Death and Destruction

Death and Destruction #1

by Patricia Logan

Forced to go into witness protection, ATF Special Agent Thayne Wolfe, is less than thrilled. The State’s Attorney needs him to testify against one of the most ruthless and notorious arms dealers in the world. Expecting boredom and lots of daytime television, he instead ends up with a ridiculous new job, a stupid new name, and the world’s most annoying shadow. Jarrett Evans, is nevertheless tasked with keeping Wolfe alive long enough to put Mills Lang and his crew away for the rest of their miserable lives.

Jarrett Evans, former Marine, has always been a free spirit, doing the dirty work for Uncle Sam whenever and wherever he’s needed. One of the best snipers in the world, Evans is at peace with the man he’s become. That doesn’t mean he’s ever liked the cold-blooded killer who stares back at him from the mirror every day. The moment he meets pretty boy Thayne Wolfe, things start a slow change and redemption begins to sound possible.

Mills Lang, the world’s most ruthless arms dealer, is little more than a serial killer in his own right. Rotting away in prison with nothing but time on his hands, Lang is determined to destroy the man he allowed into his inner circle. Thayne Wolfe will die in the most painful way… along with anyone he loves.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Mystery, Audiobook, Crime, Military Fiction

460 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2016

About the author

International bestselling author Patricia Logan, resides in Los Angeles, California. The author of several #1 bestselling erotic romances in English, Italian, French, and Spanish lives in a small house with a large family. When she’s not writing her next thriller romance, she’s watching her grandchildren grow up way too soon, and raising kids who make her proud every day. One of her favorite tasks is coaxing nose kisses from cats who insist on flopping on her keyboard while she types. Married to a wonderful gentleman for 30 years, she counts herself lucky to be surrounded by people who love her and give her stories to tell every day.
Become a fan of Patricia at http://authorpatricialogan.com

Email her at patricialogan.author@yahoo.com. She loves to hear from readers more than anything and will respond to all emails.

Reviews

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is going to be bad.

I should have DNF'd this book from the get go.

But I didn’t.

I wanted so much to believe those 5★ reviews out there. I wanted this series to be a new type of Cut & Run or something similar.

I wanted to be able to suspend belief because who freaking cares I love these boys and this story is so awesome.

I care. I didn’t even like the boys and the story was nowhere near awesome.

I am not trying to be mean but this book was nothing but inconsistency after inconsistency. It was ridiculous and not in a funny or silly or even endearing way and I at times felt almost embarrassed. The dialogue and the behavior and actions were just mind boggling to me. I mean, if this book was supposed to be a spoof of another book maybe but it wasn’t and really, it wasn’t funny. Cut the Crap? Really? I am also supposed to believe that celebrities frequent this place? Tight fuchsia t-shirts on a chubby woman and celebrities come here? Come on. Oh, if there are any stylists out there reading this book I bet they are PISSED!!! Sure, two days and you can be set free on celebrities in Los Angeles. Yep. And why did we have to go there at all? What was the fucking point? Don’t even get me started on the motorcycle and the shopping and just the freaking carelessness. These two did not come across as trained men. They did not seem to even for one second think this threat was real. THEY DID NOT HAVE A REAL CONVERSATION EVER! I don’t know how many times you can just let it go! Everything they did say or do was later contradicted.

I’ll let you make your own decision on the hit man. Seriously. Ugh.

I think I was kind of invested in what really went down with Noah but even that came across as unreal.

I want you in me, I don't bottom. I don't want a relationship, how do I ask him to stay? The entire book read like this.

I looked ahead and the books just keep getting 5★'s after 5★'s. There must be something seriously wrong with me because this was not a 5★ book.

I might be a little pissed.

[~Mindy Lynn~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!

I have to say that I appreciated and loved this one more the second time around. This book was my first taste of PL's work and I instantly fell hard for her writing and this couple she created. I adore them and can't wait to read the rest of the series and then pick up some of her other books.

