A thrilling page-turner with a slow-burn romance
From the blurb:
The plan?
Lie low on Heartstone Island and wait for the dumpster fire that is his past life to burn itself out. So far, so good. Until it isn't.
Gabriel has avoided Ranger Man for days, made a few important repairs to his sailboat, and put a dent in the stack of dime-store mysteries Elton loaned him. Life is at least okay.
Eight days in and his strategy crumbles like a wet cookie.
His ex-partner-in-crime returns, but this time he is very dead. And wearing a baby blue tracksuit, which somehow makes his murder even worse.
Is his body a message from the crime family they mutually pissed off? Did Peter have connections to Heartstone? And if he didn't, how the hell did he know he'd find Gabe there?
With yet another exceedingly ill-timed murder, Gabe's luck is once again not the Good Kind. Then there's his simmering attraction to Casey, which he's actively sweeping underneath his mental throw rug. Lundin is definitely not Gabe's type. He's a walking-talking moral compass that never seems to cease pointing out everything he's sure is wrong about Gabe. But damn, that man's uniform fits him like a custom glove.
Adding to it all, snow is in the forecast, there's a missing brush worker up the valley, and Calvin Perkins is still on the loose. Gabe's not even going to think about the spiders.
Everything will be fine. FINE.
Lesetiger's review:
I had just recently listened to the first book in the *Subtle Deceptions* series, *The Last Grift*, so I was already very interested in seeing how the story would unfold. You can read this book as a standalone, but you’ll definitely enjoy the story more if you read the series in order. Simply because you’ll then have a better understanding of the relationship between the two protagonists, Gabe and Casey.
This time, the focus is on the slow-burning romance between Gabe and Casey, but don’t think for a second that there isn’t plenty going on around that. And besides, I thought it was pretty suspenseful at times.
The writing style is wonderful, and I loved that the story was told alternately from the perspectives of both protagonists, allowing readers to really empathize with both characters.
Gabe finds a body at the harbor near his boat, which turns out to be his ex-lover. The only question is how he found his way to this small town, because when Gabe broke up with him, he didn’t leave an address.
The corrupt sheriff and his deputies want to pin this on Gabe; evidence is scarce, and yet Gabe has little to counter the sheriff’s schemes. The only option is to take the initiative and solve the murder himself. Gabe has support from Casey and Elton. Elton has lived in this small town for a very long time; he knows everyone and is familiar with the connections between different people. You can’t help but like Elton—he’s got his heart in the right place and is a bit stubborn, but he’s a one-of-a-kind character who won’t let anything get him down.
Gabe definitely has feelings for Casey, but he finds it hard to admit them. And Casey has a tough exterior—life has left its mark on him.
The two of them tiptoe around each other, but it takes a while before they can admit their feelings. As I said, it’s a slow burn, but that works perfectly here.
Because a lot is happening with the investigation: there are missing hikers in the mountains, and another man is also missing. Gabe’s ex isn’t the only body, and then a building is set on fire as well. On top of that, the two can’t trust either the sheriffs or the judges, and there are also some decades-old mysteries to solve. For me, the story was a real page-turner; I was hooked from start to finish and listened to the story almost in one sitting.
The narration by Christian Leatherman was very good—he did an amazing job. He conveyed the emotions well and brought the characters to life. I enjoyed listening to him, and I’m already really looking forward to the next volume!
Bait and Switch is currently available as an audiobook, e-book and paperback, and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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