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Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries #2
Leavings
(Alternate cover edition of ASIN B08XTP4LPF.)
Setting up a new home with Mal was all fun and flat pack furniture for Daniel. Until Mal disappears on an undercover operation, leaving Daniel on his own to deal with three dead bodies, and trying to help a friend escape an abusive relationship.
A man is violently assaulted in town and Daniel is warned that if he investigates, he’ll get the same treatment. He knows the three bodies were murder victims, but he can’t prove it. Mal is getting more and more secretive. His friend Hector insists that the bruises happened when he ran into a door.
Daniel is fighting unseen enemies without any of the information he needs.
And then there’s Mal’s family who want to pretend Daniel doesn’t exist.
Setting up a new home with Mal was all fun and flat pack furniture for Daniel. Until Mal disappears on an undercover operation, leaving Daniel on his own to deal with three dead bodies, and trying to help a friend escape an abusive relationship.
A man is violently assaulted in town and Daniel is warned that if he investigates, he’ll get the same treatment. He knows the three bodies were murder victims, but he can’t prove it. Mal is getting more and more secretive. His friend Hector insists that the bruises happened when he ran into a door.
Daniel is fighting unseen enemies without any of the information he needs.
And then there’s Mal’s family who want to pretend Daniel doesn’t exist.
232 pages, ebook
First published April 26, 2021
107 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
May 29, 2021
I wish I'd liked this book more. But I didn't. Because I can't stand Mal. He spent half the book lying to Daniel and none of their relationship problems were ever resolved. The whole way he brushed off everyone's concern for Daniel and then "saved" the day didn't work for me. So I'm rather glad that Daniel saved himself. The problems surrounding the wedding were solved because Mal had this "oh no, I don't want to lose Daniel" moment but I don't think it once occurred to him that he might lose him anyway because they want completely different things and have not found a successful middle ground because of ALL THE LYING.
Mal is so busy looking for bigger and better things that he completely missed a complex crime in his own new hometown and even if he had been there for the lot of it, the impression I got is that he would have run all over Daniel's choices and told him it wasn't worth investigating - I mean he even sort of says it at one point.
I think my biggest problem with these two is that Daniel knows what he wants but he won't stand up for it. He has a moment where he genuinely realises Megan is right and only looking out for him and that maybe when it comes to Mal he doesn't think anywhere near clearly and then he goes off and gets kidnapped before anything really comes of it and I HATE when a book avoids the real problems and puts off the confrontation by throwing in a near death experience to paper mâché over it in a temporary fix. That near death experience is the cardboard Wade's dodgy company was putting over windows.
I want to like this series so much more than I do because I love Daniel and his sister and the people he works with but I can't fucking stand Mal.
Mal is so busy looking for bigger and better things that he completely missed a complex crime in his own new hometown and even if he had been there for the lot of it, the impression I got is that he would have run all over Daniel's choices and told him it wasn't worth investigating - I mean he even sort of says it at one point.
I think my biggest problem with these two is that Daniel knows what he wants but he won't stand up for it. He has a moment where he genuinely realises Megan is right and only looking out for him and that maybe when it comes to Mal he doesn't think anywhere near clearly and then he goes off and gets kidnapped before anything really comes of it and I HATE when a book avoids the real problems and puts off the confrontation by throwing in a near death experience to paper mâché over it in a temporary fix. That near death experience is the cardboard Wade's dodgy company was putting over windows.
I want to like this series so much more than I do because I love Daniel and his sister and the people he works with but I can't fucking stand Mal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2021
I'm enjoying this series - but absolutely hate one of the main characters so calling it a day. Mal is weak, continually undermines his partner, Daniel, at work (he's his boss) when we all know it's Daniel who has all the bright ideas. I just don't get why we are supposed to continue when Mal blows so hot and cold throughout the book and then, like poor Daniel does every time, expected to forgive him at the end when he says sorry. Even Daniel's sister hates him, so how are we supposed to like him and carry on?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2021
Solid procedural overall. I could see how all the various 'criminal' threads were linked together but I guess police can only go by solid evidence rather than hunches and solid guesses. Daniel and Mal's convoluted relationship continues to evolve / progress despite some dark threads reaching across from Mal's estranged family.
August 18, 2022
4,5 stars
July 3, 2024
I love this series, although I have to wonder just how many large scale criminal enterprises one small welsh town can sustain.
