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    REVIEW: Conspiracy Theory by Elle Keaton

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    Hamarsson & Dempsey: Conspiracy Theory – Elle Keaton

    Years of grueling police work have left Niall Hamarsson jaded and disillusioned with life…although it’s likely he’s been that way all along. The last straw lands when the DA refuses to try a case Niall worked for years to bring to justice. Within hours he finds himself heading to the only place he’s ever been able to call home—a place he knows he doesn’t belong.

    Mat Dempsey returned to Piedras Island after his father’s death. These days he’s Island County’s sheriff. He’s happy enough, even if moving home from San Francisco effectively forced him back into the closet. Mat’s well-ordered universe collapses when a local’s body is discovered floating in the cold waters of Hidden Harbor’s marina. All hell breaks loose in the community, and accusations fly…all coinciding with Niall Hamarsson’s return.Niall and Mat have a history, and it’s not one Mat’s proud of. He owes Niall an apology, even if it means getting down on his knees. However, Mat’s first priority is investigating the murder before his community tears itself apart and he may have to ask the aloof Niall Hamarsson for help.

    Push apart, pull together, yes or no… The chemistry crackles between them but will the two men be able to put aside their pasts and embrace a future?
    Maybe.


    Hamarsson & Dempsey is a promising police procedural by new to me author Elle Keaton. The series is set in Piedras Island where everybody had their noses in everybody else’s business. While it is reminiscent of many mystery series, the first book, Conspiracy Theory, held its own.

    First, the mystery had me guessing until the end. I liked how the various threads and mini-mysteries relate to the main plot. The pacing was good but the resolution was just okay. It left some things open for the next books.

    The book also had a strong cast of secondary characters. As with many small town mysteries, it had its fair share of interesting eccentric town fixtures that will either serve as future victims, future perps, comic relief or mere annoyance. Chief of these are the town’s prominent families who were notorious for their bitter feuds.

    The two main characters couldn’t be more different from each other. Both were likable in their own way. The book is character-driven and the two leads were very compelling. Hamarsson in particular has a backstory that you make you feel for the guy.

    Hamarsson is of Viking descent and is built like one. He is anti-social with a miserly way of speaking as though each word cost him money. He has a troubled childhood and is the first to admit he is a not a good person. But the man had a rarely seen caring side that appeared when he became Fenrir’s human. The total number of sentences he used to explain the dog’s presence equaled the total number of the rest of sentences he spoke in the entire book. That’s how much he liked the dog.

    Dempsey is the town sheriff. He is a serial do-gooder who takes his responsibilities to the entire town very seriously. He’s a genial guy who loves his mom. He’s really easy to like. Early on, he knew there were hidden depths to Hamarsson that were worth taking the time to explore.

    The two men had mutual crushes on each other back in high school. Now face to face as grown ups, the attraction is still there. I liked how the slow-burn romance was built-up. I liked how it worked with the police procedural aspect. I even liked the cliffy ending because it felt right for the kind of thing they had at that moment.

    Overall, Conspiracy Theory is a great series opener. It has characters you can root for, a mystery that kept you turning the page and a tight plot that made you exciting for what’s coming next. Highly recommended for those into stories of big, taciturn men with giant hairy dogs and small island sheriffs who couldn’t stay away.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: This Island Life
    Artist: Violent Femmes
    Album: New Times

  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Devour by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott

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    Unbreakable Bonds: Devour – Joclynn Drake & Rinda Elliott

    Ian Pierce is the chef and part owner of the hottest restaurant in Cincinnati, his chosen family is full of happy relationships, and the scruffy, snarky cop who has been haunting his dreams is one step closer to being in his bed. But everything comes crashing down when the past he narrowly escaped nine years ago comes to a deadly head.

    Hollis Banner was enamored of Ian at first sight. He’s kept his distance, knowing the gorgeous, self-confident man is out of his league. Yet there’s no standing aside when Boris Jagger escapes a raid. Jagger’s world has been nearly destroyed and this time, the crime boss is coming after Ian and his friends personally.

    Hollis will do whatever it takes to keep Ian safe as they escape to a safe house with a couple of Ian’s overprotective friends. And Ian finds himself in a race to unlock painful memories—memories containing information that could take down the very last of Jagger’s illegal operations forever.

