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DS Charlie Rees #1
Murder in Shades of Blue and Green
DS Charlie Rees wants a fresh start.
He wants to make his name as a serious, professional, detective.
Two students disappear. This could be Charlie’s chance. If he can find them.
But the university doesn’t want to admit they’re missing, and his personal life is a disaster.
The fresh start is turning into a hot mess.
He wants to make his name as a serious, professional, detective.
Two students disappear. This could be Charlie’s chance. If he can find them.
But the university doesn’t want to admit they’re missing, and his personal life is a disaster.
The fresh start is turning into a hot mess.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 30, 2023
292 people are currently reading
461 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
September 12, 2023
Charlie’s first day goes horribly wrong and continues to go bad when 2 college kids go missing and he has to find them. AND he’s understaffed since the previous police are under investigation. Yikes!
This was a good mystery. I hope we get a more resolved case in the next book. I’m enjoying Charlie and the very patient Tom romance as well
Off to read book 2….
This was a good mystery. I hope we get a more resolved case in the next book. I’m enjoying Charlie and the very patient Tom romance as well
Off to read book 2….
July 15, 2023
Somehow this book remained that touch 'off' close, but never quite working for me.
Emotions seemed wrong. Charlie starts oddly (drunk) antagonistic. He's a capable officer but prone to tears.
There's little concern or fear over someone assaulting young women. The victims are never named or spoken to. There's little drive to find the murderer.
It's a procedural cosy, the writing is fairly basic, characters following the author's plan.
VERY derivative, I got a strong sense of two mystery books by a different author. Unavoidable comparisons. The random Masons addition also felt a nod to Morse.
Too many things about the cases were unanswered or just didn't add up. Police corruption being a big part of that, it got Charlie there, but..
The resolutions are more RL than satisfying. But worse I found I didn't really care.
The story didn't need Assault, Stalking, Corruption, Fraud, Torture, Murder, Masons, Politics, Art talk. One aspect done well would have meant more reader investment.
Then the romance. The attraction seems entirely focused on tattoos and three piece suits. No matching interests. There's another far more likely suitor, they get on well, maybe if he got tattoos? Oh and they're both 6'4" how likely I'd that? How likely in Wales?!
Odd sex scene at the end. From nothing to everything, despite injury. Seemed pasted in to tick a box, to reach mm readers maybe.
I'm Welsh, this is set in Wales. I wanted to give it all the stars. But they had curry and it wasn't even half n' half!
I'll try another by this author, mainly because I love cosys and the promise of a Welsh setting. This was readable but ultimately underwhelmed.
Emotions seemed wrong. Charlie starts oddly (drunk) antagonistic. He's a capable officer but prone to tears.
There's little concern or fear over someone assaulting young women. The victims are never named or spoken to. There's little drive to find the murderer.
It's a procedural cosy, the writing is fairly basic, characters following the author's plan.
VERY derivative, I got a strong sense of two mystery books by a different author. Unavoidable comparisons. The random Masons addition also felt a nod to Morse.
Too many things about the cases were unanswered or just didn't add up. Police corruption being a big part of that, it got Charlie there, but..
The resolutions are more RL than satisfying. But worse I found I didn't really care.
The story didn't need Assault, Stalking, Corruption, Fraud, Torture, Murder, Masons, Politics, Art talk. One aspect done well would have meant more reader investment.
Then the romance. The attraction seems entirely focused on tattoos and three piece suits. No matching interests. There's another far more likely suitor, they get on well, maybe if he got tattoos? Oh and they're both 6'4" how likely I'd that? How likely in Wales?!
Odd sex scene at the end. From nothing to everything, despite injury. Seemed pasted in to tick a box, to reach mm readers maybe.
I'm Welsh, this is set in Wales. I wanted to give it all the stars. But they had curry and it wasn't even half n' half!
I'll try another by this author, mainly because I love cosys and the promise of a Welsh setting. This was readable but ultimately underwhelmed.
October 21, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
This was so close to being properly good, but didn't quite round the corner. Which is not to say that I won't read the next one. I smell promise.
I like when stories with LEO protagonists situate them in a world of compromise, corruption, and shades of grey; when we are asked to acknowledge the abusive potential -- not just potential, but actual results -- of that kind of power and authority. (See also: Dal Maclean and Gregory Ashe; related, Kaje Harper; to show that my moral compass is not as steadfast as I would like, see conversely Our Purple King.) Charlie Rees is dropped into just such a situation, being dispatched in disgrace to a small Welsh town reeling from a series of sexual assaults left uninvestigated owing to wholesale corruption in the tiny police force. Charlie's disgrace -- which we get dribbled out in bits and pieces -- stems, not from any abuse of power, but an unfortunate and unforeseen chain of events in his private life that, amplified by the (at least implicitly) homophobic tabloid press, is made sordid and shameful. A problem cop being sent to a problem place -- what can go wrong, right?
The crime stuff ends up spinning out in different directions, as Charlie and his gang of misfits (the two remaining clean cops, both women; and another seconded cop, also queer) stumble into a much deeper web of corruption and wrongdoing than anticipated. That said, it's pretty low key: ancientreader noted in her review that this is less a murder mystery than a police procedural, since the identities of the Baddies are pretty obvious all along, minus a little twist at the end. Note that, while the crimes are solved by the end, there isn't full resolution, as only the smallest fish in the group is facing proper comeuppance: the fates of the real baddies are left unresolved, and presumably will be picked up again in book 2.
There was a lot I really enjoyed in this. I liked Charlie; I liked the cameraderie between the scooby gang, despite their initial mistrust of each other; I liked Tom, the acting principal of the art college that is the locus of (many of) the crimes, and Charlie's love interest; and I loved how the Welsh setting is practically another, beloved character. There is a great sense of place, and the author has a confident way with her characters and an easy, direct style that pulls you along.
Keeping this from tipping over into properly good were mostly me-things. I didn't like how Charlie, having received a bit of information about Tom from a (rather biased) third party, instantly leapt to incorrect assumptions and didn't bother to, you know, ask Tom if any of it was true. This is the worst kind of miscommunication for me, because it makes the assuming party seem lazy and judgy, and is just a way of pointlessly throwing up obstacles. And it takes so long to clear up. Just, dumb.
Also, while I actually quite liked Charlie and Tom together, despite the above, I was struck that Tom went full-on heart-eyes for Charlie on the basis of a . . . very unsatisfying initial meeting. They are both clearly physically attracted to each other straight away, but it was a bit hard to see why Tom was so keen beyond that, since Charlie was pretty maudlin, woe-is-me drunk the first time they meet. Well, there's no accounting for taste. The villains were also a bit on the cartoony side (Masons! We got Masons!), and the writing, while generally effective, had some typos and errors throughout. Oh, and I could have done without the Evil Mom. Charlie's backstory is sufficient explanation for him being skittish and second-guessing himself, so the trope of the cold, undermining, emasculating mother is not just misogynistic but frankly unnecessary.
Despite these flaws, I quite enjoyed this, and will definitely check out book 2. Not as hard-hitting as Maclean (nothing is as hard-hitting as Maclean), but a sort of cozy-corrupt crime romance. Yum yum.
Thanks to ancientreader for the rec!
This was so close to being properly good, but didn't quite round the corner. Which is not to say that I won't read the next one. I smell promise.
