I have to admit, I skipped some of Stanley's endless monologues and the mystery did not do it for me. 
 But by the middle of the book I was more interested because the romance picked up there. Tom reappears and this is where their romantic relationship really starts. 
 However, I can't really understand why the two men are together. I didn't feel a real emotional connection between the two men. What I like about GFY stories is that there usually is an amazing connection between the two men, something so strong that it transcends/breaks the barriers of sexual orientation. If that existed between Stanley and Tom, I couldn't SEE it. 
 In spite of everything I said earlier, Stanley and Tom are an interesting couple, really. And their respective characters are more interesting than in the first book, probably because they are more developed. Stanley's character is more defined, so now his actions make more sense.