I am a sucker for a cop book. I'm even more of a sucker for one's with marines. So this was just my kind of book. It has two hot guys, it's action packed, some romance, some really hot sexy times, and in the end a couple I fell hard for. They have made their way on to my list of favorite couples even if they aren't fully there yet. The 5 books that follow this one tells me it's just a matter of time. LOL

Jarrett Evans... every time Darlin' left his lips I swooned. Damn him. He was just so damn charming and funny and handsome and big and a MARINE I had no other choice but to fall for the big man with the white hair. Thayne had no other choice either. Both men put up a good fight but when you are stuck living together and working together and not to mention being tightly wrapped around one another while riding a Harley... there is no doubt that two attractive men who are attractive to each other will fail at keeping their sexy paws to themselves. You feel me? LOL

Thayne was undercover for two years helping the ATF with their plans to take down Lang Mills. After the deal is done Thayne is the key witness to testify to put the man away. So of course there is a bounty put out for his death. So his boss calls in a favor from a friend and instead of getting WITSEC, Thayne get's Jarrett Evans, ex marine.

I loved every action packed minute of this book but I loved this couple even more. I can't wait to see how the future unfolds for these men in the following books.

Highly recommend this one!

Happy reading dolls! xx

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 34%.

I think I was a victim of hype of my own making with this book. I was so excited when I found this book I was considering recommending it to a friend before I'd even cracked it. In my head this was the new Cut & Run, and despite it's faults, Cut & Run was never this annoying...

To start with, the undercover agent reveals himself as such to the bad guys, on purpose, all for a couple of cute one liners. Then he does the oh so predictable "I wont go into protective custody" tantrum thing when the bad guy puts a hit out on him. The Really?!? moments continue with the perfect ex-military cliché (Evans) in one thought deciding his charge (Thayne) and the cute chick are just friends, then in the next calling her "[Thayne's] pretty little agent girlfriend". This is after he's already waxed lyrical about how great Thayne is to have pulled off a successful undercover job, and then "wondered how on earth the man had been able to fool a guy like Mills Lang and his crew for almost two years." This sterling example of highly trained military muscle then fears he's shit his pants at a car backfiring.

Then we get to the whole protective detail. They go a couple of blocks down the street and think "Rockmond Hardwick" is a name to lie low with. If this is really how things are done, it's a wonder any witness gets to the courtroom.

Beyond the questionable situations and inconsistent characters, there's the clunky writing. It felt like a very early draft when things are a bit awkward, the ideas a bit raw. It needs a good edit. Every little mundane event was shown, and the amount of food-talk was tedious. There was magnificent amounts of pointless repetition, culminating in the massive info dump describing the salon staff, first by Evans and then immediately again, and using almost the exact same terms, from Thayne, which convinced me to give up on this.

Maybe it gets better after this point, but the uninspired prose, bland characters and silly set up doesn't give me confidence.

[Candice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would have been okay if there had been more action in it. Oh and if it didn't have one of my biggest pet peeves in it, too. The constant use of everybody's names!

"We'll see if anybody in this salon has some action for us, since it seemed to take up a lot of the story, Thayne."
"We're not together, though, Jarrett."
"I know, Thayne."
You may be out, but I'm not, Jarrett."
"I hear you, Thayne."
"So when some flamboyant man high on drugs asks me if I like boy, I'll tell him I like men, even though I'm kind of in the closet, Jarrett."
"That's smart, Wolfe."
"I know, Evans."
"I'm going to lie to you just because I have a higher clearance than you and I don't want you to ask questions or not anything about me, Wolfe."
"I can always spot a lie, but I'll always just let it go, Evans."
"There's no action here in this salon, Wolfe."
"That's dumb. Why was this ordeal such a huge part of the story? Why did we have to know about all the employees and their backgrounds, Evans?"
"Let me make a quick call, Thayne."
"Sure thing, Evans."
"Thanks, Tate (the friend)."
"No problem. Anything for you, Evans."
"You're the best, Tate. Thanks again, Heston." <--see what I did there, I used his first AND last name!
"No really, here, take my car and I've packed you some goodies. Have fun, Jarrett."
"Let's go, Wolfe."