I like when stories with LEO protagonists situate them in a world of compromise, corruption, and shades of grey; when we are asked to acknowledge the abusive potential -- not just potential, but actual results -- of that kind of power and authority. (See also: Dal Maclean and Gregory Ashe; related, Kaje Harper; to show that my moral compass is not as steadfast as I would like, see conversely Our Purple King.) Charlie Rees is dropped into just such a situation, being dispatched in disgrace to a small Welsh town reeling from a series of sexual assaults left uninvestigated owing to wholesale corruption in the tiny police force. Charlie's disgrace -- which we get dribbled out in bits and pieces -- stems, not from any abuse of power, but an unfortunate and unforeseen chain of events in his private life that, amplified by the (at least implicitly) homophobic tabloid press, is made sordid and shameful. A problem cop being sent to a problem place -- what can go wrong, right?
The crime stuff ends up spinning out in different directions, as Charlie and his gang of misfits (the two remaining clean cops, both women; and another seconded cop, also queer) stumble into a much deeper web of corruption and wrongdoing than anticipated. That said, it's pretty low key: ancientreader noted in her review that this is less a murder mystery than a police procedural, since the identities of the Baddies are pretty obvious all along, minus a little twist at the end. Note that, while the crimes are solved by the end, there isn't full resolution, as only the smallest fish in the group is facing proper comeuppance: the fates of the real baddies are left unresolved, and presumably will be picked up again in book 2.
There was a lot I really enjoyed in this. I liked Charlie; I liked the cameraderie between the scooby gang, despite their initial mistrust of each other; I liked Tom, the acting principal of the art college that is the locus of (many of) the crimes, and Charlie's love interest; and I loved how the Welsh setting is practically another, beloved character. There is a great sense of place, and the author has a confident way with her characters and an easy, direct style that pulls you along.
Keeping this from tipping over into properly good were mostly me-things. I didn't like how Charlie, having received a bit of information about Tom from a (rather biased) third party, instantly leapt to incorrect assumptions and didn't bother to, you know, ask Tom if any of it was true. This is the worst kind of miscommunication for me, because it makes the assuming party seem lazy and judgy, and is just a way of pointlessly throwing up obstacles. And it takes so long to clear up. Just, dumb.
Also, while I actually quite liked Charlie and Tom together, despite the above, I was struck that Tom went full-on heart-eyes for Charlie on the basis of a . . . very unsatisfying initial meeting. They are both clearly physically attracted to each other straight away, but it was a bit hard to see why Tom was so keen beyond that, since Charlie was pretty maudlin, woe-is-me drunk the first time they meet. Well, there's no accounting for taste. The villains were also a bit on the cartoony side (Masons! We got Masons!), and the writing, while generally effective, had some typos and errors throughout. Oh, and I could have done without the Evil Mom. Charlie's backstory is sufficient explanation for him being skittish and second-guessing himself, so the trope of the cold, undermining, emasculating mother is not just misogynistic but frankly unnecessary.
Despite these flaws, I quite enjoyed this, and will definitely check out book 2. Not as hard-hitting as Maclean (nothing is as hard-hitting as Maclean), but a sort of cozy-corrupt crime romance. Yum yum.
Thanks to ancientreader for the rec!
May 7, 2023
After some scandal whilst on vacation, Charlie is sent to a different area to try to sort out the police station there. He will be a senior officer and to start with there are assaults and 2 missing students.
I liked the central 4 police characters and also Tom, who is obviously being set up as a love match for Charlie.
The mystery turns to murder and I didn't guess the whodunnit at all.
The first book in a new series set in Wales.
I liked the central 4 police characters and also Tom, who is obviously being set up as a love match for Charlie.
The mystery turns to murder and I didn't guess the whodunnit at all.
The first book in a new series set in Wales.
Read
September 20, 2023DNF at 21%
This author is not for me. I tried it yesterday evening and the writing style was off putting. I really disliked the second meeting between the MCs and how they acted around each other. The way the author wrote didn't paint the full picture and I could not even start getting invested in the story. Another point that I found distasteful was the MCs attraction to several people who had similar body type at once. It confused me as to who was going to be the main love interest. My personal pet peeve is when there is no definitive romance plot/subplot. The way the detectives discussed the case and police work read not researched and amateurish. This was a definite miss for me.
This author is not for me. I tried it yesterday evening and the writing style was off putting. I really disliked the second meeting between the MCs and how they acted around each other. The way the author wrote didn't paint the full picture and I could not even start getting invested in the story. Another point that I found distasteful was the MCs attraction to several people who had similar body type at once. It confused me as to who was going to be the main love interest. My personal pet peeve is when there is no definitive romance plot/subplot. The way the detectives discussed the case and police work read not researched and amateurish. This was a definite miss for me.
September 3, 2023
Happily rounded up to 4 stars.
I rather enjoyed this. I’ve read a series by this author before and this one was not too dissimilar in the overall story and characters but definitely interesting enough to keep reading.
It felt a little like a cosy Murder Mystery, albeit a bit more sinister in the crime aspect. Likeable characters and a little bit of depth. What more do you need?:)
Happy to be starting book 2.
I rather enjoyed this. I’ve read a series by this author before and this one was not too dissimilar in the overall story and characters but definitely interesting enough to keep reading.
It felt a little like a cosy Murder Mystery, albeit a bit more sinister in the crime aspect. Likeable characters and a little bit of depth. What more do you need?:)
Happy to be starting book 2.
December 25, 2023
I'm a big slow on the uptake because I was reading along and all of a sudden realized that this story takes place in the Daniel Owens Welsh mystery series. My bad. This story fills in some of the gaps in Mal's story of police malfeasance and general @ssholery and there is a prequel Murder in Shades of Yellow that explains Charlee Rees' last vacation - neatly summed by as "Sun, sex and murder! Gay cop's holiday hook-up ends in murder trail."
This is a very interesting mystery of the disappearance of two college students, plus an egotistic art instructor and some accounting irregularities, an attractive college administrator who may or may not be married, and the horrors of the French frigate Medusa and the Raft of the Medusa. Very gripping story and I look forward to more of Charlie Rees! 4 stars.
This is a very interesting mystery of the disappearance of two college students, plus an egotistic art instructor and some accounting irregularities, an attractive college administrator who may or may not be married, and the horrors of the French frigate Medusa and the Raft of the Medusa. Very gripping story and I look forward to more of Charlie Rees! 4 stars.
October 28, 2024
I’ll admit, I wanted to DNF this book almost as soon as I picked up, but I’ve had such lousy luck with my reading this month, I convinced myself the problem was just my lack of focus. Truthfully, I wanted to enjoy it.
I should’ve just gone with my gut, because this was mostly a waste of time. There was, maybe, a good idea somewhere here; I liked the small town and liberal arts college setting, and having non-weapon carrying cops gives a very different vibe to a police procedural. Unfortunately, the potential never managed to break through the painfully charmless character and convoluted mysteries.
Starting with the latter of those problems, I don’t understand why they did two separate mysteries happening at the same time with essentially no connection between them. Either one could’ve been expended into the focus of the story and it would’ve been way more satisfying. As it is, the timeline is incredibly messy, there are about a hundred untied plot points, and the most interesting part of a procedural, aka the investigating, is so deluded it’s only barely there. The kidnapping one suffered the most; I could not wrap my head around the reasoning they wanted to give for the characters to do what they did. It made absolutely no sense and felt almost caricature.