    Trigger warning: Flashbacks to abuse could be possible triggers for some.

    Unbreakable Bonds is centered around four men who have deep connections with each other. Lucas Vallois, the alpha and the center who holds everything together. Ashton ‘Snow’ Frost, dark and brooding, is a trauma surgeon and the one Lucas considers his brother. Rowan ‘Rowe’ Ward, laid back and goofy, they met him during basic military training. He is their warrior. Their heart is Ian Pierce, a talented chef. He’s adorable, the type you want to put in your pocket to keep safe. Well, I want to put them all in my pocket really. I love these guys! ♡

    Devour is Ian fighting not to be consumed by his past.

    Ian Pierce has many things in his past he’d rather forget but the ghosts are always lurking. His family has been badly hurt so it’s time once and for all to get rid of the monster who caused them so much pain. Ian has always been protected by Lucas, Snow and Rowe. This time he’s facing Boris Jagger head on.

    Hollis Banner fell in love at first sight with Ian but was hesitant to make a move because he thinks the chef is out of his league. In the first book, Shiver, I wasn’t feeling Hollis. He showed up poking around and wasn’t doing anything much. Later on, he still kept showing up and slowly endeared himself to the group because everybody could see, he really cared about Ian. And he was willing to cross the line and sacrifice his career in order to save the kids Jagger abused. What I liked about him was that he knows a good thing when he sees it and stuck to it. The man waited for a year for Ian and accepted him,baggage and all. He deserved all the chocolate cakes in the world.

    “Are you thinking about last night?” Hollis asked, his voice low and rumbly.

    “How do you know I’m thinking about sex?”

    “Because when you do, your eyes go dark, your lids do this sexy, hooded thing, and your mouth slightly parts. It’s hot as hell. You look hungry—like I’m made of chocolate. And everyone knows chocolate is the best thing.”

    “Is that right?” Ian chuckled. “The best thing?”

    “Chocolate is life.”

    Devour is the most gut wrenching of the four books and comes with trigger warnings. They’re taking down Jagger and they had to cut off all his financial sources. Every painful memory came out in the open as Ian tried to remember important clues to the location of the victims based on the codes Hollis obtained. Jagger was also hitting them hard, killing a friend of Ian’s and making Lucas beg for the lives of Snow and Andrei.

    Lucas finally threw down the gauntlet in his usual grandiose way. He challenged Jagger to come to him in the guise of announcing a huge charity party in a press conference. The climax had the millionaire fighting for his life but Ian and Hollis’ actual fight with Jagger happened quick. I’m glad they didn’t drag it out but I was kinda hoping for a little bit more.

    My favorite scene was that intense moment where the Lucas, Snow, Rowe and Ian had a shouting match regarding how they got Ian from the criminal mastermind. Their boyfriends decided to leave them to it and went for drinks in the kitchen. And then, because Snow’s cat Sargeant was there, Hollis cracked the lamest cat joke ever.

    “Do you know how cats keep law and order?” Hollis asked, unable to keep from grinning. “Claw enforcement.”

    Of course Jude and Noah had to join in. Andrei’s having none of it…

    “What’s wrong, Andrei?” Noah said with a wide grin. “Cat got your tongue?”

    “This is a catastrophe,” Jude murmured.

    “Hey Andrei,” Hollis drawled. “Knock, knock.”

    “Fuck you.” (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)

    He and Lucas patched things up and the bodyguard point blank told his boyfriend to marry him. Lucas agreed.

    Snow and Jude were on a permanent honeymoon.

    Rowe and Noah did their best Rambo impressions. They were very impressive. Rowe laid out his wedding plans.

    And Ian is already planning all their weddings. Hollis is moving in with him.

    They all had the best Christmas dinner ever. ✩*⋆ ⍋*☪⋆⍋⋆*✩

    Devour is a great ending to a fantastic arc. Like the other books, some plot points are weak but I don’t really care. The romance and group dynamics make it so much worth your while. The characters are definitely unforgettable. I’m glad we still have more stories because I rooted hard for Lucas, Snow, Rowe and Ian and I’m not ready to let go of this unbreakable family yet.

    P.S.

    The Ward Security bodyguards have their own books. Yay!

