Review: An intense and gripping story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 20, 2012
New authors in the M/M genre seem to be a dime a dozen these days--and a collaboration between a more established author and a newbie is also becoming commonplace.  Well...the commonplace and business as usual adages stop here in this remarkable team effort, Deep Blues Goodby by T.A. Webb and Laura Harner.  I have no doubt that Deep Blues Goodbye is one surefire hit and certainly adds new and pleasant twists to the rapidly becoming mundane genre--paranormal mysteries.The story is involved so be forewarned, but I do believe this is due to the idea that we are seeing the beginning of a series from this dynamic writing pair and I, for one, am excited to see what they come up with next. However, before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you a bit about Deep Blues Goodbye.Travis and Sam are partners on the New Orleans police force who have gone undercover to smoke out a killer who has a penchant for murdering gays. At the onset, we are made aware that Travis is openly gay but as their stakeout continues, Sam reveals he to is gay and is developing less than partner-like affection for Travis. As they are about to close in for the capture, Travis is jumped and bitten, turning him into a vampire.Fast forward two years and since that time the Governor has not only enacted the Vampire Protection Law--a federal law protecting all paranormals and their rights but created a task force for the special job of hunting down and convicting said paras calling it the PCIU--Paranormal Criminal Investigation Unit.  Part of this unit is a former buddy and sometimes bed partner of Sam's, Danny Burkette.During the investigations of several murders where both vamps and humans have been staked and left in the sun, their fangs removed, these three men will explore the underbelly of the paranormal world.  In true tough guy, investigative detective style, the story sets up for us a new world where wolves, vampires and humans all coexist--often peacefully.Deep Blues Goodbye is a rich story that is woven with several stories of love lost and restored, of forgiveness and second chances.  Most importantly, however, is the idea that cone day you may face a life-changing decision--hold someone's life and future in your hands and decide the fate of another--all very heavy yet amazingly fascinating stuff.While this team had a bit of difficulty in the beginning with their co-writing coming off a bit stiff and confused, the problem quickly righted itself and they covered tremendous ground in setting up a complex and compelling story for us to enjoy. I look forward to future collaborations from Webb and Harner--for once they hit their stride, they certainly batted this one out of the park--a definite literary homerun!I highly recommend Deep Blues Goodbye to you.  An exciting read, and hopefully the beginning of a thrilling new series in m/m fiction.