The characters and the romance can be put into the same category: boring and without personality. We spend the entire book inside Charlie’s head, sharing space with his disapproving mother and all types of self-deprecating thoughts, and yet I know almost nothing about him. He’s a shell of a character, which I guess is the only thing he has in common with Tom. Together they make a couple so bland I bored myself thinking about them. Oddly enough, Eddy — another cop who has a crush on Charlie — is the only character I was interested in. Definitely would’ve enjoyed this more with him as the love interest, though that’s not a high bar to reach.
There were some other things that bothered me, like editing mistakes in grammar and formatting, but I could’ve easily forgiven them if the book was at least interesting.
I should’ve just gone with my gut, because this was mostly a waste of time. There was, maybe, a good idea somewhere here; I liked the small town and liberal arts college setting, and having non-weapon carrying cops gives a very different vibe to a police procedural. Unfortunately, the potential never managed to break through the painfully charmless character and convoluted mysteries.
Starting with the latter of those problems, I don’t understand why they did two separate mysteries happening at the same time with essentially no connection between them. Either one could’ve been expended into the focus of the story and it would’ve been way more satisfying. As it is, the timeline is incredibly messy, there are about a hundred untied plot points, and the most interesting part of a procedural, aka the investigating, is so deluded it’s only barely there. The kidnapping one suffered the most; I could not wrap my head around the reasoning they wanted to give for the characters to do what they did. It made absolutely no sense and felt almost caricature.
The characters and the romance can be put into the same category: boring and without personality. We spend the entire book inside Charlie’s head, sharing space with his disapproving mother and all types of self-deprecating thoughts, and yet I know almost nothing about him. He’s a shell of a character, which I guess is the only thing he has in common with Tom. Together they make a couple so bland I bored myself thinking about them. Oddly enough, Eddy — another cop who has a crush on Charlie — is the only character I was interested in. Definitely would’ve enjoyed this more with him as the love interest, though that’s not a high bar to reach.
There were some other things that bothered me, like editing mistakes in grammar and formatting, but I could’ve easily forgiven them if the book was at least interesting.
August 20, 2023
Murder Mystery
So I struggled a lot with one and I wasn't sure I would even finish it until I read the prequel to this, Murder in Shades of Yellow. I'm still not completely sold on this series yet but I will continue on to the next book.
I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion
So I struggled a lot with one and I wasn't sure I would even finish it until I read the prequel to this, Murder in Shades of Yellow. I'm still not completely sold on this series yet but I will continue on to the next book.
I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion
August 24, 2023
Even though murder mysteries and police dramas are my favorite tropes and have been in this loop for quite a long. But this didn't work out for me as I was expecting.
It took relatively a lot of time for me to get into this story and writing style. It was an average read for me even the mystery didn't hold my interest much.
It took relatively a lot of time for me to get into this story and writing style. It was an average read for me even the mystery didn't hold my interest much.
June 23, 2024
I enjoyed this book. It was a little hard to wrap your head around at first because you start with very little information, there also ends up being a lot of threads to keep track of which can get overwhelming but it definitely kept me reading. It does all eventually make sense and I think it is well worth a read.
January 17, 2024
Very well written and it really provided an idea of what this small Wales town was like. I did think it could have used a bit more excitement, but all in all, a well written book.
September 8, 2024
So.Many.Typos.
Strong procedural, nuanced
characters, good read.
3.5 rounded down. All the things @kathleen-in-oslo and @ancientreader said are true.
Strong procedural, nuanced
characters, good read.
3.5 rounded down. All the things @kathleen-in-oslo and @ancientreader said are true.
June 29, 2023
4,5 stars
It was good to be back in Wales. The investigations were interesting. I'm curious about Charlie and the what ifs.
It was good to be back in Wales. The investigations were interesting. I'm curious about Charlie and the what ifs.
September 14, 2023
3 1/2 stars. Almost a 4.
June 13, 2023
At about 70% I thought the case was wrapping up nicely and I went to KU to get the next installment of the series. It's out next week and I'm going to skip it. I could overlook the far-left virtue signaling, the contrived love triangle, and even the gratuitous use of profanity - all because it wasn't overbearing and limited in its use. As a cozy police procedural this is a really great story but unfortunately, the female writer struggles to write men and their emotional lives in a realistic manner. There's no definitive resolution to the case - which is fine IRL but the bad guys are caught in spite of the hero/protagonist instead of because of him. Yes, he was proactive through the second act but hearing Ravensbourne's recap at the end, I realized the only way they caught the flasher was because the female cops were curious about the apartment, and - how convenient! - they stumble upon him by accident. The characters laud DS Charlie for the collar but that's not how it's laid out. Likewise with the arsonist - it's the forensics guys who get the collar for that to prove the case. As an arsonist, it was convenient that the guy was already in custody. The dirty cops get to resign but that's basically their situation at the start of the story - so it's just a technicality and not due to any pressure from DS Charlie. Then there's the murder - so whodunit? We don't know. The cops don't know and we only have a vague understanding of the howdunit. It's disgraceful for a mystery to end like this.
Then there's the tacked-on and totally extraneous lust story. The gratuitous XXX-rated sex scene at the end is completely unnecessary and wholly inappropriate. It basically negates everything I liked about this story. As a gay man myself, I long for realistic gay protagonists but this guy falls short. It's not so much the sex scene itself - it's the fact that the author is trying to hit M/M Romance tropes. The forced love triangle was almost too much to bear. I mean, seriously - both love interests are about 6'4" in such a small town. Men in that height range are so rare you'd be hard-pressed to find even one in about 800,000 people but somehow magically there are two of them. Okay, one's a local and one was imported for work so I can suspend disbelief but the attraction metric is hyper-feminized to the point where Charlie can't think logically and explain himself about why he picks Tom over Eddy. It's all down to fee-fees and tingles - the exact way that women rush to the bad boy while totally ignoring the better fit for marriageability.
Eddy has the physical characteristics that Charlie is obviously attracted to. He's also been tapped as a 'good guy' to clean up the town. Eddy is career-oriented, in the same field, and stable. He's emotionally consistent, emotionally intelligent, enjoys hobbies, and is not only deeply connected to the village but he's also well-liked and respected. For some unexplained reason, he constantly gets the short end of the stick because Tom has tattoos, and presents as an ephemeral bad boy stuffed into a suit.
The whole love story is all over the place and not only distracts from the case, but it also detracts from the story. At first, Charlie is attracted to Tom when they meet in the bar so his anger/animosity towards Tom felt out of place until he stood up and wobbles - then in the context of drunken, wooly thinking it made more sense. Tom acts way out of character in that first meeting too, or rather the confident, cocky, arrogant guy in the bar is never seen again - even when he has more than enough reason to be that way about his art or his role at the academy.
Instead of showing us Tom's interest, we're told by other characters that he was making goo-goo eyes at Charlie or that he's clearly salivating over the copper but we're never shown that. I get that the narrative is focused on Charlie's POV but it's written in 3rd person omniscient not 1st person limited so when the other Ravensbourne and later Dylis make their comments it felt forced like it came out of left field.
This book is in desperate need of a rewrite to either double down on the M/M Romance or the Gay Mystery. I wish the author would choose one and stay in that lane -it'd make for a much more solid genre placement. As is, however, too much trying to split the difference and throwing the kitchen sink at a story that weakens/cheapens all of the storylines simultaneously.
