Ghosts The Power of Zero Book #2
LGBTQ Fiction, Gay Romance, Romantic Action Adventure
Independent
Jan 29, 2020
Kindle
217
Amazon
Family. Christmas. Old ghosts. Or comfort, joy and new beginnings?
When it comes to the holidays, Jack and Gareth are poles apart.
Just the prospect of a big celebration brings Jack sleepless nights and painful memories. Add two rescued teenagers, an upcoming trial, and an unexpected discovery, and Jack is convinced he’ll screw up his second chance with Gareth
Because Gareth loves the holidays. For him, they’re all about new beginnings and family he's chosen for himself, while Jack’s past has only taught him to fight and protect.
Jack wants Gareth, the boys, a new life. He just never guessed that the fight for what he always wanted would rage in the most dangerous of battlefields: his own mind.
From the Desk of Gloria Lakritz
Review Chair for the Paranormal Romance Guild
Our Reviewers have begun this year with PRG wanting to do new things for our authors. We were the First to do DUAL REVIEWS. We are planning a 6 Book challenge for Jackie Keswick . We are planning to Review her 6 book Series- The Power of Zero, labeling it THE PRG Menage. Now Linda, Ulysses and I doing individual reviews as you see below and Jay Mountney will be finishing up at book 6 with a grand finale review at the end Let us know what you think of this idea. We might even have giveaways and author interview too… .Let us know what you think
Review by Linda Tonis
Jack, Gareth, Nico and Daniel’s story continues. The immediate problem Jack is facing is Gareth’s love of Christmas and his intention to go all out. Jack has no interest in holidays, never celebrated them and when his mother sold him to a pimp had no desire to start celebrating them now. Unfortunately, Jack couldn’t interfere with Gareth and his desire to feed everyone he knew so after so many years he finds himself in a room full of people only since so many of them were men he knew from the army he decided to sit back and try to enjoy.
Nico and Daniel are being fostered by Gareth’s mom since she is very experienced in helping troubled kids. Nico is working with the police to put the pimp that tortured him and Daniel away always with Jack standing beside him for support. Daniel’s nightmares and waking up screaming have settled down, but he still clings to Jack, Gareth and Nico.
Then out of nowhere Jack gets a call from Gareth’s mom to investigate a foster family hoping to increase the number of children they presently have. The problem is that she notices a definite resemblance between the woman and Daniel and suspects these could be his parents, the one’s that sold him to a pimp just like Jack’s mom did. She needs Jack to find proof and he is just the man for the job with his hacking abilities. The Sear’s had two foster children, a girl and a boy only the boy supposedly ran away, but did he run away or was he another victim of a pimp.
Jack won’t let this go because if they are Daniel’s parents, then any foster child in their care is in danger. It is common knowledge that the foster care system is a living hell for some kids and even if they are not sold to pimps, they still suffer from abuse. While finding evidence against Daniel’s parents, and since he is great at finding that evidence, Jack is concerned about Daniel’s wellbeing. Should he reveal what he found to Daniel or just keep him in the dark. This was a difficult decision for Jack, but he did make the right one.
Fear is a driving force with Nico and Daniel, fear of being abandoned again, fear of having no one there for them, what if Gareth’s mom decides having them is too much trouble, what if Jack and Gareth go away, fear that two teenage boys should not have to live with. A decision is made between Jack and Gareth, a decision I will not reveal in this review.
Not only is Nico able to help put away the pimp that tortured him and Daniel he manages to get the men who paid for the right to abuse these boys put in jail, lucky for one of the men because if Jack had his way the man would be found dead.
Ghosts, not the spooky kind but the kind that torture the mind. Jack’s and the boy’s ghosts are those memories of the past abuse, caning, whipping, and sex and the fact that they were sold to monsters by the very people that should have loved them.
Although this series does not have to be read in order since the author does a wonderful job of updating the reader on what previously occurred, I highly recommend starting from book one, Job Hunt. The topics covered in this series are not for everyone, child abuse, parental abuse and at times it is heartbreaking.
Gareth and Jack go back to the time when they were in the army together and after years of separation have found each other again. Gareth is aware of Jack’s past and is always in a protective mode, that is the sign of true love.
Review by Ulysses Dietz
I’m glad Jackie Keswick decided to reissue the “Power of Zero” series. This second book of the series seems to be sort of a semi-quiet interlude. It focuses on Jack Horwood, and his ongoing adjustment to the very idea that he might, at the age of 30, finally have found something like a family.
Jack is a complex and prickly guy, with a very dark backstory, which got well dug into in the first book of the series. In this book we continue to see how his past has affected the way he reacts to the world – reacts to even obviously good things, like the love of Gareth Flynn, his former commanding office and current boss at Nancarrow Mining.
Using the holidays, Christmas and New Year, is a great trigger for everyone’s insecurities relating to family, and Jack’s issues run deeper and more painful than most. Gareth, on the other hand, uses these holidays to radicalize his love of cooking, and his need to reach out and care for people. The lovely thing about Gareth is that he is also a skilled soldier, and has a psychologist’s skill at watching and understanding what Jack might be experiencing. Mostly.
Added into the mix of these two impossibly good and beautiful men, are the two fourteen-year-olds rescued in the first book, Nico and Daniel. The horror of their experience echoes Jack’s own, and his evolving professional and emotional attachment to these broken boys parallels his growing trust and love for Gareth.
The entire story is gentler, more emotional, and generally less harrowing than the first book, but equally disturbing in the issues it raises about the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Given that it is a “holiday” story, I suppose it had to be, but the author makes it into a richly emotional experience for the reader as well.
Looking forward to the third book in the series, ‘House Hunt.’
Review By Gloria Lakritz
Ghosts seems like a gentle reprieve to the hard topics in Job Hunt Book #1. Don’t get me wrong, the Christmas Holidays are not always a good feeling to people of great trauma. It is hard on Jack who was sold by his mother to a pimp and sexually abused as a young child. Now he has freed two young teens Nico and Daniel from a slave ring and they are temporarily staying with Jack and his lover Gareth. The Court will decide where their placement will be
Gareth lost Jack, who was Jack’s commanding officer, when he left the military. He found Jack when Jack was at an interview for a job and now Jack is working at the same company. Gareth loves to cook, and loves the holidays and invited the old gang to spend it with them. Now he has to learn all memories are not the same and keeping an eye on Jack and the two young boys is a credit to his character and love for Jack.
We do get thru the holidays with Jack feeling some semblance of what it is to be in a loving family, He has the knowledge of how to mentor the two lost teens who cling to each other and scream thru their nightmares looking to him for their salvation. I must say this is Truly a story of Patience and Love and Acceptance.