And so they went...



We also got 5 different POV's. Yeah, too many. No thanks. Rounding up to 2 stars, because I did actually finish it. I shouldn't have because it ended with somewhat of a cliffhanger and that pissed me off, too. Maybe we'll see some of the employees from the salon in book 2? Who knows.

[haletostilinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars!

In the end, I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed Thayne and Jarrett together, they had chemistry and it was fun at times.

But there was also a lot that bothered me.

This took me a week to finish. A week. I'm not one who usually takes so long to read books, even long ones. But I found myself stopping and starting with this multiple times. This story was interspersed with fun and interesting things and sometimes exciting moments and some parts that really dragged.

The editing wasn't perfect, there were quite a few missteps here and there that got annoying. The writing was good but also...not the best? It felt like a well written fanfic - which is good - but not an amazing fanfic type of thing, you know? Like the writer still has some things to learn with their writing. (The phrase "their tongues fought for dominance" was used several times).

I know this is a series and all and maybe the main case in this book will be an overarching one that spreads throughout them, but it bothered me how it ended without resolution to it.

I also think this book could have been cut down. It was way too long, and there were things that were in that weren't really necessary. And all the times there were huge paragraphs and pages and pages of exposition and thoughts without dialogue or action or anything really to get the story moving really made this a slow read and hard for me to get through at times.

However, I did enjoy Thayne and Jarrett together so I think I will continue this series, just not right away. I need a break from the long windedness this book sometimes took when it frankly didn't need it.

Overall, this was enjoyable, it just had too many things going against it for it to be a 4 or 5 star read for me.

Edit: Oh! Also, ATF is a made up organization and we are never told what the hell ATF even stands for and what their main deal is.

[Plainbrownwrapper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gah.

This is trying so hard to be Cut & Run -- but without the snappy writing, the passion, the hot sex, or much of any of Cut & Run's good points (and even that series was pretty much trash in most areas!).

I'm about halfway through right now. Soooooooo much overexplaining and repetition and let's-stomp-on-any-excitement-before-it-can-lead-to-something-interesting. I just finished the first sex scene. Ya wanna know how it ends? Like this: "Jarrett continued to jack them through their orgasms, feeling spurt after spurt of Thayne’s come pour out onto his abs until they were a squishy mess of tangled tongues, limbs, and cocks."

Now, I ask you: do tangled cocks sound sexy to you? I dunno about you, but it sounds pretty damned painful to me!

eta -- dnfing this at 60%. This author seems to believe that you should never be satisfied with stating a thought in just one sentence when you can stretch it out to five or six sentences instead. Seriously, hasn't she ever heard that brevity is the soul of wit?

eta again -- Okay, okay, I read a little bit more. Hey, I'm feeling ranty. Here's a perfect example of "my God, we could have figured this out for ourselves in less than half the words":

Thayne picked up the duffel and followed Jarrett in, turning just inside the backdoor to look up. He found a double-barrel shotgun mounted on the wall with the muzzle pointed downward at head level to any intruder. The trigger would have been connected to a trip wire which was then screwed into the door. Jarrett had obviously reached in and disengaged the trip wire from the trigger before opening the door more than three inches. It hung down from the wooden door. Anyone opening the door without knowing the gun was there, would have literally had their head blown off. It was a remarkably simple but incredibly effective booby trap.

Seriously, just how stupid does she think we are? All we need: "He found a double-barreled shotgun mounted on the wall, with its trigger connected to a trip wire that jarrett had obviously disabled." Period.

This story is so amazingly padded, you'd think Patricia Logan was being paid by the word! Sheesh!