Then there's the tacked-on and totally extraneous lust story. The gratuitous XXX-rated sex scene at the end is completely unnecessary and wholly inappropriate. It basically negates everything I liked about this story. As a gay man myself, I long for realistic gay protagonists but this guy falls short. It's not so much the sex scene itself - it's the fact that the author is trying to hit M/M Romance tropes. The forced love triangle was almost too much to bear. I mean, seriously - both love interests are about 6'4" in such a small town. Men in that height range are so rare you'd be hard-pressed to find even one in about 800,000 people but somehow magically there are two of them. Okay, one's a local and one was imported for work so I can suspend disbelief but the attraction metric is hyper-feminized to the point where Charlie can't think logically and explain himself about why he picks Tom over Eddy. It's all down to fee-fees and tingles - the exact way that women rush to the bad boy while totally ignoring the better fit for marriageability.
Eddy has the physical characteristics that Charlie is obviously attracted to. He's also been tapped as a 'good guy' to clean up the town. Eddy is career-oriented, in the same field, and stable. He's emotionally consistent, emotionally intelligent, enjoys hobbies, and is not only deeply connected to the village but he's also well-liked and respected. For some unexplained reason, he constantly gets the short end of the stick because Tom has tattoos, and presents as an ephemeral bad boy stuffed into a suit.
The whole love story is all over the place and not only distracts from the case, but it also detracts from the story. At first, Charlie is attracted to Tom when they meet in the bar so his anger/animosity towards Tom felt out of place until he stood up and wobbles - then in the context of drunken, wooly thinking it made more sense. Tom acts way out of character in that first meeting too, or rather the confident, cocky, arrogant guy in the bar is never seen again - even when he has more than enough reason to be that way about his art or his role at the academy.
Instead of showing us Tom's interest, we're told by other characters that he was making goo-goo eyes at Charlie or that he's clearly salivating over the copper but we're never shown that. I get that the narrative is focused on Charlie's POV but it's written in 3rd person omniscient not 1st person limited so when the other Ravensbourne and later Dylis make their comments it felt forced like it came out of left field.
This book is in desperate need of a rewrite to either double down on the M/M Romance or the Gay Mystery. I wish the author would choose one and stay in that lane -it'd make for a much more solid genre placement. As is, however, too much trying to split the difference and throwing the kitchen sink at a story that weakens/cheapens all of the storylines simultaneously.
December 10, 2023
Loved the setting in rural Wales.
July 18, 2023
3 stars because I like the author and respect their prior work. Otherwise it would have been 2+
Housekeeping first:
This series is a spin off from the Daniel Owen series by the same author. It can be read as stand-alone, but I would highly recommend going through the Daniel Owen series first, so you can "meet" Mal Kent and have some background on Charlie and his previous environment. Additionally, the Daniel Owen books are a really good series, especially the later books.
I wish I had known about the "prequel", Murder in Shades of Yellow, before reading this. I personally would recommend reading that first to anyone starting this series. Otherwise, you will likely be as baffled as I was about all the unexplained references to "Lanzarote".
Now, on to the book itself.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Charlie Rees, for me, is starting out as pretty damned unappealing. His actions, particularly at the beginning of the book (and in the storied Lanzarote incident), paint him as an easy drunk, an easy hook-up, and just all around skanky. We start this book with him absolutely hammered in a bar the night before he starts a new job, while he is living out of his car. Which means the morning of the new start, he is a filthy, nasty mess:
He was stiff and sore from sleeping in the cramped driver’s seat of his car. He was also freezing, with random wet patches on his clothes from the condensation dripping down every piece of glass. During the night, his brain had shrunk inside his skull. His head pounded. And he stank.
Well. . . ewwwwww.
It is also implied that the night before he drove while still hammered, which is just . . . urgh.
The arm tightened round him. “It’s October. And someone will call the police if they see you stumbling along in this state.”
Charlie said what he almost never said to civilians. “I am the fucking police.” Then he pulled himself free from the lumberjack grip and half-ran, half-fell in what he hoped was the right direction for his car.
. . . and then drove away.
So, wow. Fortunately, I like the author and decided to plow ahead in the hopes that it would get better. It did, but not enough to make this a true recommendation; more like an irritating WIP for the start of the series. And seriously, Charlie drinks waaaay too much, too often.
The author has a tendency to write in a rather staccato method. This has gotten better in later books in the Daniel Owen series, but this particular book has reverted to a real 'herky-jerky' feeling, which probably doesn't do any favors for how Charlie is portrayed. (There are also still occasional typos, which really need to be addressed more seriously at this point in the writer's body of work.) We are led to believe that Charlie's milkshake apparently brings all the boys to the yard, but the dude doesn't have much finesse about attracting multiple guys. First he is hit on by a guy in the bar (while he is well into the process of getting hammered), and then he catches the attention of a new coworker, Eddy. When Eddy makes a move on him, Charlie's reaction is physically very positive, but then he backs off and thinks this:
That Eddy was a potentially good colleague, a nice looking and sexy man, but Charlie had spent his entire childhood being told what he ought to do, by people who were certain that they knew better than him.
. . . and so Eddy has no chance.
We've already heard ad nauseum about Charlie's harpy of a mother, but we also know that Charlie is 30 and should really be growing a pair when it comes to letting his mother rent room in his head. The rationale for rejecting Eddy out of hand because 'people told him what to do when a child' (meaning, his mother is a harpy) is, well, really weird and inexplicable. It seems Charlie can't even be honest with himself and just admit that he would rather be with Tom at this point, because Charlie finds Tom more physically appealing and besides, Tom is that exotic animal, An Artist. In fact, later on when he does start getting intimate with Tom and Tom asks about Eddy, we get this:
“That Eddy, the police officer,” Tom said, “suggested that he might have some kind of claim on your person. I wondered if I’d got this wrong, but I don’t think I have.”
“You haven’t,” Charlie said. “I’ve no interest in Eddy, except as a colleague …” Charlie shrugged
That's just really cold. Especially as Eddy is portrayed as a decent, solid guy.
Once Charlie does start to allow his attraction to Tom to become physical, Charlie starts doing all this worrying about 'not being in Tom's league' or some such rot, because Tom is An Artist. Which is a crack up, because Tom's job is not art, and Tom doesn't live holed up in an atelier somewhere, starving for his work while being horribly misunderstood. Even if he were a full-time artist, he would be an artist who lives out in Podunk, not some kind of god. This whole "artists exist on a different plane" reaction by Charlie feels really false. I would recommend that Charlie read up on his DaVinci so he can realize that a) true brilliance is extremely rare, and b) even an artist of true brilliance can be happy with a "mere mortal" as a partner (FFS, as Charlie would say, DaVinci had a boy toy/sugar baby relationship with his boyfriend, and apparently both were quite happy; and Tom is no way/no how An. Artist like DaVinci and his peers.)
I was also bothered by the fact that Tom is portrayed as displaying his "legitimate artist" chops by bashing Delacroix.
“This is a painting by Eugene Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, from about 1830ish. See, it’s passionate, and conveys the message of the revolution: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. All his pictures have lots of dead bodies, and passion and messages. They’re all huge . . .
Listen, I have SEEN works by Delacroix at the Louvre, including the painting referenced above, and they are spectacular, magnificent, beautiful, and yes, they are definitely ART. One can love all kinds of art, including Delacroix, and I'm tired of priggish art snobs who use him as an example of what they consider is overblown and lacking feeling. Tom gets a big cyber slap for that. And really, if Charlie wants to learn about art, he needs to come to his own conclusions and not pander to absorbing other people's POV, like he appears to already be doing with Tom.
Finally, once Charlie and Tom get together, I get a really strong "blushing violet/puling damsel" vibe from Charlie about their relationship.
