Property

PsyCop #3-4

by Jordan Castillo Price

Victor Bayne sees dead people. Working homicide is a cinch for him, since the victims can finger their killers, and give the how, when and why of their own demises. So work is no big challenge. It's the rest of Vic's life that gives him problems. PsyCop: Property contains PsyCop stories 3 and 4 (Body & Soul, and Secrets). In Body & Soul, Victor tracks down missing persons while his lover, Jacob, tries to find a home they can move into that's not infested-with either cockroaches, or ghosts. A deceased junkie with a bone to pick leads Victor on a wild chase that ends in a basement full of horrors. Secrets finds Victor and Jacob settling into their new home, but Victor finds the notion that Jacob's been holding back on some pertinent information distinctly unsettling, to say the least. Jacob's on a case that has him stretched to the breaking point, and Victor's old partner Lisa needs him to help her work through an ethical psychic dilemma. Find out more at www.PsyCop.com

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Gay

230 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2008

About the author

Author and artist Jordan Castillo Price writes paranormal sci-fi thrillers colored by her time in the Midwest, from inner city Chicago, to various cities across southern Wisconsin. She’s settled in a 1910 Cape Cod near Lake Michigan with tons of character and a plethora of bizarre spiders. Any disembodied noises, she’s decided, will be blamed on the ice maker.

Jordan is best known as the author of the PsyCop series, an unfolding tale of paranormal mystery and suspense starring Victor Bayne, a gay medium who's plagued by ghostly visitations.

Reviews

[Shurrn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is getting better and better with each book.

"I'm trying really hard to be a decent boyfriend," I said. "But I think I might not be cut out for it."

Six weeks after the whole kidnapping/GhosTV/amped up paranormal activity incident, Vic is still on leave from the department. You'd think Vic would use the time for rest and recuperation after his ordeal, but no...

Vic has faced off against murderers, ghosts, and all manner of terrifying things, but he's about to face his biggest challenge yet: Meeting his boyfriend's family!

The boys are spending Thanksgiving with Jacob's family in Wisconsin, and Vic is seriously rethinking his new found sobriety. Falling off the wagon seems mighty alluring when faced with inquisitive kids, Catholics, and the disembodied arm of Jacob's uncle bleeding all over the dry turkey and cranberry sauce.

The holiday getaway is mercifully cut short when a Chicago Alderman's son becomes the newest victim in a string of mysterious disappearances...

No evidence,
No pattern,
No suspects,
No Leads,

And poor Vic is teamed up with yet another new partner....

Detective Victor Bayne

I was thankful that Zigler was willing to interview everyone. In fact, I would've been more comfortable if he could just call all the shots and drag me along like a really expensive and high-maintenance piece of forensics equipment. When everything was said and done, wasn't that all I really was?

Vic was in his element in this book - talking to ghosts to solve his case, and pulling leads from his spirit witnesses. There's no evidence that the missing persons are actually dead, so Vic and his new partner are canvasing their houses and last known whereabouts looking for lingering ghosts.

Vic doesn't come into contact with any undead versions of the missing people, but there's no shortage of helpful chatty ghosts around to point him in the right direction.

Vic is understandably weary of his new partner. He hasn't had the best luck with partners since Maurice retired. The new clean-cut detective seems like a by-the-book kinda guy, but at least he doesn't seem like the type to kidnap Vic and experiment on him...

Detective Jacob Marks

I wouldn't have thought I'd like it, since I'm so twitchy about being restrained. But when Jacob wraps his body around mine, I feel more like he's shielding me than engulfing me.

I think I fall for Jacob a little bit more with every book. He is the perfect companion to balance Vic. He's so warm and tender, and just lovely to read.

While Vic works long hours on his case, Jacob is house hunting. Finding a new place that meets his specifications and isn't being haunted is a tall order.

Following leads from junkie ghosts,
Investigating high-profile cases,
Interviewing family members,
Basements of horror,
House Hunting,
Catholicism, Voodoo, &
Brushing off advances from Jacob's ex...
Jut another day in the life of our favorite detectives...

As I said before, this series is progressing wonderfully. Each book has been well written and engaging. There are new obstacles - personally and professionally - for our characters which keeps everything feeling fresh and interesting.

I end each book satisfied, yet excited to continue the journey!



So in love with this series right now...

I'm not sure which part was weirder - that it had taken me so long to find someone I was serious about, or that it had even happened to me at all. I'd always figured I was too screwed up to do the whole long-term relationship thing with anybody. Ever.

Domesticity is not Victor's strong suit.