Updated to add: I did finally finish this -- and I'm tempted to lower the rating to 1 star just because of the idiotic ending. I mean, seriously! The jury is deadlocked, so there's a mistrial. So far, so good. But then the judge **releases** the Bad Guy -- when he was being kept without bail before, and when they are certain to retry him. And then, to make matters worse, they remove the security protection from Our Heroes and send them back to work -- as though they think the Bad Guy is now going to leave them alone! I am throwing my laptop against the wall at this point.

Okay, I can't stand it. Down to 1 star it goes!

[Furio · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no explanation for the raving reviews - I do have one really, but it is harsh - but there is no way I am going to agree with them.

Beside regaling us with many grammar mistakes, the author commits the main and most unforgivable crime of every amateur: she tells instead of showing and she does it all through the book.
We are provided with endless descriptions of how characters look, how they think and how they act and characters' depth relies exclusively on this inserts.
Even worse, these descriptions, despite being separated by a chapter at most, all contradict each other portraying several different set of characters, each lasting a couple of paragraphs and soon altered to fit the author's whim.

The end result is sub publishing-standards and the frankly silly sex scenes do nothing to improve things.
To be avoided.

[fleurette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author is new to me and, to be totally honest, I haven't heard about this series before. And it's a pity since this is a really good book.

ATF Special Agent Thayne Wolfe is going to testify in a court against a very dangerous illegal gun seller. When it turns out that there is a hitman for him, Thayne is taken under protection of the privet security company. That's how he meets former Marine Jarrett Evans - a man responsible for his safety. The task is easy, Thayne has to be alive to testify.

There is a lot of potential in the main characters - Thayne and Jarrett. They remind me a bit of Ty and Zane, in a good way. They are both tortured heroes but it's not overwhelming. We still don't really know Jarrett and it's totally okay with me, there are many books in this series to know him better. This book focuses on the demons that hunt Thayne and it's more than enough. I like both - Thayne and Jarrett alike, it will be a great pleasure to watch them cooperate in different situations with their relationship evolving.

The plot could be more developed or innovative. There is enough action without too much excessive drama. However, there is no mystery in the whole story - we know who is after Thayne from the beginning and we know what is going to happen. I hope that in the next books is going to be some mystery part.

I will definitely read the next books in this series and I will do it soon. Also, I love the cover!

[⚣Michaelle⚣]

There are a lot of books I read &/or listened to while on vacation and almost all of them left some sort of impression. But, I have no idea what rating I meant to give this one...as it has completely escaped my memory. Not just what I thought of it, but the story in its entirety. Not sure if that's a sign that I should skip the rest of the series, but I am going to put it on the "re-read" shelf so that I can give it a chance.

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~]

DNF @ 5%

I only managed the prologue, which was going okay. Our undercover MC was finally about to bust the crime ring he'd been investigating for a few years. Good times.

Then the other MC - or who I'm assuming is the other MC - rolls in with "the calvary" and blows the first guy's cover. Like, what? Pretty sure that's the last thing you want to do. You treat everyone there like criminals and pull your guy out later. I'm only surprised the actual criminal, who had just had a gun pointed at our UC MC's head over a squabble at cards - exactly the kind of stable mastermind you want to toy with - didn't shoot the MC right then and there.

Then our UC MC was dumb enough to try to ID himself to SWAT as they're busting down the doors, instead of getting down on the ground with his hands behind his head. He deserves the broken nose he got over that.

Why do authors make their MCs so bad at their jobs? 🤦🏻‍♀️ I checked some reviews and that convinced me to give up now.

[Eugenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it.
Yet...
Just one day after finishing it, I’m hard pressed to really remember the book. I have to REALLY think about it.

What you get:
ATF undercover agent now in extra secret witness protection. EX-Marine/Government freelancer is his bodyguard. A hair salon, a hit man, and two men spending 24/7 together.