“I don’t want you to leave me alone,” Charlie said without conscious thought. Then he lifted himself onto his toes, put his arms round Tom’s neck and kissed him. He felt warm arms around his shoulders, the brush of Tom’s beard against his skin and he melted. Tom kissed him back and it was the best kiss ever. A kiss to make you lose track of time; a kiss to go on forever. But it couldn’t. Charlie had to sleep; he could feel the need dragging at his body. He pulled away, resting his head on Tom’s chest, his lips tingling, and his body wishing things were different.
Now THAT is some fairly purple prose for a mm relationship.
There's a huge difference between a character being femme and a character acting stereotypically like a bodice-ripper variety female MC. In the Daniel Owen books, we find that Daniel has a strong dose of femme characteristics (which seem to be presenting more strongly now that he's retired from the police), but he's never overtly feminine. I just can't get a handle yet on who Charlie is, as a police officer, as a human, as a romantic and/or sexual partner, and so far I'm not real fond of what I'm feeling about it. (BTW, the prequel certainly didn't help in that case either).
Note: Just as an aside, while this is a police procedural, it is very much a mm romance as well, presented much more intentionally (to me) than Daniel and Mal's relationship in the Daniel Owen series. So be aware that there is a lot of concentration on Charlie's budding relationship with Tom.
The story itself is intriguing, albeit too far-fetched and full of loose ends, but I know this author can do better so I'm hopeful the series - and, more importantly, Charlie's character - will improve as the series moves along. It took awhile for the D. Owen series to work out the kinks and reach its stride, so I remain hopeful.
If you like the Daniel Owen series, give it a whirl and see what you think. If you haven't read the Daniel Owen series, I recommend backing up a bit and starting with those books to get a better feel for what the author is capable of.
Housekeeping first:
This series is a spin off from the Daniel Owen series by the same author. It can be read as stand-alone, but I would highly recommend going through the Daniel Owen series first, so you can "meet" Mal Kent and have some background on Charlie and his previous environment. Additionally, the Daniel Owen books are a really good series, especially the later books.
I wish I had known about the "prequel", Murder in Shades of Yellow, before reading this. I personally would recommend reading that first to anyone starting this series. Otherwise, you will likely be as baffled as I was about all the unexplained references to "Lanzarote".
Now, on to the book itself.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Charlie Rees, for me, is starting out as pretty damned unappealing. His actions, particularly at the beginning of the book (and in the storied Lanzarote incident), paint him as an easy drunk, an easy hook-up, and just all around skanky. We start this book with him absolutely hammered in a bar the night before he starts a new job, while he is living out of his car. Which means the morning of the new start, he is a filthy, nasty mess:
He was stiff and sore from sleeping in the cramped driver’s seat of his car. He was also freezing, with random wet patches on his clothes from the condensation dripping down every piece of glass. During the night, his brain had shrunk inside his skull. His head pounded. And he stank.
Well. . . ewwwwww.
It is also implied that the night before he drove while still hammered, which is just . . . urgh.
The arm tightened round him. “It’s October. And someone will call the police if they see you stumbling along in this state.”
Charlie said what he almost never said to civilians. “I am the fucking police.” Then he pulled himself free from the lumberjack grip and half-ran, half-fell in what he hoped was the right direction for his car.
. . . and then drove away.
So, wow. Fortunately, I like the author and decided to plow ahead in the hopes that it would get better. It did, but not enough to make this a true recommendation; more like an irritating WIP for the start of the series. And seriously, Charlie drinks waaaay too much, too often.
The author has a tendency to write in a rather staccato method. This has gotten better in later books in the Daniel Owen series, but this particular book has reverted to a real 'herky-jerky' feeling, which probably doesn't do any favors for how Charlie is portrayed. (There are also still occasional typos, which really need to be addressed more seriously at this point in the writer's body of work.) We are led to believe that Charlie's milkshake apparently brings all the boys to the yard, but the dude doesn't have much finesse about attracting multiple guys. First he is hit on by a guy in the bar (while he is well into the process of getting hammered), and then he catches the attention of a new coworker, Eddy. When Eddy makes a move on him, Charlie's reaction is physically very positive, but then he backs off and thinks this:
That Eddy was a potentially good colleague, a nice looking and sexy man, but Charlie had spent his entire childhood being told what he ought to do, by people who were certain that they knew better than him.
. . . and so Eddy has no chance.
We've already heard ad nauseum about Charlie's harpy of a mother, but we also know that Charlie is 30 and should really be growing a pair when it comes to letting his mother rent room in his head. The rationale for rejecting Eddy out of hand because 'people told him what to do when a child' (meaning, his mother is a harpy) is, well, really weird and inexplicable. It seems Charlie can't even be honest with himself and just admit that he would rather be with Tom at this point, because Charlie finds Tom more physically appealing and besides, Tom is that exotic animal, An Artist. In fact, later on when he does start getting intimate with Tom and Tom asks about Eddy, we get this:
“That Eddy, the police officer,” Tom said, “suggested that he might have some kind of claim on your person. I wondered if I’d got this wrong, but I don’t think I have.”
“You haven’t,” Charlie said. “I’ve no interest in Eddy, except as a colleague …” Charlie shrugged
That's just really cold. Especially as Eddy is portrayed as a decent, solid guy.
Once Charlie does start to allow his attraction to Tom to become physical, Charlie starts doing all this worrying about 'not being in Tom's league' or some such rot, because Tom is An Artist. Which is a crack up, because Tom's job is not art, and Tom doesn't live holed up in an atelier somewhere, starving for his work while being horribly misunderstood. Even if he were a full-time artist, he would be an artist who lives out in Podunk, not some kind of god. This whole "artists exist on a different plane" reaction by Charlie feels really false. I would recommend that Charlie read up on his DaVinci so he can realize that a) true brilliance is extremely rare, and b) even an artist of true brilliance can be happy with a "mere mortal" as a partner (FFS, as Charlie would say, DaVinci had a boy toy/sugar baby relationship with his boyfriend, and apparently both were quite happy; and Tom is no way/no how An. Artist like DaVinci and his peers.)
I was also bothered by the fact that Tom is portrayed as displaying his "legitimate artist" chops by bashing Delacroix.
“This is a painting by Eugene Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, from about 1830ish. See, it’s passionate, and conveys the message of the revolution: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. All his pictures have lots of dead bodies, and passion and messages. They’re all huge . . .
Listen, I have SEEN works by Delacroix at the Louvre, including the painting referenced above, and they are spectacular, magnificent, beautiful, and yes, they are definitely ART. One can love all kinds of art, including Delacroix, and I'm tired of priggish art snobs who use him as an example of what they consider is overblown and lacking feeling. Tom gets a big cyber slap for that. And really, if Charlie wants to learn about art, he needs to come to his own conclusions and not pander to absorbing other people's POV, like he appears to already be doing with Tom.
Finally, once Charlie and Tom get together, I get a really strong "blushing violet/puling damsel" vibe from Charlie about their relationship.
“I don’t want you to leave me alone,” Charlie said without conscious thought. Then he lifted himself onto his toes, put his arms round Tom’s neck and kissed him. He felt warm arms around his shoulders, the brush of Tom’s beard against his skin and he melted. Tom kissed him back and it was the best kiss ever. A kiss to make you lose track of time; a kiss to go on forever. But it couldn’t. Charlie had to sleep; he could feel the need dragging at his body. He pulled away, resting his head on Tom’s chest, his lips tingling, and his body wishing things were different.
