Category: Suspense

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The Back Stairs by KC Kendricks

Amber Allure Presents: http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/1180-The-Back-Stairs.aspx

back stairs

Blurb

Fallon Roxbury has a nose for trouble, and the uncanny ability for landing in the middle of it the moment he finds it. While investigating the gruesome murder of a young male prostitute in the red-light district, Fallon gets a whiff of something strange. Forensics has unidentified hairs. Very unidentified hairs, like nothing in any of the textbooks. Following a tip from a person of interest, Fallon meets Sundown, an apparent hustler who apparently knows a lot more than he will admit.

Getting personally involved with Sundown breaks every rule in the police manual, and in Fallon’s own personal code. But Sundown is like a drug, and Fallon can’t stop at taking only one hit. Yet when Sundown is forced to reveal the truth about the murder, Fallon’s world is turned upside down, and he’s left with only two options—check himself in for psychiatric evaluation, or accept a new reality with a strange shift.

Shapeshifters, that is…

Morgan’s Review

Fallon is a cop with a partner who has some “extra abilities” so he’s a little more open to the idea of the supernatural than the average guy. One night he meets a young woman at a crime scene where a gay hooker was slaughtered. She offers him some advice about the crime but only if he’ll meet her “Up the Back Stairs”.

When he arrives, there is no young woman, instead a stunning man who calls himself “Sundown”. Fallon thinks both the woman and Sundown are hookers, but can’t help but be amazingly attracted to Sundown anyway. Sundown gives him some clues about the crime and some hot sex and the two part ways.

Later, when more bodies are found, Fallon goes back to Sundown for help and he is surprised to find that Sundown is more than he seems, and that these crimes are more than just acts of violence.

**
This is the first installment of the series and is meant to build the world and introduce us to the MCs and it does a great job of hooking you right in. Sundown is a compelling “man” with a fascinating skill set that really makes you want to keep reading.

This is a very unique (cool!) take on the idea of a “shifter”.

Fallon is the typical cop/alpha guy thrown into a situation that would make anyone crazy, but it’s clear by the end that the two have feelings for each other that just may mean something in the long run.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next installment.

4 of 5 hearts

4

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Floodgates Audiobook by Mary Calmes Narrated by Michael Anthony

Dreamspinner presents: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Floodgates-Audiobook/B00PHF7FBU/ref=a_wl_c1_1_8_ttl

floodgates

Blurb: 
Tracy Brandt considers himself a lucky man. He has a wonderful family, good friends, and a dependable job. His love life, however, features a cheating ex who, though out of the house, is not yet out of the picture—with a past that just might get Tracy killed.

Homicide inspector Cord Nolan wants nothing more than to show his best friend’s little brother that he’s a reliable man, but to do that he’ll have to get Tracy to look past the player he used to be. It’ll be a tough sell; reputation is everything, and Cord’s is tarnished by his past indiscretions.

Tracy and Cord have spent five years trying to suffocate their fiery attraction under a blanket of grudging antagonism. When Tracy finds himself with a target on his back, Cord finally has the chance to ride to the rescue and break through the dam of Tracy’s reserve. But he’d better be careful: if Cord is breaking the floodgates to wash away the past, he’s going to have to hold tight to Tracy to make sure they’re still standing when the tumult recedes.

Review:

Book:

There is a lot going on in this story. Tracy is the ex-boyfriend of Breckin. Breckin cheats. He makes people mad. Tracy finally dumps him, but now Breckin is in trouble and someone wants to kill him.

Tracy is also working for someone who has a brother in the Russian mob. This gets Tracy shot.

Tracy has a brother who is a police detective. He has an ex-partner named Cord who is a man-whore. Cord and Tracy want each other. Badly. But won’t act on it because they know it will end badly. So, for 5 years they dance around one another.

Somehow, Cord ends up guarding Tracy, Breckin and Breckin’s most current love interest (Celia) against the stalker that wants Breckin dead and the people after the Russian mob brother.(It’s okay if you’re confused, because it’s really confusing.)