November 13, 2022
4.5 stars
Loved it ,once again two separate investigation come.together at the end ..goo to see Mal finally sticking up for Daniel
Loved it ,once again two separate investigation come.together at the end ..goo to see Mal finally sticking up for Daniel
October 27, 2021
Excellent story
I’ve fallen in love with this writer. I want book 4 so badly my teeth hurt. Addictive characters and tightly woven plots. Can’t get enough.
I’ve fallen in love with this writer. I want book 4 so badly my teeth hurt. Addictive characters and tightly woven plots. Can’t get enough.
May 30, 2021
** 4.5 Stars **
June 21, 2023
The author has asked for brief reviews (cough), so if you want the gist of my option, read just the first and last paragraphs and then go on your merry way. I honestly do want more folks to read these books. Review will now commence.
Now that I’ve finished book 3 in this series, I feel like I can leave a review and give thoughtful (as in I’ve thought about what I want to say and how to say it) feedback. This was a 3-star read (which on my scale is fairly high), but one star is given in hopes that the writing itself gets better. The writing is not egregiously awful (as it has been in a distressing number of mm books I’ve read recently), but it needs polishing and an editor’s eye. Better writing with this very plot would have pushed my rating to 3+ stars.
I find these books interesting and I like the MC’s. I would recommend them to folks looking for a good mm mystery series that isn’t “cozy”. As a general overview, the stories are not lightweight and there’s pretty much no humor (not a negative, just a statement of fact in case you are looking for lightweight/humorous.) The plots (so far) are fairly tricky and require your attention. The plots are not extremely dark, I’d put them at about midway on the scale between “cozy” and “I’m sorry I read that, it’s going to haunt me for awhile” in intensity. They definitely have the feel of being written by an author who works with a UK “flavor” (which is always different from books written by Americans – sometimes the difference is subtle, sometimes more prominent, but there’s definitely a different feel between American mysteries and those written with a non-American perspective.) Also, while there’s not a lot of sex in these books, there is a smattering.
In reading the reviews, it seems that there is not much love out there for Mal’s character, which I find unfortunate. Having dealt with my spouse’s family for several decades now, I can really relate to the crap Mal has to deal with – that whole “it’s either (insert spouse/partner here) or me.” They are the ones who make holidays so much fun that I want to run and hide. Because they are completely unreasonable (and at times downright vicious), I have to navigate carefully in order to allow my spouse to work out how much they want to try to keep being a member of the family and not having relationships completely severed. In these books, most of Mal’s family is portrayed as landing in the all or nothing/vicious group; Daniel, on the other hand, has a reasonable family and a twin sister who he considers his “touchstone.” He tells said sister everything, and said sister is very black and white in her feelings about not liking Mal much and really wants to push Daniel to see it her way and Do Something About It (aka “dump the guy”). This is such an unfair view, it’s hard to read the passages where her criticism is involved and not want to reach into the pages and wring her neck. Lord knows I adore my sisters, tell them everything, and yet they would NEVER try to actively change my mind about how I feel about my spouse. There’s a definite difference between listening, supporting, suggesting vs. “you should do THIS; you should never let your spouse DO THAT”, etc. (Caveat: if we were talking about really bad crap, like drug use, abuse, cheating and all that other really filthy stuff, that would be a different scenario.) So far, Mal is guilty of not communicating well (Hello? He’s a man, isn’t he? This is a romance, isn’t it?) and working a job that means he has to be away from Daniel for periods of time. Which, interestingly, is pretty much the same as Daniel’s job, only Daniel doesn’t get sent out of town. I surely hope Daniel never has his eye on an airplane pilot or a long-haul trucker or a guy in any other profession where travel is a given and no, it doesn’t mean your spouse is uncaring, unresponsive, or doesn’t love you enough. Seriously, in this book Daniel feels downright clingy and he should figure out if he can deal with a spouse who travels, period, rather than taking his anger out on Mal for something that, honestly, is not a “fault.” Daniel also seems to have a really quick temper at times and likes to feel the victim way too easily. I wish he would dial down his temper and his testosterone levels and try a gentler approach at opening communication lines. Like approaching with kindness and not rushing your partner; giving your partners multiple opportunities to talk, and being clear that you want to know what's going because they are now a part of you; not getting all pissed off at the drop of a hat if they aren't disclosing stuff fast enough (because how fast is that, anyway?) Particularly since much of what he wants Mal to disclose is all the bad parts of Mal’s life. About which Daniel does know enough regarding what kind of crap Mal has already gone through/stood up to in his worklife to be more compassionate about expecting immediate full disclosure. Hmm, not very supportive there, are we, Daniel? So part of the draw for me for these books is seeing how this relationship moves along, because I really think the two MC’s are extremely good for each other if they could get past all the posturing and facades.