Now THAT is some fairly purple prose for a mm relationship.
There's a huge difference between a character being femme and a character acting stereotypically like a bodice-ripper variety female MC. In the Daniel Owen books, we find that Daniel has a strong dose of femme characteristics (which seem to be presenting more strongly now that he's retired from the police), but he's never overtly feminine. I just can't get a handle yet on who Charlie is, as a police officer, as a human, as a romantic and/or sexual partner, and so far I'm not real fond of what I'm feeling about it. (BTW, the prequel certainly didn't help in that case either).
Note: Just as an aside, while this is a police procedural, it is very much a mm romance as well, presented much more intentionally (to me) than Daniel and Mal's relationship in the Daniel Owen series. So be aware that there is a lot of concentration on Charlie's budding relationship with Tom.
The story itself is intriguing, albeit too far-fetched and full of loose ends, but I know this author can do better so I'm hopeful the series - and, more importantly, Charlie's character - will improve as the series moves along. It took awhile for the D. Owen series to work out the kinks and reach its stride, so I remain hopeful.
If you like the Daniel Owen series, give it a whirl and see what you think. If you haven't read the Daniel Owen series, I recommend backing up a bit and starting with those books to get a better feel for what the author is capable of.
June 21, 2023
Charlie
I very much enjoyed the first Charlie book and can’t wait for more! Great story line and romance beginning. Hurry please ;)
I very much enjoyed the first Charlie book and can’t wait for more! Great story line and romance beginning. Hurry please ;)
July 8, 2023
Engaging procedural. Looking forward to further adventures with Charlie.
April 21, 2024
Corruption in all shades of blue
If you are looking for a small town police mystery with a little romance thrown in, then this might be one for you. It follows Charlie Rees who, following some embarrassing headlines in the press, relocates to a small Welsh village to head up a police department riddled in corruption. As he begins an investigation into assaults happening at a local university, he uncovers a host of other crimes that seem to have been, kept quiet while his predecessors were running the show.
This book was quite nice read and pleasure to read something set in Wales. Riley Hayes has written some interesting characters and set everything in a quaint village where everyone knows everyone else... and their business. There's nothing groundbreaking here, and the investigation does feel a little bit all over the place, but it's a pleasant read and I would be interested to see where the author takes these characters in book 2. For me though there was a little bit too much Insta attraction between the two main characters, and I felt the author could have fleshed out more of the main couple's relationship to give it a little bit more weight and depth. I did like some of the side characters, and not just the other police officers at the station but the young boy and his mother who Charlie interviews following one of the assaults at the university.
I found the writing style and how the book was structured different to what I'm used to. It almost felt like the book was written in real time, with each chapter detailing events that happened at various time points during the day. Also, the whole book was written from Charlie's point of view but the author still put in italics certain things the character was "thinking" which seemed strange as most of the narrative was from the characters own thoughts. I did notice that some of the "section breaks" within the book occurred mid conversation between some of the characters. I can only assume this was an editing error that wasn't picked up during the proofread. But they are just small niggles and didn't really stop the enjoyment of the story. The book did have a large focus on the police investigation but might have benefited from having more of its content given over to more of the main characters' background, particularly Charlie's relationship with his mother, which has had a big impact on his feelings of self worth but we never really got to understand why. Maybe that is being saved for book 2.
So if you want a simple read, that's not too offensive and won't leave you exhausted at the end of it, then this is for you. If you want a detective drama with a lot more bite, then go and have a look at some of Gregory Ashes "Hazzard and Somerset" books.
If you are looking for a small town police mystery with a little romance thrown in, then this might be one for you. It follows Charlie Rees who, following some embarrassing headlines in the press, relocates to a small Welsh village to head up a police department riddled in corruption. As he begins an investigation into assaults happening at a local university, he uncovers a host of other crimes that seem to have been, kept quiet while his predecessors were running the show.
This book was quite nice read and pleasure to read something set in Wales. Riley Hayes has written some interesting characters and set everything in a quaint village where everyone knows everyone else... and their business. There's nothing groundbreaking here, and the investigation does feel a little bit all over the place, but it's a pleasant read and I would be interested to see where the author takes these characters in book 2. For me though there was a little bit too much Insta attraction between the two main characters, and I felt the author could have fleshed out more of the main couple's relationship to give it a little bit more weight and depth. I did like some of the side characters, and not just the other police officers at the station but the young boy and his mother who Charlie interviews following one of the assaults at the university.
I found the writing style and how the book was structured different to what I'm used to. It almost felt like the book was written in real time, with each chapter detailing events that happened at various time points during the day. Also, the whole book was written from Charlie's point of view but the author still put in italics certain things the character was "thinking" which seemed strange as most of the narrative was from the characters own thoughts. I did notice that some of the "section breaks" within the book occurred mid conversation between some of the characters. I can only assume this was an editing error that wasn't picked up during the proofread. But they are just small niggles and didn't really stop the enjoyment of the story. The book did have a large focus on the police investigation but might have benefited from having more of its content given over to more of the main characters' background, particularly Charlie's relationship with his mother, which has had a big impact on his feelings of self worth but we never really got to understand why. Maybe that is being saved for book 2.
So if you want a simple read, that's not too offensive and won't leave you exhausted at the end of it, then this is for you. If you want a detective drama with a lot more bite, then go and have a look at some of Gregory Ashes "Hazzard and Somerset" books.
July 10, 2023
Murder in Shades of Blue and Green (DS Charlie Rees, 1)
By Ripley Hayes
Published by the author, 2023
Five stars
I really liked this book and am so glad it’s the first of a series. The launching premise—that Charlie Rees is being transferred to this messed up small-town police station to save his career—is clever. Rees’s career being at risk plays an important role in helping the reader experience the morass of deceit and corruption into which Rees finds himself dropped. He feels confused and helpless, on top of the public shaming in the press that landed him in Llanfair.
The important thing about Charlie is that he’s a good cop and a good guy, but has gotten caught in a world of prejudice that seems to be driven by a shameless press (this is the UK, after all). Charlie doubts everyone and everything, most of all his own worth (there is a mother story here yet to be fully explored). But, boy, he has good instincts, and is compassionate and kind.
The mystery itself is appalling and beautifully crafted. Someone is attacking female students at a famous art school in picturesque coastal town in Wales. Both the school and the local police seem to be determined to cover it up, and Charlie Rees is brought in to clean up the mess (probably on the assumption that he could sink no lower).
The characters in the book are beautifully drawn, even if they’re not playing huge roles. The place and its people create an intense setting against which Charlie’s own damaged self can heal and begin to act as a force of good. There is just the right amount of romance to tease you into wanting more—and then the book ends and you know you have to have the next one. Which I do.
(There is a novella already available that covers the story of the scandal that did so much damage to Rees. I think I will not read it, because I like the tantalizing bits of Charlie’s backstory and don’t want to spoil it by learning too much!)
By Ripley Hayes
Published by the author, 2023
Five stars
I really liked this book and am so glad it’s the first of a series. The launching premise—that Charlie Rees is being transferred to this messed up small-town police station to save his career—is clever. Rees’s career being at risk plays an important role in helping the reader experience the morass of deceit and corruption into which Rees finds himself dropped. He feels confused and helpless, on top of the public shaming in the press that landed him in Llanfair.
