3.5 Stars

Orphan Micki St John has been beat down by life a lot. He's barely surviving through his grief and to make matters worse, his horrific past catches up with him as his former abuser is found dead on his property.

Kane Morgan is the cop assigned to the case and is immediately intrigued by this haunted, not yet broken man, and can't seem to keep away. As he gets more attached, the danger to Miki escalates as the body count rises.

What's not to like about an alpha cop falling hard for a tragic hero?? Was this a bit too fast?? Maybe … but it works. Why mince words or hedge around the bush when the attraction is there for both MC's?? No use in playing games right?

The banter was sexy, the murder mystery compelling enough, the progression well paced. Mix in some great family times and this was a pretty feel good, quite romantic, suspense novel. I really liked Kane - manly, possessive, yummy and not afraid to go after what he wanted. Kudos to Ford - she definitely writes long, explicit, and descriptively detailed scenes that I think many will appreciate. ( )

3,5 stars

I liked it. Rhys Ford is the Master of Openings and have a magnificent talent for to build characters, she brings them to you in flesh and blood

But again I find the criminal case inconsistent in their internal logic. For instance, there are not reasonable explanation for the attack against Kel, and that without mentioning the chain of dumb acts in the chapter 20:
* Somebody moderately smart and that he's aware that he can be the next victim, and that he's is living at another house as protection measure, does go to by himself and moreover at "that" place? It's much.
* And can one say with verisimilitude that a cop with very long years of experience is going to let him go alone, and not only that but he's going to give him for to defend oneself little more than a stick? It's too much.

Also there are inconsistencies in the motivations of every death, since even though the main reason is well thought, it's not able to explain the progression of the raid of the killer; in a mystery, although the culprit is a fruitcake, I expect to find an own logic in his actions.

I read this book immediately after Dirty Laundry. And worries me a little to see that the Rhys's mysteries begin to have too many similarities.... and not the good ones. Too many lunatics -greed, revenge, fear, passion are habitual causes of murder also-, and increasing inconsistencies in the plots. And although I fell in love with the hints of Damien that we're offered, I believe that Whiskey and Wry will demand a strong suspension of disbelief.

I hope that the author will correct these small issues, and that her editors brush aside the dazzle that I imagine should provoke such a gifted writer, to approach with less pleasing temper Rhys's works, in favour of all of us.

As final note, when contemporary stories is the matter, Rhys is definitely an auto-buy author to me. ( )

I read this book almost straight through, which given my full life is a bit tricky. I was not disappointed, and if I could afford to buy books as I need them I'd own the sequel right now. SOON. I loved our obstinate wounded singer and I loved our fierce softie cop. The heat is very hot. The conflicts are visceral and the murder mystery creeeeepy. Great book. Need the next one now. ( )

I don’t know when I have found characters that I reacted so to as much as Kane Morgan and his big Irish family of cops. I loved how they respected and treated one another and how they welcomed Miki St. John into their home and hearts when the people that abused him as a boy were hunting and trying to kill him. The Morgan’s never questioned it when their second son, Kane, said that Miki was someone very special to him... “I love him more than the next beat of my heart or the next breath I will take”, is how he said it, and how tirelessly he and his partner worked to try and stop the killing and further destruction of Miki’s remaining world, is how he proved it. Life had left Miki a tortured soul. He had previously found a sense of home and family with the band “Sinner’s Gin.” On the way home, after they had won a Grammy Award, a terrible car accident happened that left Miki as the sole survivor. He was alone, he was struggling, and he was simply lost. Then Kane Morgan enters his life ...a cop, from a family of cops, and he’s strong and steady, and willing to be Miki’s anchor and much more. The romance between the two of them is beautiful and honest. I thought that story was well written, for me it was a background to Miki’s path to peace and Kane’s growing adoration. I had two favorite parts...one is when Kane rattles off all the little things he knows about Miki, making it so clear that every little part of Miki is important to him, and loved. The second one was when Kane’s father and Miki talk about life, and what real love means while just the two of them are making lunch. I found this first book by accident, but I will diffidently find the second book on purpose. ( )

Miki has shut the world out since his friends and bandmates were killed in a tragic accident. But the world finds its way back into his life when the body the man who abused him as a child is dumped in his car. What's worse is that the body is found by his neighbor, Kane, who just happens to be a member of the SFPD. And as much as Miki would love to go back to his life as a hermit, that can't happen with a murder investigation, a killer who may have set his sights on Miki as his next target, and an attraction to Kane that can't be denied. But if there's one thing Miki has learned about life, it's that it is anything but predictable. And this story reflects that as well. ( )