Skeleton Crew Psy op Book #14
LGBTQ Mystery, Fantasy, Psychic Mystery
JCP BOOKS
May 20, 2024
Kindle
302
Amazon
Although Victor Bayne is a valued asset of the FPMP, he still vividly recalls his PsyCop days: the eye rolls, the nasty looks, and the occasional utterance of the words “Spook Squad” whenever he showed up on a scene. So he really should empathize with Howard Jibben, the weekend lab manager known as Heebie Jeebie.
But does the guy really need to be so darn annoying?
Thanks to the researcher’s OCD tendencies, when a mysterious shipment arrives, what should be a routine ghost-check turns into an excruciating ordeal…made even worse by a freak incident that leaves them stranded in the FPMP’s basement.
Jacob may be the ranking agent on site, but even he can’t control the weather. Yet given the pressure he puts on himself to master his newfound ability, it’s as if he thinks the burden to free everyone is his alone.
Vic has never put much stock in luck, but the sheer number of disasters raining down on them can’t possibly be pure chance—and things are only getting worse. Is it a curse? Telekinesis? Sabotage?
Or is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows?
Review By Ulysses Dietz
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
How far we’ve come. This book was not at all what I expected. Right away at the start the plot takes a turn when Jacob’s adolescent nephew Clayton is unceremoniously dropped off at Victor and Jacob’s renovated cannery for a sleepover weekend. I expected the story to be about these two men coping with a child for the first time—and indeed there’s a lot of chatter about that (and owning a dog, too) at the start.
But what this book is really about is an entirely unexpected adventure involving a violent storm, a locked containment area at the FPMP headquarters, and the legacy of a long-dead psychic hunter. I did not see that coming.
Victor Bayne is a lovely man. An odd thing to say, but I’ve known him a long time now, and watched him turn into somebody loving, brave, and entirely admirable. He is very aware of his own foibles, but Victor does have a sneaking suspicion that he’s actually a worthy man. His husband Jacob’s love is at the root of that, and as a couple they are surely more than they were as two individuals, each with his own gifts and his own troubles.
It is a claustrophobic plot, and I don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you more. Once I realized the direction things were going, I steeled myself for the tension that the situation would offer. What I didn’t expect was the almost sitcom-level humor, the eccentric characters. What I also didn’t expect was a surprise ending that—honestly—left me in surprised tears.
Victor and Jacob together “solve” a mystery, and prove to their fans (and each other) just what good people they really are. Their selflessness and bravery are called upon in unanticipated ways, and it left me with the feeling that they really could be good dads to a dog. Maybe even an actual human.
I’ve always loved PsyCop. Jordan Castillo Price always finds amazing ways to keep the stories fresh and freaky.