The important thing about Charlie is that he’s a good cop and a good guy, but has gotten caught in a world of prejudice that seems to be driven by a shameless press (this is the UK, after all). Charlie doubts everyone and everything, most of all his own worth (there is a mother story here yet to be fully explored). But, boy, he has good instincts, and is compassionate and kind.
The mystery itself is appalling and beautifully crafted. Someone is attacking female students at a famous art school in picturesque coastal town in Wales. Both the school and the local police seem to be determined to cover it up, and Charlie Rees is brought in to clean up the mess (probably on the assumption that he could sink no lower).
The characters in the book are beautifully drawn, even if they’re not playing huge roles. The place and its people create an intense setting against which Charlie’s own damaged self can heal and begin to act as a force of good. There is just the right amount of romance to tease you into wanting more—and then the book ends and you know you have to have the next one. Which I do.
(There is a novella already available that covers the story of the scandal that did so much damage to Rees. I think I will not read it, because I like the tantalizing bits of Charlie’s backstory and don’t want to spoil it by learning too much!)
June 24, 2023
I may have mentioned that I’m a Masterpiece Mystery and BritBox fan, so I couldn’t wait to dive into Murder in Shades of Blue and Green by Ripley Hayes.
DS Charlie Rees is still trying to live down the scandal that came with solving a murder (and inadvertently sleeping with a murderer) on vacation.
He’s been seconded to Llanfair, a small college town in north Wales to help rehabilitate a constabulary with its own set of perception problems. Hoping for a fresh start, his first day is a whirlwind of damage control, losing his possessions when someone firebombs his car, and investigating a series of attacks at the local arts college. Fresh start becomes train wreck in no time.
The temporary head of the college is Dr. Tom Pennant, the guy Charlie meet the night before. He tried to help/possibly pick up a tipsy Charlie. Thinking Tom was out of his league, he stumbled off and spent the night before his new job sleeping in his car on the beach.
There are also two missing students, resignations, and computer attacks that complicate Charlie settling in. But the ragtag team he’s left with starts to gel, and progress is made. When abduction turns to murder and it seems the call is coming from inside the house, the story really kicks into gear.
I really enjoyed the story and multiple paths the investigation took them on. Even secondary characters felt real and fully formed. Whether it’s a pretentious painting tutor, a worried parent, or randy DC, each had a unique voice.
Tom and Charlie work together well. Theirs is a slow burn, until the last chapter, and then, whew! Because it’s a planned trilogy, I’m looking forward to more of these two.
Charlie Rees’ story began in the novella Murder in Yellow, and while not necessary to read, it’s a fun, quick read that introduced me to the author and made me want to read more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
DS Charlie Rees is still trying to live down the scandal that came with solving a murder (and inadvertently sleeping with a murderer) on vacation.
He’s been seconded to Llanfair, a small college town in north Wales to help rehabilitate a constabulary with its own set of perception problems. Hoping for a fresh start, his first day is a whirlwind of damage control, losing his possessions when someone firebombs his car, and investigating a series of attacks at the local arts college. Fresh start becomes train wreck in no time.
The temporary head of the college is Dr. Tom Pennant, the guy Charlie meet the night before. He tried to help/possibly pick up a tipsy Charlie. Thinking Tom was out of his league, he stumbled off and spent the night before his new job sleeping in his car on the beach.
There are also two missing students, resignations, and computer attacks that complicate Charlie settling in. But the ragtag team he’s left with starts to gel, and progress is made. When abduction turns to murder and it seems the call is coming from inside the house, the story really kicks into gear.
I really enjoyed the story and multiple paths the investigation took them on. Even secondary characters felt real and fully formed. Whether it’s a pretentious painting tutor, a worried parent, or randy DC, each had a unique voice.
Tom and Charlie work together well. Theirs is a slow burn, until the last chapter, and then, whew! Because it’s a planned trilogy, I’m looking forward to more of these two.
Charlie Rees’ story began in the novella Murder in Yellow, and while not necessary to read, it’s a fun, quick read that introduced me to the author and made me want to read more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
September 17, 2023
I'm not in general a big fan of LEO protagonists. (Greg Ashe's Hazard and Somerset are probably the sole long-standing exception.) It's not even that I think All Cops Are Bad as individuals, but the system they're enmeshed in is, obviously, another story, and even in the era of BLM most LEO-protagonist romances seem to glorify the police as an institution and often to valorize "going after the bad guys" without regard to, you know, petty civil rights.
Sometimes, though, I want to pretend I live in an alternative universe where police are good guys who catch bad guys without being glassbowls about it. It helps when the Good Cops are going after police violence and corruption ... all of which is the long way around to saying that this first Charlie Rees book hit the spot, since DS Rees is doing exactly that, along with three colleagues who are a gay man and two (probably) straight women.
I tagged this as a murder mystery but really it's a police procedural, since everyone knows who the Bad Guys are pretty much immediately. I am pleased to report that neither Charlie nor his cohorts beat anyone up en route to nabbing them.
Favorite line. Said by Charlie, in response to being sneered at about how much fun he must have had watching a video of sexual assaults: "Since you mention it, no, they were not to my taste."
Some punctuation errors, some stumbles in rendering US English, a certain amount of OTT-ness in the villains. But much better than the first Daniel Owen mystery (the only other book I've read by this author) and overall a pleasing read for those times when you want to pretend that the forces of law and order are on your side. Or at least some of them are.
3.75 stars, rounded up.
Sometimes, though, I want to pretend I live in an alternative universe where police are good guys who catch bad guys without being glassbowls about it. It helps when the Good Cops are going after police violence and corruption ... all of which is the long way around to saying that this first Charlie Rees book hit the spot, since DS Rees is doing exactly that, along with three colleagues who are a gay man and two (probably) straight women.
I tagged this as a murder mystery but really it's a police procedural, since everyone knows who the Bad Guys are pretty much immediately. I am pleased to report that neither Charlie nor his cohorts beat anyone up en route to nabbing them.
Favorite line. Said by Charlie, in response to being sneered at about how much fun he must have had watching a video of sexual assaults: "Since you mention it, no, they were not to my taste."
Some punctuation errors, some stumbles in rendering US English, a certain amount of OTT-ness in the villains. But much better than the first Daniel Owen mystery (the only other book I've read by this author) and overall a pleasing read for those times when you want to pretend that the forces of law and order are on your side. Or at least some of them are.
3.75 stars, rounded up.
June 8, 2024
I quite enjoyed this quaint almost cozy-feeling mystery thriller, in no small part for the setting and atmosphere. The author has a sparse style and Shows a lot with subtle actions that could be missed if you aren't paying attention, similar to my favorite MM author Josh Lanyon. It's not quite that strong, but, I enjoyed it a lot.
DS Charlie Rees is thrown into the fire of a police department decimated by scandal. Left with only four competent colleagues, it's up to him (with the help of a fabulous superior in another town who still can oversee things) to solve the mysteries of assaults and missing students at the local university. Add in one hot professor, Tom Pennant, forced to return as acting principal of the university because he's the only one who wasn't there when the assaults happened and were brushed under the rug, and you've got an intriguing romantic push-pull of two unlikely characters who happen to actually be good for each other, plus a twisty mystery that keeps you flipping pages to the end.
It doesn't fully end here, the mystery carries over into book 2, and I went along for the ride and loved that book as well. On to 3! There are minor typos throughout, but I ignored them.
HFN, strangers to lovers, opposites attract, murder mystery, police procedural. No cheating, though there is a bit of a love triangle; the OM is Charlie's colleague and overly aggressive and not a true contender, so, was safe for me. Charlie was never interested. Recommended.