    Unbreakable Bonds should be read in order (here).
    Jocelynn Drake books here

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Devour
    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Believe

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    REVIEW: Hostile Ground by L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

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    Hostile Ground – L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

    After the deaths of three undercover cops investigating a drug ring in a seedy strip club in Seattle, Detective Mahir Hussain has been sent to finish the job. He joins the club’s security team in the hopes of finding enough evidence to bust the operation before the men in charge find a reason to put him in a shallow grave.

    To protect the strippers, only gay men can work the club. Ridley, the cold and intimidating head of security, knows exactly how to test potential new hires-including Mahir. From the minute they meet, Mahir and Ridley engage in a dangerous dance of sex and mind games. Mahir needs to find his evidence before Ridley figures out he’s a cop-and before they both grow too close to betray one another.

    As the game goes on, Mahir burrows deeper into the operation, where he learns there’s much more happening than meets the eye . . . and why every cop who made it this far has been silenced with a bullet. 

    Two of my favorite authors collaborating in what promised to be explosive and intense. I know many people gave high ratings and loved it but this one falls between like and love for me.

    There are many elements present that I have come to expect from LAW and Voinov so that might be one reason why some parts were predictable such as Kinza’s involvement, Ridley’s real name, what happened to the boys they used as couriers, etc. This was probably one of the few LAW stories where the surprises were not so surprising. What I was surprised with was that the connection between Mahir and Kinza was not utilized to the max. That was something the authors would normally do to up the ante. I thought Lombardi would recognize those gazelle eyes anywhere OR maybe he just thought all Middle Eastern people look the same. Still, he should have known, he was supposed to be astute. Also, there were too many sex scenes that didn’t do anything to the story and we can only hope Ridley’s office was sound proof what with all their conspiratorial talks and out of control moments in there.

    Those niggles aside, I greatly enjoyed Hostile Ground. Mahir is a detective, assigned to an undercover mission in Lombardi’s strip club which was a front for something more sinister. Mahir who went by Saeed in this mission, is a muslim which makes him a target of racists jokes while his family grudgingly accepts the fact that he is gay. There were many derogatory terms in the story, so be warned but I liked the way Mahir handled these issues like a boss.

    His nephew Kinza was recently outed which caused some conflict with his family. The boy ran away to live with Mahir, who was his favorite uncle. This couldn’t have come at the worst time, the detective was in the middle of his undercover work. Things got even more dangerous when the boy followed him to the club one day and was recruited by Lombardi. The interactions between Mahir and Kinza were some of the best parts of the story. Mahir adored his nephew and would do anything to keep him safe. He nearly panicked and blew the case when he saw his nephew walking inside the club but fortunately, Ridley talked some sense into him AND Kinza was awesome! Boy got nerves of steel. And super smart too! Where other boys would have broken down and panicked, he kept his head. He’ll make a great FBI agent one day.

    Ridley is a man of many personalities. There’s the ice-cold psycho bastard, the man who made sure Mahir got home safe after making him inhale cocaine, the one who who can’t resist fucking the new recruit and more. The more time Mahir spends with the man, the more layers he uncover, even after the case was over.

    The guy with the icy stare behind the dark sunglasses- he could shoot a cop and not blink. The one who’d left Mahir aching all over, and who had seemed just as unhappy as Mahir that they couldn’t continue things, wasn’t murderer. He couldn’t be. Could he? 

    Theirs was a romance between two men in a high stressed environment. It started with insta-lust where they used each other to blow off steam and it gradually evolved into something deeper, solid and more meaningful. The way the romance developed was convincingly executed and the authors happily provided an epilogue.

    The case was a bitch to crack and the whole set-up reminded me of the HongKong movie, Infernal Affairs, where an undercover cop goes so deep he almost didn’t get out. Even though I knew what was coming, I could still feel the suspense. Every goon was keeping an eye on Ridley and Mahir, waiting for them to slip up. Lombardi got Kinza in his clutches. There’s more at stake than Mahir had bargained for. Things begin to escalate and then one day, the goons showed up at Mahir’s doorstep. Shit really hit the fan! Bullets flew, covers blown, and close calls that were too close as the story builds into to its heart-stopping climax. It was, overall, a fun ride with a satisfying conclusion. And although I want to keep them all safe, Mahir isn’t ready to retire just yet. As we speak, they’re preparing for another mission because as Ridley said

    “I like it dangerous.”