Mal gets additional bonus points from this reader for having the balls to be open (even wearing ties with subtle rainbow symbolism), especially in his line of work (police force.)
I will now step down from my "sheez, give Mal a break already, people" soapbox 😏
I do have a number of issues with the writing style, which lessens the enjoyment of reading these books. This book in particular had some really weird formatting issues, along with missing words, strangely worded sentences, and punctuation going AWOL; i.e.
He (Daniel) watched as the blood drained from both their faces.
“We don’t know anything about him,” Lesley Flowers said.
Daniel thought that they
“Then I suggest you find out and add it to the list of things to bring to the Police Station tomorrow. Shall we say two o’clock?’
Yes, that is seriously a passage direct from the book. What Daniel ever thought, we’ll just never know. 🫤
The misery Daniel had taken to out with him after the row with Mal began to lift. The net was closing around Connor. He had time to go back to the office and organise for proper statements to be taken and then he went to collect Hector.
What the heck does “the misery Daniel had taken to out with him” even mean? Does it mean something like “Daniel found that the misery he was carrying around with him after the row with Mal began to lift.”? (I actually couldn’t even decipher that much while I was reading the book – this inkling of what the sentence might mean just came to me now as I copied the text.) Perhaps that is a sentence I would understand if I were familiar with UK vernacular?
The other issue I have is with how bloody terse the author is. It makes it hard to know who’s talking at times, and there is as little description as possible.
To the point that.
The sentences sound.
Annoyingly short sometimes.
About what they mean.
It would be a huge help to have more scene setting and, more importantly, a more descriptive touch when the MC’s are interacting outside of work. In the first book, there’s a scene where Daniel comes out of the shower and pretty much tells Mal “let’s have sex” and then Mal crosses some sort of distance (‘cause he wasn’t in the bathroom with Daniel) and begins passionately (I’m imagining) kissing Daniel. I don’t know where Mal was beforehand, so I don’t know if he crossed the room, or if he crossed the short distance separating them, or if he came in from the hallway, or dropped down from the ceiling, or was beamed in from the Mother Ship and landed right in front of Daniel. I don’t know anything throughout the scene that doesn’t fall within “the least possible words you can use to describe a sex scene.” Honestly, you need more than an outline to define any level of intimacy successfully, whether it’s kissing, stroking, head patting, or full-on sex. I don't need (or want) a detailed blow-by-blow that goes on for pages, but would love more flow than "kiss-go to bedroom-have a hand job-go to sleep". And it’s not like these two characters don’t have chemistry because, despite the lack of details, there’s just enough there to feel a real connection (actually, I’m not sure why I feel so strongly about these two being a really physically passionate couple with the few clues I have to go on. Maybe it was the phone sex scene, which didn’t need a lot of details and clearly conveyed their connection with a minimum of verbiage/explanation. Because that really was a fairly sexy interaction, vs. a tersely described action that includes sex.)
Another issue is about segues, or the lack thereof; apparently they were ritually sacrificed on the alter of terseness . As an example of “segue, segue, who has my segue? I know I left the darned thing around here somewhere”, the biggest, boldest WTF moment due to lack of segue is at the beginning of the book where we read Mal saying:
The herky-jerky nature of segues (or lack thereof) and clarity on who’s talking, what the setting is, time of day, etc. also makes it hard to follow the plot in the twisty bits. The plots so far have had a heavy interweaving of a range of characters and their experiences, which is great, but it would be even better if I could be given enough data to envision what’s going on.
These are mainly stylistic quibbles, but if the writing could flow better, I’d enjoy the books even more. Because really, I DO enjoy them and I DO like Mal and Daniel, and I will keep reading the series to find out how the relationship plays out.
Recommended as a mm romance, subgenre police procedural (or vice versa, it’s about a even dose of the two) that is worth the while if you can allow the author some growing pains.
Now that I’ve finished book 3 in this series, I feel like I can leave a review and give thoughtful (as in I’ve thought about what I want to say and how to say it) feedback. This was a 3-star read (which on my scale is fairly high), but one star is given in hopes that the writing itself gets better. The writing is not egregiously awful (as it has been in a distressing number of mm books I’ve read recently), but it needs polishing and an editor’s eye. Better writing with this very plot would have pushed my rating to 3+ stars.