He and Jacob aren't even completely moved into their new home when Jacob gets called away on a case. Not a huge surprise for one of them to get called away, but it leaves Vic pondering all of the changes in his life how far he's come.

Vic would much rather talk shop with Jacob than face unpacking the mountain of boxes, but Jacob refuses to open up about the case which is obviously gotten under his skin.

Secrets...
Sometimes it's not about the information being kept from you...
Sometimes the hurt comes from knowing the person you love won't share...



This book is not about a campy three's-company-style grand misunderstanding, it's about figuring out how much you should share with the person you're sharing your life with...

Vic has spent a great deal of his relationship with Jacob questioning the whole situation - There are times when Vic seems honestly baffled that Jacob could love him. He's finally come to the point where he's forced to acknowledge that Jacob's attentions are not a fluke - I mean, they just bought a house together, and the "L" bomb has been dropped...



In this installment of the PsyCop series, Vic has an amazing moment where he shakes off all his self-doubt and charges in to defend his relationship. It was amazing to read and it really solidified all the warm fuzzy feelings I have for this series.

Every time I finish a PsyCop book I think 'Wow, Jacob and Victor really came together in this one!' and those moments just keep happening for them - it has been a steady and believable build up for their relationship and I'm just smitten with them both.

Jacob was the only lover I'd ever had who could actually overpower me. He was so strong he could do it without even batting an eyelash. And yet, he was the first man I'd ever trusted enough to venture into territory that could turn dark and ugly if it when too far.

Outside of the romance and new home drama, we had a ton of fun stuff happening in this story!

Most of it is spoilery, but I CAN tell you that there are malicious spirits and Grannies involved...

Also, Lisa is back (yay!) and her training at the Psych school has Vic remembering his time at Camp Hell... The memories are fuzzier than they ought to be, the internet insists that Camp Hell never existed (no surprise there) but the real shocker is that Vic doesn't seem to exist online either.

Someone is going to great lengths to ensure that nobody talks about Victor Bayne.

In addition to the great internet mystery, Vic discovers that he's being followed...

There's quite a bit of foreshadowing in the lead up to the next book, Camp Hell, and I'm practically salivating in anticipation! We finally get the scoop on Heliotrope Station?!?



Oh I am soooo ready for that!
I mean, I'm scared, but I'm excited...
Bring it on!

READ ALL MY REVIEWS IN THIS SERIES:
I'll update the list as additional books are published.
0.1 - Inside Out - Read my Review here.
1 - Among the Living - Read my Review here.
1.1 - Thaw - Read my Review here.
2 - Criss Cross - Read my Review here.
2.1 - Striking Sparks - Read my Review here.
2.2 - Many Happy Returns - Read my Review here.
2.3 - Mind Reader - Read my Review here.
3 - Body and Soul - Read my Review here.
3.1 - The Stroke of Midnight - Read my Review here.
4 - Secrets - Read my Review here.
5 - Camp Hell - Read my Review here.
6 - GhosTV - Read my Review here.
6.1 - In the Dark - Read my Review here.
7 - Spook Squad - Read my Review here.

[Daesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

see review on each book

[Tex Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 of 5 stars – This Series Just Keeps Getting Better.

This was an engaging, raw, realistic (what I'll coin as a) "paranormal noir," with the wonderful twist of the MC being gay and having paranormal abilities put to use in his detecting job. This third and fourth in the series are the best so far and continued to build the story. Yet, for those interested, they also worked well as a standalone - they had a self-contained mystery with a conclusive ending, but also advanced and further developed the life of the MC (Vic), his boyfriend (Jacob) and other supporting characters, and any explanations needed to bring a first-time reader up on previous happenings were done smoothly in the storytelling.

Jordan Castillo Price's style was straightforward, even edgy to fit the story. She created a well thought-out world of psychics and their various abilities, and an outside world of how they were dealt with and used. And with my living in the city, I enjoyed the Chicago setting, but it could serve any reader for a big city setting.

I was pleased that the fourth was longer than the third's novella length, and both plots were realistic, nicely paced and developed in a believable way. I liked that the main focus was a combo of a mystery and Vic's psychic life, with the gay aspect and romance as a major subplot that develops across books. In Body and Soul, I thought the mysterious missing people/kidnapper premise was more suspenseful with a better tension-filled climax than in the previous books. In Secrets, the focus, unfortunately for me, switched more to the relationship, which in the end was still ok since the relationship was interesting and the mystery and psychic stories were good to support it. I also liked how all the complexities were built and intertwined in this one, thus the title, Secrets. But even though I said it was a standalone, in this one, more than the other books, a few loose ends were left hanging as a set up for book 5.