This is my takeaway:
I was told many things about the MC’s
I would have rather been shown how:
“He makes me laugh...His smile...etc.”
I always found out lovely things after the fact and in a very general way.
Police/ATF procedural vagueness detracted from the plot.
I liked these two together.
I liked these two together enough for me to continue on despite my concerns for the style and quality of the writing.

Finally, this may be a case of, “It’s me, not the book,” since many friends here I trust loved the shit out of this novel.

My rec? Not the best law-enforcement buddy/lover/partner romance I’ve read, but not bad by any means.

[Sue bowdley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's no secret that I love Patricia's books.....I love her bdsm and she gave me one of the hottest doms.....BUT...This one is not bdsm...BUT.....it is an absolutely amazing read......I love action books.....Jarrett is protecting Thayne from a hitman after he's been undercover for two years.....Now...Jarrett....OMG....talk about hot....His description will melt you into a puddle....I love him....He does his job well with Thayne...Including helping him through his nightmares....They were damn hot together in bed and out.....Thayne....Another hot guy to love.....I just can't describe how these guys fit together...I just didn't want this book to end...Everything was done so well and I really can't wait for book 2 to come out...I regret reading the snippet of book 2 now at the end because I WANT IT NOW.....I think this is gonna jump to the top of my fav Ms Logan books.......Awesome read x

[peach]

DNF @ 26%. The book was overexplainy and repetitive, sometimes telling me the same multi-paragraph backstory or exposition that I just read a few pages ago. I also didn't care for how Jarrett made a big deal of how important the witness protection thing was but then gave Thayne an obviously jokey fake name and kept laughing at his cover job. It just felt inconsistent, like does he take his job seriously or not? There were a few other inconsistencies, and based on some other reviews of this book it sounds like they're gonna keep coming. Additionally, annoyance-to-lovers is a trope that often doesn't work for me, and this book didn't manage to pull it off well enough for me to get interested in this couple.

[Janja · Rating 4 out of 5]

MM love story with elements of thiller that you simply can't put it down until you read it. I loved the writing and how you slowly get to know both of them and you just wish that the bad guys can be put down already, so that they can ejoy their newly found love.

p.s. i would love to get an hair cut from Thayne.

[Donna]

Not reading at this time.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed... :(
I liked the guys, and I think there was a ton of potential here, but something about how it was written just didn't have me invested enough. Jarrett could have been deeper, he kind of got on my nerves. I skimmed the sex scenes which is very unlike me, but I just wasn't feeling it. The part about Noah and Thayne was the part that touched me the most...wish I could have had that book, ya know? only with a different outcome, of course. I won't go to the next. I know most people loved this, so I guess it was a me thing.

[I~❤️~Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

✮4 Stars✮

[Stephanie GooglyEyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Pauley reminds me a bit of a robotic William Shatner. I had to speed up the audio just to get through the story. The pattern of speech with a bit of a crescendo at the end of each sentence, like he's trying to be overly dramatic, is tiring and annoying. If he could tone that down a bit and maybe change it up a bit more between characters for more dimension, he wouldn't be so bad.

As for the story, I give it about a 3.5, maybe. I can't tell if I was rolling my eyes because of the narrator or the actual actions in the book. If I continue, it will be read, not listened to.

[Sadie Forsythe]

DNF 35%

Just too repetitive; all tell and dialogue, very little show; full of plot holes and inconsistencies. If it was shorter, I'd probably muscle through it just to finish. But not 3oo+ pages. There are too many other good books I could be reading.

[CC · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @35% Tedious and Repetitive. 😵

Endless inner monologues.
Pointless descriptions of decor and food.
Constant boners and hard ons.

Needed editing.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one ... and it would have been 4 stars if I hadn't read the Power of Zero series before

nevertheless, I enjoyed the story, the romance and suspense part.

this series was a great find and I am glad that there are some more books in this series

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

This series for some reason reminded me of the author Abigail Roux series "Cut & Run." Ty and Zane are my boys, I love them to death.

