Review: Mary Calmes with mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 9, 2014
Floodgates was a bit different from the other Mary Calmes books I have read, as it had a mystery in the mix. We have Tracy Brandt, our main character who is a really nice guy and everyone loves him. His rotten, cheating ex, Breckin and his brother’s best friend, alpha male, Cord Nolan – who Tracy has a less than amicable relationship with. Tracy sees Cord as extremely attractive, but an immature, player and in the five years he has known Cord, his opinion has not changed. Tracy is looking for a long-term relationship and neither Cord, nor, apparently, Breckin, fit that role.There are a couple of story lines running through the book. One involves Tracy’s business partner, Dimah Mashir and his brother Kirill. The story begins with Tracy dodging bullets at their office when the place is mistakenly attacked thinking it belongs to Kirill. While Tracy maintains that Dimah is a legitimate businessman, it is known that Kirill is not. Tracy’s brother Alex, who is a DEA agent has his doubts as to the legitimacy of Dimah’s business dealings, especially when his brother ends up in the hospital after he is grazed by a bullet.The other storyline involves, Tracy’s ex, Breckin. Tracy caught Breckin cheating on him and they have been “taking a break” for five months. After Tracy is attacked in a bar bathroom and hospitalized again, Cord, who is investigating another incident that ended up in murder, concludes that his murder investigation and Tracy’s attack may be linked. The mystery becomes a bit more complex as characters are added and we find out more things to dislike about Breckin. While working on the case, Tracy learns that maybe he has not really noticed that Cord has changed over the years.Several characters stood out in the book, first being Tracy’s family. There is Tracy’s older brother Alex and younger brother Evan and their dad. We get insight in his family and a bit about their history. They are wonderful and supportive. I could not really find any redeeming qualities in Breckin or another character involved in his infidelity. The development of a romantic relationship between Tracy and Cord, even though they have a history of five years, felt a bit lopsided to me. Cord has known his feelings for Tracy for years, while Tracy never noticed that Cord had changed. There is nothing to let the reader know how he has changed except in conversations that Alex has with Tracy and how Cord seems to be trying to improve the communication between them. Once established, it moves quickly. I would have loved to see more Cord and Tracy time and less Breckin, rotten, cheating ex time, but it was part of the mystery.Dimah was one of my favorite characters. He is intriguing I would love to know more about him. It just feels like there is a story there but that may just be my wishful thinking.Overall, I enjoyed the book, it was very much what I like about Mary Calmes books – alpha male/ sweet romantic interest and happy endings, except this one also had an added mystery element.