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Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by MLR Press
Pages: 348
Detective David Eric Laine has a new partner at work and a string of beautiful, pregnant women who turn up murdered. The partner, Jairo, a sexy young Latino who has a wife and kids, has a crush on David. As the two work together, the case unfolds into a situation that involves prostitution, human trafficking, and illegal arms sales to street gangs. If dealing with these issues weren’t bad enough, Jairo’s heavy flirtations become a constant distraction for David. And David, not as strong as he likes to think, is sorely tempted.
That occupies David’s days while his lover, Christopher Bellamere, does everything possible to make David comfortable at home. Chris and Dave have been together for four years, but can their relationship stand the test of Jairo trying to steal David away? And can David hold his relationship together long enough to solve the crime? David seems to be doing fine until he lets down his guard, and a moment of weakness threatens to blow his whole world away.
This is a tense, complex, well-written tale that focuses as much on the crumbling relationship between David and Chris as it does on solving the crime, which is as it should be. David and Chris are great characters, although I wish Chris could have had more page time to deepen his character another notch or two. The complexity of their relationship drew me into their world, and the fact that they are opposites kept me interested in their interactions. I was rooting for them all the way. Although I must say that there were places where the circumstances in the relationship seemed a bit contrived, but certainly not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story.
The writing is strong, gritty, and the procedural detail is top notch. Brown skillfully weaved together a tapestry of forensics and solid police work to create an interesting story, even as the complexity continued to grow far beyond my expectations. Yet, for all its complexity, there were few dropped threads, and the pace remained even with plenty of action and suspense that kept me turning pages.
This is the third of a series with David and Chris, and unfortunately I have not read the first two, but I was able to easily understand all the nuances of David’s work and home life. This book stands well on its own. My one complaint about this entertaining story is that I felt the resolutions, both for solving the crime and for David and Chris’s relationship, was too hastily wrapped up after such a long drawn out labyrinth of twists and turns. It felt a bit too easy, or perhaps I wanted the story to keep going longer.
Overall this is an engaging read that I highly recommend.
Published by MLR Press
Pages: 348
Detective David Eric Laine has a new partner at work and a string of beautiful, pregnant women who turn up murdered. The partner, Jairo, a sexy young Latino who has a wife and kids, has a crush on David. As the two work together, the case unfolds into a situation that involves prostitution, human trafficking, and illegal arms sales to street gangs. If dealing with these issues weren’t bad enough, Jairo’s heavy flirtations become a constant distraction for David. And David, not as strong as he likes to think, is sorely tempted.
That occupies David’s days while his lover, Christopher Bellamere, does everything possible to make David comfortable at home. Chris and Dave have been together for four years, but can their relationship stand the test of Jairo trying to steal David away? And can David hold his relationship together long enough to solve the crime? David seems to be doing fine until he lets down his guard, and a moment of weakness threatens to blow his whole world away.
This is a tense, complex, well-written tale that focuses as much on the crumbling relationship between David and Chris as it does on solving the crime, which is as it should be. David and Chris are great characters, although I wish Chris could have had more page time to deepen his character another notch or two. The complexity of their relationship drew me into their world, and the fact that they are opposites kept me interested in their interactions. I was rooting for them all the way. Although I must say that there were places where the circumstances in the relationship seemed a bit contrived, but certainly not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story.
The writing is strong, gritty, and the procedural detail is top notch. Brown skillfully weaved together a tapestry of forensics and solid police work to create an interesting story, even as the complexity continued to grow far beyond my expectations. Yet, for all its complexity, there were few dropped threads, and the pace remained even with plenty of action and suspense that kept me turning pages.
This is the third of a series with David and Chris, and unfortunately I have not read the first two, but I was able to easily understand all the nuances of David’s work and home life. This book stands well on its own. My one complaint about this entertaining story is that I felt the resolutions, both for solving the crime and for David and Chris’s relationship, was too hastily wrapped up after such a long drawn out labyrinth of twists and turns. It felt a bit too easy, or perhaps I wanted the story to keep going longer.
Overall this is an engaging read that I highly recommend.
You can read more about P.A. Brown and her work at: www.pabrown.ca
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