Soooo let's talk and "Death and Destruction" Thayne and Jarrett are a great couple together. I liked how they played off each other once they stopped their pissing contest. Jarrett the ever present southern boy and Thayne the gorgeous native Californian.

The storyline was very well written except being from California myself I felt that she used to many descriptive words to do her settings and it detracted from the book for me. Overall I will continue the series. Great book.

[Elyxyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conosco quest’autrice di fama, anche se finora non avevo letto nulla di suo, perché la maggioranza delle sue opere non rientra nelle mie corde.
Questo romance poliziesco, però, mi ha soddisfatta completamente e la storia mi è piaciuta tantissimo! Devo ammettere che ho un debole per le vicende tra bodyguard e protetto, quindi l’opera parte avvantaggiata. Ma, in ogni caso, in questo volume c’è davvero tutto quello che si può desiderare: azione, adrenalina, inseguimenti, colpi di scena fino all’ultima riga e soprattutto due protagonisti molto diversi, ma entrambi coraggiosi e imprudenti, due caratteri caparbi che si completano alla perfezione. Impossibile non affezionarsi a Jarrett e a Thayne, mentre loro si affezionano a vicenda, regalandoci una storia ricca di passione e scene sensuali molto hot e attimi di dolcezza che fanno sciogliere. Le vicende tormentate di Thayne vengono a galla, mentre il passato di Jarrett è ancora parecchio misterioso, ma spero che in futuro si saprà di più.
Questo primo libro della serie regala un’ottima lettura e la resa italiana è davvero curata e supportata da un ottimo editing. Non vedo l’ora di leggere il prossimo!

[Sue bowdley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's no secret that I love Patricia's books.....I love her bdsm and she gave me one of the hottest doms.....BUT...This one is not bdsm...BUT.....it is an absolutely amazing read......I love action books.....Jarrett is protecting Thayne from a hitman after he's been undercover for two years.....Now...Jarrett....OMG....talk about hot....His description will melt you into a puddle....I love him....He does his job well with Thayne...Including helping him through his nightmares....They were damn hot together in bed and out.....Thayne....Another hot guy to love.....I just can't describe how these guys fit together...I just didn't want this book to end...Everything was done so well and I really can't wait for book 2 to come out...I regret reading the snippet of book 2 now at the end because I WANT IT NOW.....I think this is gonna jump to the top of my fav Ms Logan books.......Awesome read x

[Carolyn Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two men, both broken by doing their jobs

Thayne, having been undercover for 2 years, requires protection from the criminal boss who has sworn to have him killed. Jarrett, a marine sniper who has killed many is assigned to protect Thayne. Although they are attracted to each other they know that this is not the time.

I greatly enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the next. I was glad that there wasn't instalove, this was a slow sensual build up but the action was great!

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was somewhat disappointed by this story. I enjoyed the different safe houses that Evans and Wolfe had to stay in but I really did not feel a solid connection between the two men. It seemed that the used sex just as a release. I also feel that the story dragged until the shootout. It was too much cat and mouse and too little action. I'll pass on book two.

[Diane Dannenfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have found a new favorite series. I love these boys. Off to read the next one!!!! I hope at some point they come out in audio as I would love to hear that sexy southern drawl.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this series. I love Michael Pauley but I didn't really care for him in this one. His southern drawl was all that good.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventure, Intrigue, Two Hot Alpha Men

Great start to a new series. Was it realistic? Who cares! It was entertaining. It made me smile. I loved the two main characters. They were sexy. They were hot 🔥together. Reminds me a little bit of the Cut and Run series.

This is my first book by this author. It will not be the last. I look forward to the rest of the series.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters. The story was very well written and edited. I can't wait to read the second in the series!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Skirmish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Reaction: https://neverhollowed.com/2020/02/28/...
Rating: 4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits