Cold Cases and Second Chances Cold Case Unit Book #1
Gay Romance, LGBTQ Romance, Contemporary Romance
Hostile Whispers Press, LLC
Oct 26, 2021
Kindle
300
Amazon
Life and Death sometimes made you believe in second chance
Robert
One thing I was sure of in my life was I'd never start over after my marriage of thirty years ended. Yet when our kids formed lives of their own, we'd grown apart. I'd signed the papers and tried to move on. My work as a Homicide Detective became my life. It left me with no time to think, but I couldn't exist for my job alone. All that changed when they assigned Remy Bosley as my new partner. He was too good to be true, but in a short time, he became my friend—maybe something more.
Remy
For twenty-eight years, I'd worked to leave my past behind. Although, when the horrors shaped you into the person you were, there was no escape. Being a cop for me was making sure no one else turned out like me. My partner, Robert Kauffman, made it clear how far I'd shoved my dreams down. I was too old and damaged for fairy tales, yet that's exactly what I wanted. In a few short years, his family became mine, and I couldn't lose that no matter how much I wanted more than friends. When he was in danger, I did what needed to be done, and nothing was ever the same.
When a serial killer makes Remy’s old turf his hunting ground, how far will he go to protect the innocent?
(TW: Mentions of childhood sexual, physical, and mental abuses. Passive Suicidal Ideation, self-harm, and mental illness. These are off-page, but there are detailed flashbacks and conversations of said acts. Yet if these are triggering for you, please feel free not to read the story. Your self-care and mental health are more important. Thank you.)
Review By Jay Mountney
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
The story is exciting, covering both a police cold case and the discovery of the background of the protagonists. The characters are well developed and the author went into great detail about how trauma can affect personality.
Robert is injured in the line of duty and Remy, his police partner, helps care for him. Remy also adopts an abused child found in the course of the case that led to Robert’s injury. Robert, divorced, both a father and a grandfather, finds himself falling for Remy who has himself suffered abuse in childhood. While Robert is less than fully fit for duty the pair are assigned to cold cases where they discover a possible serial killer. This all happens against a background of the family and friends of both men and the minor characters are also well drawn.
I enjoyed the exploration of personality and the way the case led to the formation of an interestingly diverse team. The police procedure was also interesting and believable.
The book has a great deal of explicit sex which does not always further plot or character development. This is not to my personal taste but it’s well done and I’m sure some readers would find it ‘hot’ and enjoy it immensely.
Parts of the book were quite hard to read because of somewhat random punctuation and frequently careless use of pronouns. These should have been picked up by an editor but as there are now five volumes in the series further editing and proof reading seem unlikely. Many readers will not find this a hindrance to their enjoyment and I certainly wanted to finish the story and know what happened. However, it would deter me from reading further books in the series.
I would therefore give four stars, for the general story, characters, and plot, with the criticisms simply intended as a warning.