Review: Pretty Good M/M Romance/Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 18, 2013
4-4.5 stars: A very solid m/m romance suspense/thriller that I had a really difficult time putting down once I got into it. (Seriously. I woke up in the middle of the night and lay there, thinking, "I could tryyyyyyyyyy to go back to bed...OR I COULD READ SOME MORE.")The story follows Kevin, a reporter going undercover to join a sex club geared towards gay men to find out why some young men connected to the club have gone missing. Very closeted Kevin's awkward presence in the club quickly draws the attention of ex-cop Walter, who is working on the club's security and also investigating the disappearances. Things happen, they decide that working together might solve things faster, they follow the clues, more men go missing, the villain is crazy-looming, and along the way, they find the intense attraction to each other is impossible to ignore, something that totally clashes with their personal life goals--Kevin's is to lie about being gay and Walter's is to continue to feel old and be alone.What I liked:Kevin and Walter's relationship was great and it was a nice progression over the book. Even though there is almost a twenty year age difference, something that older Walter obsesses about, they still fit very well for each other, and their moments together were fun to read. Their chemistry is sweet, sexy, funny, and tender. And as individual characters, they were both sympathetic and interesting, and you get both their POVs in the book (as well as the Villain's.)(I still think it's hilarious that both MCs were so ogling each other constantly during the beginning of the investigation. Like how can they get ANYTHING done if all they do is stare at each other? But then the author inserts some self-awareness later in the book when one of the characters lambasts himself for not focusing on the case more. By that time I was already sold to the story and characters, but I appreciated that Parker included it. It felt consistent with her characters acting logically and thinking things through, which leads to one of my other favorite things...)LOGICAL ACTIONS! I was continually surprised when different scenarios would pop up and the characters did logical responses.Like, "You're lying about your intentions and motivations about joining this sex club. Do you a) continue the charade that you're so awesome at or b) communicate honestly?" They did B! WOW!Or "The Villain is planning an attack. Does it a) take the heroes by surprise because they're so busying ogling each other to notice clues or b) do they figure it out ahead of time? B! And they respond logically to the threat! Wow!!OR how about one of my favorites--"You're fighting with your lover who has said the wrong thing to push you away. Do you a) stomp away, yell "Have it your way! I'm leaving!", slam the door, and then walk in the rain and have emo-separation-time for chapters on end, preferably so it draws you into the villain's clutches or b) you force the issue right then and there and talk about it? B???? REALLY??? WOOOOOOOW!For me personally, the book kind of had a shaky start because of all the sudden sexual tension in the beginning, and so I thought it would be littered with too-stupid-to-live moments, but overall, characters made smart decisions, and it just felt refreshing.Along with the all that rational thinking, there was also quite a few twists and turns in the mystery. Even though there were a few things I could forecast, there were others that were surprises, and I appreciated for a longer book (over 300 pages), there was usually always something going on with the plot that progressed things further in an interesting way.The pacing was also solid and I liked how the author would sometimes jump ahead. Sometimes this led to over-exposition as the narrative explained what happened in the interim, but I liked the book's pacing overall and felt it kept momentum up well.This book is a companion to Parker's m/m/m romance suspense More, but you do not need to read More to enjoy this. (I haven't, and didn't feel at all punished for it.) For those who have read More, that book's MCs pop up here as side and background characters. (One of my few niggles is that some of their appearances did feel superfluous, but fans of More will probably really dig it. It did make me curious to check out their book as well.)One heads-up: For those who dislike violence, there are rape/non-con references that happen to some side characters, but nothing is on page. I'm glad the author skated around most of the details. It would have been a much darker read otherwise.Even though it took me a while to get into the flow, I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone looking for a romance/thriller to read. I think this might be the beginning of a series, and some side characters are highlighted in a way that make me think they may star in future books. If there are more books, I'd check them out.(And if there is any more with Walter and Kevin, I would definitely be on board. No worries--the HEA is solid, but I would not say no to reading more. They had really fun chemistry and were not a bad crime-solving duo.) :-)