After 5 years Cord has decided to clean up his act and be the right kind of guy for Tracy. Now that Tracy is single again, Cord makes his play. Tracy, who has always had the hots for Cord, eats it up with a spoon and they make for a hot, hot couple.

Ultimately, Cord and some local police catch the guy after Breckin. Nothing important happens relating to the Russian mob. Cord and Tracy end up together for a very, very HEA.

**

I love Mary Calmes.

I love her.

I did not love this book.

It was meandering, hard to follow, had characters that did things that didn’t make sense, one completely dead end plot and one twisted and confusing plot.

The Russian mob part of the story seemed unnecessary and it added to my confusion.

Breckin was a cheater and had a hard time with monogamy. Though I really rooted for Cord and could tell he really loved Tracy, I wasn’t convinced that he was through with his man-whore ways. We got nothing to show us he had changed. It felt dangerous to Tracy to go from one cheater to another player.

I always love Mary’s alpha males coupled with the sensitive guy and that’s what happens here, but the background story (the stalker, the ex, the mob) took up more page time than their love story and it didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t feel as attached to the characters as I usually do.

Overall, this is not my favorite Mary Calmes story. I enjoyed it like I always do, but I didn’t love it.

I give it a 3 of 5 hearts.

3

Audio:

Michael Anthony is new to me as a narrator and I mostly enjoyed his interpretation. I LOVED his Russian accent and thought his Tracy was excellent. He does emotion and the smexy scenes very well, but he didn’t do much for Cord and I sometimes had a hard time telling who was talking.

Since the story is confusing as it is, the listening was sometimes even more confusing and I found myself re-winding and listening again, even though I had read the book first, it was several months ago.

So… I give the narration a 4 of 5 hearts because it was mostly really good, but needed some tweaking to be great.

4

Overall, as a listening experience I give it a 3.5 of 5 hearts. I was glad to have read and listened to it, but it was not my favorite.

3.5

 

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The Royal Street Heist by Scotty Cade

Dreamspinner Presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5666

royalBlurb

When valuable Civil War era art is stolen from a popular New Orleans gallery, NOPD Lead Detective Montgomery “Beau” Bissonet and his partner set out to solve the crime. When the gallery’s insurance company sends Tollison Cruz to the Big Easy to conduct their own independent investigation, personalities clash and battle lines are definitely drawn.

The heist quickly becomes a politically driven high profile case, and Detective Bissonet is furious when he’s ordered to work along side Investigator Cruz to assure a timely arrest. The heat index soars to new levels when the two investigators discover they have a lot more in common then originally thought.

With the tension between them temporarily sated, Bissonet and Cruz finally start to work together, on more then just a professional level. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Beau discovers his cohort in crime has been withholding information regarding the investigation and has been concealing a very questionable past. What happens next rivals the scorching summer heat.

Morgan’s Review

Beau works for the NOPD and Cruz works for Lloyds of London. Both guys are trying to find two missing paintings. It’s made clear that it’s likely an inside job (either the original owner, his family, or someone the original owner hired) but things are now complicated because someone got killed while trying to steal the paintings.

Beau immediately hates Cruz. Which sucks because now they have to work together. Beau’s recent ex boyfriend is also involved in the case, and they have a contentious relationship as well. (Beau can be an asshole!) So Beau is basically feeling sorry for himself all around.

However, there is something else going on between him and Cruz as well – sexual tension. Both guys are really attracted to one another in addition to truly “hating” the other.

The case leads them to cross state lines and they end up sharing a hotel bed. You guessed it, the sparks flying between them eventually catch fire, have some angry sex and it’s H.O.T! But… they still don’t like each other.

They grudgingly agree that they make a good investigative pair as they get closer and closer to solving the case, but something about the other just sets them on edge. Since they’re spending so much time together they decide to go for a no-strings-attached affair, since it’s convenient and all. *wink, wink

When it looks like the case is on the verge of being solved, and it begins to look like the couple may be more than just a quick fling, Cruz is seen corroborating with one of the main suspects and Beau throws him under the bus, immediately thinking the worst.