DS Charlie Rees is thrown into the fire of a police department decimated by scandal. Left with only four competent colleagues, it's up to him (with the help of a fabulous superior in another town who still can oversee things) to solve the mysteries of assaults and missing students at the local university. Add in one hot professor, Tom Pennant, forced to return as acting principal of the university because he's the only one who wasn't there when the assaults happened and were brushed under the rug, and you've got an intriguing romantic push-pull of two unlikely characters who happen to actually be good for each other, plus a twisty mystery that keeps you flipping pages to the end.
It doesn't fully end here, the mystery carries over into book 2, and I went along for the ride and loved that book as well. On to 3! There are minor typos throughout, but I ignored them.
HFN, strangers to lovers, opposites attract, murder mystery, police procedural. No cheating, though there is a bit of a love triangle; the OM is Charlie's colleague and overly aggressive and not a true contender, so, was safe for me. Charlie was never interested. Recommended.
August 25, 2023
Leaving behind a scandal, DS Charlie Rees has been sent to a new station, where he can make a fresh start. There are several problems that need addressing. Women are being assaulted and no one is taking it seriously. In addition, two students have disappeared and again no one wants to admit it could be true. As Charlie delves deeper into the college and the police force, he uncovers some disturbing facts. His fresh start has become one hot mess.
Charlie’s first few hours turn out to be a new definition for a bad day. He finds himself at a disadvantage when he only has a few officers he can rely on to help. The central four officers, including Charlie, are very likeable and useful. They all work hard together and they uncover one mess after another. Tom, the college principal, is a great addition and Charlie also finds himself attracted to him but feels that acting on it would unprofessional.
This is the first book in a new series and I enjoyed it. The plot is complex with several things going on at the same time. While solved in the end, I did feel some things needed more explaining. I do want to read the next story and look forward to seeing what happens to this group of individuals
Charlie’s first few hours turn out to be a new definition for a bad day. He finds himself at a disadvantage when he only has a few officers he can rely on to help. The central four officers, including Charlie, are very likeable and useful. They all work hard together and they uncover one mess after another. Tom, the college principal, is a great addition and Charlie also finds himself attracted to him but feels that acting on it would unprofessional.
This is the first book in a new series and I enjoyed it. The plot is complex with several things going on at the same time. While solved in the end, I did feel some things needed more explaining. I do want to read the next story and look forward to seeing what happens to this group of individuals
January 14, 2024
This was a really great little murder mystery read; kind of read like an episode of The Bill, combined with the pure chaos of Hot Fuzz and the mystery solving of Sherlock, which I really enjoyed! It is marketed as a romance but honestly the romance part of it barely got a look in - it’s a murder mystery/thriller predominantly.
DS Charlie Rees is having a terrible time - he accidentally slept with a murderer on holiday, he’s been reassigned to a town in the arse-end of Wales, someone set his car on fire and the Llanfair police department is totally corrupt. Oh, as someone is threatening local female college students and two males students are missing.
Charlie, along with the help of DC Eddy Edwards and Officers Mags and Patsy, plus sexy college principle Tom, has to figure out what is going on in the town of Llanfair before anyone else gets hurt.
I really enjoyed this - the mystery was engaging and I absolutely love anything police procedural, especially set in the UK. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is just that I’d have liked more interactions between Tom and Charlie to see their attraction to each other really build… but as I said, it’s not really a romance so I guess it makes sense that we didn’t see it.
Either way, a really great little book!
DS Charlie Rees is having a terrible time - he accidentally slept with a murderer on holiday, he’s been reassigned to a town in the arse-end of Wales, someone set his car on fire and the Llanfair police department is totally corrupt. Oh, as someone is threatening local female college students and two males students are missing.
Charlie, along with the help of DC Eddy Edwards and Officers Mags and Patsy, plus sexy college principle Tom, has to figure out what is going on in the town of Llanfair before anyone else gets hurt.
I really enjoyed this - the mystery was engaging and I absolutely love anything police procedural, especially set in the UK. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is just that I’d have liked more interactions between Tom and Charlie to see their attraction to each other really build… but as I said, it’s not really a romance so I guess it makes sense that we didn’t see it.
Either way, a really great little book!
March 20, 2024
This was a free book months ago for stuff you kindle day off a romance book website. That being said, there was no romance. It was 97% mystery with 3% insta lust, which wasn’t acted upon until 95% of the book was done. Overall, I still really enjoyed it. It just, at least as a single book, should not be marketed as a romance.
The mystery itself was kinda all of the place yet happened to be mostly resolved in less than 3/4 days timeline wise. Honestly the days were hard to follow because the skipped meals and nights of sleeping but than took naps. So it’s hard to tell what counted as ‘days’.
The book abruptly ended and we didn’t see a complete resolve of what happened with the mystery end. Not sure if we find out more in the end. This reminded me of the old Cut and Run series and also kinda S.E. harmony’s writing with spooky series, only less romance.
The whole book too, I kept thinking the other male cob that had stayed seemed fishy, but we never really got any resolve to that. Apparently he just really liked the MC and was jealous. I felt a couple of details seemed out of thin air, another example would have been mags pregnancy.
I am going onto book 2 now and will see if it gets more romantic down the line.
The mystery itself was kinda all of the place yet happened to be mostly resolved in less than 3/4 days timeline wise. Honestly the days were hard to follow because the skipped meals and nights of sleeping but than took naps. So it’s hard to tell what counted as ‘days’.
The book abruptly ended and we didn’t see a complete resolve of what happened with the mystery end. Not sure if we find out more in the end. This reminded me of the old Cut and Run series and also kinda S.E. harmony’s writing with spooky series, only less romance.
The whole book too, I kept thinking the other male cob that had stayed seemed fishy, but we never really got any resolve to that. Apparently he just really liked the MC and was jealous. I felt a couple of details seemed out of thin air, another example would have been mags pregnancy.
I am going onto book 2 now and will see if it gets more romantic down the line.
August 16, 2023
I love this book. How can u not love Charlie and Tom the main characters. Charlie is working to save his career after being sent to this small town in wales where as a detective he is working hard to solve a murder that many seem to be covering up. Along the way he meets Tom and while romance is part of the book it is the mystery that moves this book not a steamy plot driven by chemistry and hookups. I love how Charlie seems to tune out the noise and gossip to simply do his job. This mystery had me on edge with some twist and turns that resulted in my reading in one sitting. For anyone that loves a mystery and good gay characters this is the perfect book. I love finding new authors and this one is added to my must read list. It is the perfect book setting up more books. I did receive an ARC and leave this honest review.
December 31, 2023
Read it in one setting - I loved it. It's kind of a cosy mystery. What I actually liked about it is the fact that these police officers trying to solve several crimes were not superhuman and weren't able to do everything within the time frame given and their number. This made it more realistic than them being able to do more than possible within the hours of a day. This also meant that some leads couldn't be followed up. They were struggeling to get all threads together, all different crimes solved. And in the end a few questions remained, I hope they'll be solved with the next book that I'm going to read asap.
I also loved that the romance is just developing. I think the sex scene at the end of the book wasn't necessary, especially given Charlie's condition, but that was really the only complaint I have.
I enjoyed all characters.
I also loved that the romance is just developing. I think the sex scene at the end of the book wasn't necessary, especially given Charlie's condition, but that was really the only complaint I have.
I enjoyed all characters.
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