House Hunt The Power of Zero Book #3
Vigilante Justice, Gay Romance
Independent
Feb 12, 2020
Kindle
489
Amazon
PRG is Following Jackie Keswick and her POWER OF ZERO series........ this is BOOK #3
DUAL REVIEW
Drugs. Bullies. Kidnappers. And Jack's second chance at happiness is under threat.
Jack wants to enjoy his new life, but he can't catch a break.
A perfect day out turns into three months undercover. A bully threatens Nico and Daniel. And returning a favour leads him into a trap.
Jack has never refused his help, but he never had anything that mattered to him, either. Now he must change his priorities, or the family he's making for himself and his growing relationship with Gareth will fall to the demands made on him.
2 FIVE STAR REVIEWS
First Review by Linda Tonis
is the third book in the series following the lives of Gareth, Jack, Nico and Daniel and to truly understand them you should start with book one, Job Hunt. Almost a year has gone by since Nico and Daniel were saved This from the pimp who beat them, drugged them and used them for the pleasure of monsters willing to pay big money.
The boys have returned to school and their nightmares have all but disappeared. Jack and Gareth are still waiting for confirmation of their application to become the boys’ legal guardians but in the meantime their lives are going well until a fight at school would put Nico in the hospital, a bully larger than him and older but Nico didn’t go down without a fight.
Jack and Gareth are still living separately but their relationship is growing, well as much as Jack will allow it to. Jack is beginning to understand what Gareth means when he says that a person can make their own family, a family that is often stronger and more loving than their blood relatives and in Jack’s case it couldn’t be truer. A beautiful day, a walk in the woods and a van in the parking lot would once again put Jack in danger. He had a funny feeling about the van and when searched drugs and money were discovered. Unwilling to just let it go Jack does some investigating and discovers where the drugs are being held but finding the dealer is the priority and his inability to say no puts him in another undercover mission.
Three months away from his family and home is something he never faced when he was alone, but he missed Gareth and the boys. Another successful mission that would not end as expected when the drug dealer appears to have committed suicide, something Jack knows is not true. Someone is working on the inside and eliminating any threat. Unsure of his welcome, when he returns Jack is caught off guard when he is welcomed with open arms and love.
All seems well until another threat comes to Jack’s attention and this one involving his company and employer. Jack jumped right back into the frying pan and put himself in danger, but it seems to be his lot in life never able to look away and always just jumping in to fix a problem, especially one that involves the people he cares about. Someone is stealing documents from the bosses safe and of course, Jack now knows who. He doesn’t report it but keeps searching for answers and when he finds them, he puts himself in the line of fire.
Gareth wants to buy a house so that he, Jack and the boys can all live together but when Jack goes to look at the house he is met with men with guns, and he is gone. He is kidnapped and no one has a clue who could be involved since as usual Jack kept everything, he knew a secret. Everyone is called into action to find Jack but if anybody knows Jack then they know he is not an easy man to hold on to.
Kidnapping, drugs, betrayals, secrets and lies and two adults and two kids who I grow to love with each new book. Every time I open one of the books in this series, I know I will be in for an exciting ride, and I am now ready to open book number four to see where the characters take me.
#2 REVIEW BY ULYSSES DIETZ
Boy, these books are not all alike. From the relentless tension of Job Hunt, to the cozy holiday atmosphere of Ghosts, to somewhere in between with book 3, House Hunt. It’s a clever title, because the notion of house and home is used in contrasting ways that reflect both Jack Horwood’s shifting emotional state and the physical reality of a house as a safe place.
Gareth Flynn really wants to be a husband to Jack Horwood, although he never articulates it that way. He is unsure of Jack’s feelings, even as Jack is unsure if Gareth will toss him to the curb for his sometimes prickly behavior. Neither man quite believes how deeply engaged the other is, and I suppose there are good reasons for that.
Jack also wants to be a father, although he never quite articulates that. Nico and Daniel, the fifteen-year-olds rescued from the entrapment of a notorious child-trafficker, are to Jack what Jack is to Gareth. Recovering from their trauma, they are still fragile, but it warms the heart to see them blossoming in the love of these two men, who have promised to look after them and keep them safe. Both Jack and Gareth love these surrogate sons, although (once again) they don’t quite articulate it. Actions matter, and at least we know how everybody feels by the way they act.
It’s a funny sort of three-part plot arc: Jack goes undercover, somewhat against his will; there is a scary kerfuffle with the boys at their new school (which is both a bit predictable and surprising); and finally a high-tension plot twist that is, insanely, rather funny, as we get to watch Jack at his most James-Bondian (is that a word?).
Keswick has this world carefully under her verbal control. The settings and situations are becoming familiar and comfortable, even as the author throws spanners (we in the USA would say monkey wrenches) into the plot now and then to keep us on our toes. Both the main characters and the supporting cast are vivid and interesting. You can see why both Gareth and Jack would like working with the people they do (mostly). Yes, I would love to see a little more emotion in both Jack and Gareth. Sometimes their restraint is frustrating (to me). Nico and Daniel express their emotions, and we know how the people around them feel about them.
It’s an elegant, gripping series, and I look forward to reading all of it in the near future.