Playing With Fire M/M Romance/Mystery
Dreamspinner Press
November 4, 2016
199
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Jim Crawford is a detective with the New Cynwood Police Department and he is working on finding a serial killer a case that is leaving him totally frustrated. Four people are now dead and all that is left behind is a single bullet casing. Other than the casing the killer leaves no clues.
Jim knows that they need help in finding the serial killer but is not ready to turn the case over to the FBI, instead he wants an expert on psychological criminal behavior and his friend knows just the man. Professor Bartholomew (Barty) Halloran is an expert in his field and when Jim meets him he is also the kind of man he favors. Jim was in a relationship with another nerdy professor, eyeglasses and all and that one left him heartbroken so although Barty is his type and pushes some buttons especially the big glasses he wasn’t lucky with that type before and thinks it is time to try something new.
Barty is a genius who missed out on being a kid. He never had to attend high school so he lost out on making friends and having fun now he is alone except for his cat. Even though he is a psychologist he has no idea how to deal with people and he is gay and a virgin and he is clueless about so many things.
When Barty visits the crime scenes he makes a discovery that Jim and the other police officers missed, the casing is a diversion left before the killings to throw the police off to where he really was on the roof. Barty also has a pretty good idea of what this person is like. It doesn’t take long before the killer begins sending messages that threaten Barty and Jim takes him to live with him until it is safe. Barty is convinced this is a man who sees himself as a genius and is light years ahead of anyone else. Barty also begins to believe that the killer is an academic.
Watching as Barty and Jim track down the killer is like watching a tv show or movie, and by the way I think this book would make a great movie (Mr. Greyson check it out, lol). This is a story about two men who are as different as “Day and Knight”, I know night is spelled wrong but I couldn’t help plugging another wonderful series by this wonderful author. Barty is such an innocent and watching as he learns how to laugh and get his first kiss was so heartwarming.