I find these books interesting and I like the MC’s. I would recommend them to folks looking for a good mm mystery series that isn’t “cozy”. As a general overview, the stories are not lightweight and there’s pretty much no humor (not a negative, just a statement of fact in case you are looking for lightweight/humorous.) The plots (so far) are fairly tricky and require your attention. The plots are not extremely dark, I’d put them at about midway on the scale between “cozy” and “I’m sorry I read that, it’s going to haunt me for awhile” in intensity. They definitely have the feel of being written by an author who works with a UK “flavor” (which is always different from books written by Americans – sometimes the difference is subtle, sometimes more prominent, but there’s definitely a different feel between American mysteries and those written with a non-American perspective.) Also, while there’s not a lot of sex in these books, there is a smattering.
In reading the reviews, it seems that there is not much love out there for Mal’s character, which I find unfortunate. Having dealt with my spouse’s family for several decades now, I can really relate to the crap Mal has to deal with – that whole “it’s either (insert spouse/partner here) or me.” They are the ones who make holidays so much fun that I want to run and hide. Because they are completely unreasonable (and at times downright vicious), I have to navigate carefully in order to allow my spouse to work out how much they want to try to keep being a member of the family and not having relationships completely severed. In these books, most of Mal’s family is portrayed as landing in the all or nothing/vicious group; Daniel, on the other hand, has a reasonable family and a twin sister who he considers his “touchstone.” He tells said sister everything, and said sister is very black and white in her feelings about not liking Mal much and really wants to push Daniel to see it her way and Do Something About It (aka “dump the guy”). This is such an unfair view, it’s hard to read the passages where her criticism is involved and not want to reach into the pages and wring her neck. Lord knows I adore my sisters, tell them everything, and yet they would NEVER try to actively change my mind about how I feel about my spouse. There’s a definite difference between listening, supporting, suggesting vs. “you should do THIS; you should never let your spouse DO THAT”, etc. (Caveat: if we were talking about really bad crap, like drug use, abuse, cheating and all that other really filthy stuff, that would be a different scenario.) So far, Mal is guilty of not communicating well (Hello? He’s a man, isn’t he? This is a romance, isn’t it?) and working a job that means he has to be away from Daniel for periods of time. Which, interestingly, is pretty much the same as Daniel’s job, only Daniel doesn’t get sent out of town. I surely hope Daniel never has his eye on an airplane pilot or a long-haul trucker or a guy in any other profession where travel is a given and no, it doesn’t mean your spouse is uncaring, unresponsive, or doesn’t love you enough. Seriously, in this book Daniel feels downright clingy and he should figure out if he can deal with a spouse who travels, period, rather than taking his anger out on Mal for something that, honestly, is not a “fault.” Daniel also seems to have a really quick temper at times and likes to feel the victim way too easily. I wish he would dial down his temper and his testosterone levels and try a gentler approach at opening communication lines. Like approaching with kindness and not rushing your partner; giving your partners multiple opportunities to talk, and being clear that you want to know what's going because they are now a part of you; not getting all pissed off at the drop of a hat if they aren't disclosing stuff fast enough (because how fast is that, anyway?) Particularly since much of what he wants Mal to disclose is all the bad parts of Mal’s life. About which Daniel does know enough regarding what kind of crap Mal has already gone through/stood up to in his worklife to be more compassionate about expecting immediate full disclosure. Hmm, not very supportive there, are we, Daniel? So part of the draw for me for these books is seeing how this relationship moves along, because I really think the two MC’s are extremely good for each other if they could get past all the posturing and facades.
Mal gets additional bonus points from this reader for having the balls to be open (even wearing ties with subtle rainbow symbolism), especially in his line of work (police force.)
I will now step down from my "sheez, give Mal a break already, people" soapbox 😏
I do have a number of issues with the writing style, which lessens the enjoyment of reading these books. This book in particular had some really weird formatting issues, along with missing words, strangely worded sentences, and punctuation going AWOL; i.e.
He (Daniel) watched as the blood drained from both their faces.
“We don’t know anything about him,” Lesley Flowers said.
Daniel thought that they
“Then I suggest you find out and add it to the list of things to bring to the Police Station tomorrow. Shall we say two o’clock?’