Fortunately, Cruz is a reasonable guy and the two of them talk it out, realizing that secrets have been kept on both sides. When they finally lay things out of the table, the case finally gets closed and the two realize they mean more to each other than a short-term affair.

But… they live in different cities. Cruz travels all over the world for months at a time. Beau is stuck in New Orleans. It takes some creative thinking, but they do find something they think will work. It’s going to take a big leap of faith and a lot of love to make it work, but I think they have what it takes to make for a very HEA.

**

The bulk of the story really is about solving the crime. That being said, the love story is super sweet and the sex is really hot. I found it fascinating how much the ex played a part in this story and I figure he’s maybe got a book of his own coming up. I’m not sure if this is just being nit picky or what, but there were tons of strange names in this book and it got distracting.

All in all I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. 4 of 5 hearts

4

 

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No Boundaries (Phoneix Inc #1) by SE Jakes

 

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Samhain Publishing Presents

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/author/1591/se-jakes

Blurb

Phoenix Inc, Book 1
When your past closes in, running isn’t always an option

The jobs Marcus Lowry works for at Phoenix, Inc. Investigations are quick and easy, and they don’t give him the nightmares his days as a CIA operative did. That is, until he gets involved in a case that grabs him by the throat and won’t let go.

Cole Jacobs left behind his old life on the streets to make a name for himself rebuilding high-end and vintage cars and bikes. But when a stalker threatens to kill him—and to hurt anyone who stands in his way—his past closes in on him, and he’s not sure where to turn.

The last thing Marcus wants to do is take on a charity case, and to say that he and Cole don’t see eye to eye at first is putting things mildly. But when the first attempt on Cole’s life nearly kills them both, Marcus realizes that Cole is in real danger, and Cole is forced to reveal everything. Almost everything. Because Cole’s deepest secrets could destroy them both.

 

Morgan’s Review

Cole is in trouble. His past has found him and he doesn’t know who to trust. Luckily, one of his customers from the garage is Sytx (from Bound by Law) now a PI. Styx enlists the help of another PI, Marcus, an ex CIA agent, to help guard and protect Cole from the stalker.

At first Marcus doubts Cole’s story because Marcus has been burned by con-men in the past and Cole has secretive written all over him. These doubts nearly get Cole killed when the stalker plants a bomb and now the stalker is stalking both men. To stay safe, they both must hide while Styx, Law and Paolo try to figure out who the stalker is and how to stop him.

While in hiding, Marcus pushes every button Cole ever had and Cole manages to push quite a few of Marcus’ as well. It doesn’t take much time before their “fighting” turns to … sex.

Marcus and Cole don’t really trust each other, they both have painful pasts that they aren’t willing to share, but their lust is uncontrollable.

Meanwhile, the stalker is getting more inventive and manages to find them – even in Marcus’ best hiding spot. Now the two men are living in the house of the three hot PIs and being surrounded by their obvious love for one another doesn’t make their relationship any easier – or any less hot.

Just when Marcus and Cole think they’ve managed to spill all their secrets, it seems another one pops up, threatening any fragile link they manage to form. Even after the bad guy gets caught, neither man knows where he stands with the other.

It takes a leap of faith and a boatload of honesty, but eventually they do come around to admitting their feelings and committing themselves to one another – forever.

**

This is almost an extension of Jakes’ Men of Honor series in that we get to hang out, quite a bit, with Paolo, Law and Styx. For those of you bothered by ménage, while those boys do mess around a bit, the bulk of this story centers around just Marcus and Cole and they are strictly one-man-guys.

I just love Jakes’ characters. They are always deliciously screwed up, tough, yet vulnerable. She has a flair for putting in just the right amount of danger and tension to make the relationship feel like a life rope.

The sex is off the charts hot and the ending is very, very satisfyingly sweet.

There were times when I had to stop and re-read passages because she shifts POV all over the place, more so than I remember from reading previous works.  However, it really didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the story.

I loved Cole and Marcus and look forward to a new series featuring broken heroes.

I give it 4.5 of 5 hearts.

4.5