    So, a sequel please!

    P.S.

    L.A. Witt books here
    Aleksandr Voinov books here

    Rating:
    3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

    Soundtrack: Acid Fight
    Artist: Deaf Scene
    Album: Chimera

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    REVIEW: Pretty Pretty Boys by Gregory Ashe

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    Hazard and Somerset: Pretty Pretty Boys – Gregory Ashe

    After Emery Hazard loses his job as a detective in Saint Louis, he heads back to his hometown–and to the local police force there. Home, though, brings no happy memories, and the ghosts of old pain are very much alive in Wahredua. Hazard’s new partner, John-Henry Somerset, had been one of the worst tormentors, and Hazard still wonders what Somerset’s role was in the death of Jeff Langham, Hazard’s first boyfriend. 

    When a severely burned body is discovered, Hazard finds himself drawn deeper into the case than he expects. Determining the identity of the dead man proves impossible, and solving the murder grows more and more unlikely. But as the city’s only gay police officer, Hazard is placed at the center of a growing battle between powerful political forces. To his surprise, Hazard finds an unlikely ally in his partner, the former bully. And as they spend more time together, something starts to happen between them, something that Hazard can’t–and doesn’t want–to explain. 

    The discovery of a second mutilated corpse, though, reveals clues that the two murders are linked, and as Hazard gets closer to answers, he uncovers a conspiracy of murder and betrayal that goes deeper–and closer to home–than he could ever expect.

    I think this really couldn’t have worked.

    You got a married man with a kid who cheated on his wife. CHEATED!! which is a total deal breaker for me. I don’t care if he was set up, he could always walk away no matter what honeyed trap was dangled in front of him. Also he’s a drunkard. A coward. And too good looking.

    Then you have a surly, stubborn detective with zero people skills who rubbed everybody the wrong way. Who was bullied by said married man when they were in high school.

    This is not your standard recipe for an MM romance. This sounds more like that dish best served cold but, with Gregory Ashe’s magic, makes for a truly engrossing enemies to lovers(?) story. Question mark because they were barely even friends at the end of the first book. This is as slow burn as it can get, as per other reviews, they didn’t become a couple until a few more books. Which is totally fine by me because I tend to complain about things going too fast anyway.

    But how can you make a set-up that screams lose-lose work?

    John-Henry Somerset pushed Emery Hazard down the stairs when they were in high school. He is now married to his HS sweetheart, albeit estranged because, as MM writers love to say, he was betrayed by his traitorous dick. Emery went back to his hometown to solve an old mystery of why his HS boyfriend committed suicide. Facing old bullies is painful and awkward and I feel for Hazard right there. To be fair to Somers, he knew he fucked up and he really did try to make it up to Hazard. Somers is the type of person who wants to be liked by everybody so of course he practically begged Hazard to like him.

    Hazard and Somers’ interactions go from

    You touch me again,… you shake my hand, you grab my sleeve, you so much as bump me in the mother-fucking hallway, and I will kill you. Do you understand me?

    to Somers’s smiled his normal frat-boy smile. “So,” he said, drawing out the word. “You like me?” “God, you’re a fucking moron.”

    to “Just like fucking high school

    Always with a smattering of USTs bubbling just below the surface. The chemistry is fantastic! I don’t even actively like these two men but yeah, go for that second chance!

    USTs are all good but they can only take you so far. What really made this stood out is how well the author fleshed out the complicated and not necessarily romance-related relationships between these flawed, complex characters in a way that just draws you into them. Many times I want to smack them in the head. Sometimes I feel sorry for them. Once in a while I could say they’re OK. There were no neatly tied conclusions. Things will continue to remain awkward and unresolved for a while.

    Nico deserves a mention. He was the grad school student who pursued Hazard and they were kind of cute together so I imagined a parallel universe called Nico & Hazard.