The whole set of characters were developed fairly fully. Of course there was more on the main characters, with Price really getting into the mind and mindset of a disturbed psychic, depicting a little off-balance but still functioning guy who I grew to like for all his skills, heart and humanness. Even with the supporting cast I got a good feel for who they were, with some new ones to keep things fresh. For those who've read previous books, it was nice that some characters returned; but don't worry first-time readers, they were included and described as well as any standalone.

A nice bonus was the relationship between Vic and Jacob. It gave a good sense of two guys who love and are strongly attracted to each other and the realistic struggles of how a relationship evolves. I also thought the sex scenes between them were pretty hot, described in an erotic way that a gay guy would like. And I appreciated that it wasn't overly romantic as some in this genre are, because I thought they were realistic for gay guys and fit in with the intensity of the story.

I continue to be impressed with the level of quality that Price maintained in this series, and I look forward to the next one.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Body and Soul - I continue to love this series. My only complaint is that I want to see a few heart-to-hearts with Vic and Jacob. There were some incredibly sweet moments, and I can tell they covered stuff (like Vic's upbringing) since they went to Jacob's families house for Thanksgiving, but I want to see a few of those conversations. I love any interaction with the two of them, but I have to admit the dirty talk might be my favorite!

Secrets - *forgot to write a review for this one*

[Charly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two stories with good plots and a deepening emotional attachment

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 9/10

PROS:
- The narration in all of the PsyCop stories is hilarious. Victor’s comments become more wry and acerbic with each passing story, not to mention the humor the characters’ various abilities bring into the mix. On page 3 of this volume, we’ve already met a secondary character whose right arm is missing, but that doesn’t stop Victor from seeing the arm as it flops around on the table and “caresses the silverware.” (And just as an aside: “The ghost arm waved a ‘pshaw’ at me”…possibly the funniest line EVER.)
- Victor and Jacob are two of the most well-formed, memorable characters I’ve ever read about in this genre. Vic is so flighty that I halfway expect him to have a nervous breakdown every 5 pages. And Jacob, while sexy and confident and outwardly perfect, is really just a big dork/weirdo who gets off--literally--on ghost stories (“my own special brand of sick,” as Vic calls it).
- I love this author’s sex scenes. They’re just the right mix for me of length, details, emotion, and reality. There are only a few scenes in each story, but they’re smokin’.
- Somehow Price manages to write mystery/thriller plotlines that incorporate supernatural elements without genuinely creeping me out. I’m a fraidy cat--seriously--and there are a few little things here and there that make me think, “Yikes.” But I definitely wouldn’t call them hardcore.

CON:
- There’s a secondary character who I just don’t like very much. And that wouldn’t bother me if the two main guys didn’t like him either. But they do. In fact, they’re both kind of hot for him, which I can see causing relationship issues if the series sticks around for a while, especially since Victor acknowledges that he’s never seen good things result from a “playing around” threesome in which an established couple invites in another guy.

Overall comments: I really like all of the PsyCop stories. I first read them over a year ago, very early on in my foray into m/m, and they’re still some of my favorites. The plots are good, the sex is minimal but hot, and the characters are fallible and realistic. These books are just good, all-around.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the Psycop series with stories 3 and 4. Vic is teamed with a very straight cop,Zig,and Jacob is paired with Carol. There are ghosts all around and in Vic and Jacob's apartment so Jacob searches for a new place. Vic and Zig work a case where peole are just going missing. The second story finds Jacob and Vic in a ghost free home. The investigation in this story revolves around sexual assault on an old woman in a nursing home. The crime is so baffeling that Vic and Zig and Jacob and his partner are drawn together. The sex and the ending will raise your eyebrows and you're no prude.

[Erichae · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I enjoyed it, the whole series is kind of overrated. I mean, I love Jacob and Vic, but it is irritating how much Lisa is in these books, if anything it's the Lisa show. Whenever I'm reading one of these books I'm just thinking "You could solve this on your own, why do you need her answers for everything?"

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in ebook form, parts #3 (Body and Soul) and #4 (Secrets) separately.

Review #3: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...
Review #4: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52...

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic series that gets better with each book.

[Emilie]

Edited this.

[ShilvaH And her books · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE THE COVER >///<

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Victor and Jacob are a very hot together. Plus I love the whole paranormal of ghosts that Victor sees.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fun read. Good character development.