving, romantic and sweet. (Doyle is still bad-tempered and prickly.) The relationship between them is deliberately downplayed, “To anyone else, Ray’s comments might have sounded cruel. To Bodie they said everything about how Ray felt. Words like love and forever were rarely mentioned by either of them, but this affectionate teasing filled the gap.” This reflects the series well, to me – I can’t really see them being all lovey-dovey and sweet to each other. I liked the way that Bodie was portrayed from the outside as the way we see him in the eps, but his unvoiced thought processes were what made him funny, worried etc. for me.

I thought that the description of Doyle’s jealousy of his brother was very perceptive: “This wasn’t about the money. It was about opportunity. Ray was bright; bright enough to have gone to university, to read law, to have become what John was today. But he hadn’t had that chance. Not for him Oxford’s hallowed halls and the leisure to explore his own intellect. Instead it had been mean East End Streets, police corruption, and day to day dance with death in CI5. Ray saw in his brother all he could have been, all he thought he should have been, and he hated himself for failing.”

The time shifts bothered me - I kept having to stop and work out which year I was in, and therefore who knew what. If it had been jumping between two years, I would have managed better, but my brain was foggy and I had to think about it, which for me detracted slightly from the story.

All in all, this is a story I will return to. I love stories about older lads, and this one fits into the way I see Bodie and Doyle and their relationship as it matures. This one sentence summed it up for me, “They might be older and greyer and thicker around the middle, but in the important ways, things hadn’t changed at all.” Now that’s how I like to think of them!

Questions:

Did the story work for you, on any or all levels? I said it was plausible – it’s actually straight out of romantic fiction, but what did you think of the premise of twins separated at birth etc.?
If you know Judge John Deed, was the character recognisable to you?
If you don’t know JJD, has this inspired you to take a look?
How did you feel about the manipulation of Doyle’s possible death?
Did you like this Bodie? How did you perceive the internal/external descriptions?
What about the ending? Satisfying or saccharine?

Over to you!