    This book is really a murder mystery story. The detectives were working on a vandalism case and a homicide where one unidentified body was burned inside a trailer. Hazard, being Hazard, made himself a few enemies while Somers played the good cop, charming everybody with his megawatt smiles. The investigation introduced us to important personalities of Wahredua, among them, extremists at the polar opposites of the spectrum. Both were responsible for so much vitriol and trigger warnings. Their hate speeches could put off some readers but you can always skip these parts if it’s too disturbing. As for the mystery, it was obvious who the bad guy was but it was such a well-written book and well-narrated too (courtesy of Tristan James), I didn’t mind it. Then Hazard had to go be a distrustful fool and things went from pudding to poop real quick for him and Somers.

    Apart from the obvious appeal of the MM romance angle, Pretty Pretty Boys has all the good stuff-of a great police procedural novel where there is a nice interplay between the police work and the personal issues, compelling main characters, tightly written prose and engaging storytelling that kept me glued to the book. It’s a solid start to an addicting series and I’m definitely excited to see how things will play out.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Elephant
    Artist: Tame Impala
    Album: Lonerism

  • book,  song,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Shadow’s Edge by S.C. Wynne

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    Psychic Detective Mysteries: Shadow’s Edge by S.C. Wynne

    Liam Baker can see things. Dead people like to visit him and tell them how they were wronged. Some might call it a gift, other’s a curse. But either way this ability makes him useful to Los Angeles homicide detective Kimball Thompson. 

    Some madman is slitting the throats of young male prostitutes and then dumping their bodies in the desert with vague clues of pink feathers and the number five. Usually Liam can talk to the spirits of the dead. But someone is blocking him. Someone is taunting him. 

    The case is rapidly deteriorating into a violent, psychic pissing contest and Liam can’t see far enough ahead to figure out who wins or who dies.

    I seem to be building a collection of psychic detectives as I yet again start on a series featuring another consulting medium+ police detective combo. Someday, I going to create a ranking list featuring these ghost talkers. Unfortunately, Liam Baker might not make it to the top 5 as this book is pretty average.

    First, the romance between Liam and Thompson was a big plus. It worked quite well with the mystery as the backdrop. Liam is prickly and grief-stricken over William, who was also Thompson’s partner. Thompson is a tough-looking, workaholic homicide detective who have always cared about Liam and had taken him under his wing when William died. He has deeply hidden feeling’s for his late partner’s boyfriend. This and the work-related pressures added extra tension to what was an already fragile relationship. Then Thompson started dating somebody else and Liam slowly realized that he was attracted to Thompson. And that he needed to get over William’s passing. All of which brought out Liam’s thorny side and he was being quite an ass. At this point, Thompson had given up on having his feelings requited, Liam being clueless and such and that should have been the end of it. But there were feels ready to be felt and USTs that irresistibly needed to be resolved and hash it out they did. While not exactly sqee-tastic, the chemistry sparked, the dynamics was enjoyable and their transition from work partners to romantic partners was convincingly executed.

    However, for me, the mystery should stand out as well and while it was one of the main threads, it wasn’t as strongly delivered as I hope it would. It was as generic as they come. I didn’t feel the suspense or the chill and some of the clues’ significance were not so clear during the big confrontation with the killer. Even the killer’s motive seemed weak. I was looking forward to this ‘psychic pissing contest‘ but I’m disappointed that the antagonist was too one-dimensional.

    The world-building also needed to be fleshed out. Are psychics common in their world? Everybody seemed okay with the police working with a consulting medium so maybe we can assume it is so. Since Samhain was mentioned, do other paranormal entities exist in their world too? Given the length of the book, it might not be surprising that we only get the bare-bones details but it would have been more effective to give the reader a little more meat to chew on as this would make mystery more compelling. Maybe in the second book then.

    Because I liked Liam and Thompson enough to read the second book. Also, I like Kale Williams’ narration a lot. Hopefully, book two’s much better than this.

    So, if you, like me, prefer your police procedural romance to be heavy on the mystery and police work, this might not be the book for you. But if you like your romance served with a side of mystery and paranormal, Shadow’s Edge by S.C. Wynne might do it for you.

    P.S.

    If you are interested on other books featuring psychics, check out:

    Psycop by Jordan Castillo Price (review here)
    Tyack & Frayne by Harper Fox (review here)
    Badlands by Morgan Brice (review here)
    The Community by Santino Hassel (review here)
    The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (review here)

    Rating:
    3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it

    Soundtrack: Wake Up
    Artist: Arcade Fire
    Album: Funeral

  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Trick Roller by Cordelia Kingsbridge

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    Seven Of Spades: Trick Roller – Cordelia Kingsbridge

    It’s the height of summer in Las Vegas. Everyone believes the serial killer Seven of Spades is dead—except Levi Abrams and Dominic Russo—and it’s back to business as usual. For Levi, that means investigating a suspicious overdose at the Mirage that looks like the work of a high-class call girl, while Dominic pursues a tough internship with a local private investigator. The one bright spot for both of them is their blossoming relationship.

    But things aren’t so simple. Soon Levi is sucked into a dangerous web of secrets and lies, even as his obsession with the Seven of Spades intensifies. Dominic knows that Levi isn’t crazy. He knows the Seven of Spades is still out there, and he’ll do anything to prove it. But Dominic has his own demons to battle, and he may be fighting a losing war.

    One thing is certain: the Seven of Spades holds all the cards. It won’t be long before they show their hand.

    Summer is here. Dropping by Dom and Levi. It’s good to see the two are progressing rather nicely in their relationship. They are working out the kinks and I am enjoying these moments even though I know something catastrophic happened later. Fair warning: do not read the blurbs of the succeeding books. Major spoiler alert.

    Maybe Dom’s ‘talent’ for lying charmingly had something to do with their issues in the next book. Here he used it for a good cause, he was making sure Levi’s apartment was safe under the pretext of cooking him dinner, so kinda okay but then coupled with his gambling addiction, this talent thing could go spiraling downward into the abyss. Don’t go there, Dom!

    I’m getting way ahead. Damn that spoiler!

    Fave moment: when Levi said to Dom, “Fight me.” I got the goosies.

    Loved that Carlos and Jasmine had their big moment.

    Trick Roller didn’t disappoint. The Seven of Spades was presumed dead by all except Levi, who was obsessed, and Dom, who discovered the SOS got their eye on him, Levi and their friends all this time. How are they pulling it off? I think Rebel knows them or else she would have reacted aggressively. Hmm…

    This installment was not as fast-paced as Kill Game but still it still grabbed me and didn’t let go. I like that there’s equal focus on the crime suspense part and the romance part. Sometimes in police procedural MM, the romance part is distracting, like I feel the MCs should be doing their jobs more and do each other less. Here, Cordelia Kingsbridge was able to give Levi and Dom their quality time together without detracting from the investigation. Great execution overall.

    Another thing that stood out for me with this series in general is how the author made a conscious effort to include as many female characters as possible. I’m so used to the average MM book where you get two significant female characters or three tops, usually, a bestfriend, an ex or mom. Here, majority of the supporting characters are female, even the ‘extras’, like a random forensic tech or private detective. It’s a nice change from the usual roles women typical play in MM stories. It also supports my guess as to the identity of the SOS. I know I suck at guessing the killer’s identity but maybe for once, I’m right on the money. Maybe.

    The main storyline for book two is an SOS-unrelated case of a dead doctor, assumed to be a victim of a trick roller. One of the interesting aspects of the case is that the victim was universally hated by all including his wife so that it became a question of who wanted him dead the most. Martine and Levi spent a lot of time going through a list of suspects while Dom was undergoing his internship at a private detective agency, working on a cheating spouse case. Trick Roller ended with the homicide case somehow tying in with Dom’s case and the SOS. That it happened wasn’t that surprising given that the SOS was bound to make their presence felt sooner or later but how everything came together was still believable and the twists were nicely done.

    Levi, Martine and Dom were also called as witnesses to the case related to the first book. That courtroom scene was super intense! I could see why people hate lawyers. Poor Levi was painted as the bad guy. Not condoning serial killings but it felt good to see the SOS put a stop to the lawyer’s bullshit right in front of the media.

    I didn’t mind that it ended with a cliffhanger. All the books are released already so you can binge on the entire thing. Seven of Spades is a highly recommended series for those looking for great crime thriller reads you can sink your teeth into. The MM romance part is just cherry on top. Also, there’s an adorable dog.

    Whether Rebel knows the SOS or not, I trust her to do her job but now that all bets are off, how long can Dom and Levi stay in the game?

    P.S.

    Trick Roller is not a standalone. I recommend reading Kill Game first, review here.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: High Roller
    Artist: Scrawl
    Album: Bloodsucker