Yes, that is seriously a passage direct from the book. What Daniel ever thought, we’ll just never know. 🫤
The misery Daniel had taken to out with him after the row with Mal began to lift. The net was closing around Connor. He had time to go back to the office and organise for proper statements to be taken and then he went to collect Hector.
What the heck does “the misery Daniel had taken to out with him” even mean? Does it mean something like “Daniel found that the misery he was carrying around with him after the row with Mal began to lift.”? (I actually couldn’t even decipher that much while I was reading the book – this inkling of what the sentence might mean just came to me now as I copied the text.) Perhaps that is a sentence I would understand if I were familiar with UK vernacular?
The other issue I have is with how bloody terse the author is. It makes it hard to know who’s talking at times, and there is as little description as possible.
To the point that.
The sentences sound.
Annoyingly short sometimes.
About what they mean.
It would be a huge help to have more scene setting and, more importantly, a more descriptive touch when the MC’s are interacting outside of work. In the first book, there’s a scene where Daniel comes out of the shower and pretty much tells Mal “let’s have sex” and then Mal crosses some sort of distance (‘cause he wasn’t in the bathroom with Daniel) and begins passionately (I’m imagining) kissing Daniel. I don’t know where Mal was beforehand, so I don’t know if he crossed the room, or if he crossed the short distance separating them, or if he came in from the hallway, or dropped down from the ceiling, or was beamed in from the Mother Ship and landed right in front of Daniel. I don’t know anything throughout the scene that doesn’t fall within “the least possible words you can use to describe a sex scene.” Honestly, you need more than an outline to define any level of intimacy successfully, whether it’s kissing, stroking, head patting, or full-on sex. I don't need (or want) a detailed blow-by-blow that goes on for pages, but would love more flow than "kiss-go to bedroom-have a hand job-go to sleep". And it’s not like these two characters don’t have chemistry because, despite the lack of details, there’s just enough there to feel a real connection (actually, I’m not sure why I feel so strongly about these two being a really physically passionate couple with the few clues I have to go on. Maybe it was the phone sex scene, which didn’t need a lot of details and clearly conveyed their connection with a minimum of verbiage/explanation. Because that really was a fairly sexy interaction, vs. a tersely described action that includes sex.)
Another issue is about segues, or the lack thereof; apparently they were ritually sacrificed on the alter of terseness . As an example of “segue, segue, who has my segue? I know I left the darned thing around here somewhere”, the biggest, boldest WTF moment due to lack of segue is at the beginning of the book where we read Mal saying:
The herky-jerky nature of segues (or lack thereof) and clarity on who’s talking, what the setting is, time of day, etc. also makes it hard to follow the plot in the twisty bits. The plots so far have had a heavy interweaving of a range of characters and their experiences, which is great, but it would be even better if I could be given enough data to envision what’s going on.
These are mainly stylistic quibbles, but if the writing could flow better, I’d enjoy the books even more. Because really, I DO enjoy them and I DO like Mal and Daniel, and I will keep reading the series to find out how the relationship plays out.
Recommended as a mm romance, subgenre police procedural (or vice versa, it’s about a even dose of the two) that is worth the while if you can allow the author some growing pains.
May 11, 2023
I’m in the middle of a re-read of the series because there is something about this book series that is haunting. Maybe it’s the Welsh dampness seeping in, but the setting and murder/conspiracy plot lines are downright creepy. Then you have the caring, intuitive Daniel and his overflowing love for his brooding boss, Mal. Mal may forever be in the category of undeserving because he does love his secrets and when will he ever not feel torn between Daniel and city life?
August 28, 2024
I’m not leaving this series any time soon
A third outing for Daniel and Mal and the detecting just got a lot more intriguing. On the face of it this seems like a non event, both to the detectives and the reader. But as the story unfolds and the investigation progresses, things start to become a lot more interesting as an equity release scheme isn’t quite what it appears to be.
An unsuspicious death involving equity release doesn’t seem enough to spark the interest of DI Owen but quite early on his spidey sense starts to tingle and he decides to look into things a little more deeply. And of course Ripley Hayes uses this non-event to take us on an exploration of some of the poor rental housing that some of the most vulnerable in society have to face. As well as a look into the shadier side of the landlords and letting agencies who have such a strong control over this market. With the inclusion of Mal’s voice to the author’s narrative, we get an opportunity to explore his new undercover mission in Manchester, as well as his relationship with his estranged family and of course his growing love for Daniel.
These new additions to this series by the author, have helped keep it feeling fresh and alive. In some detective series, such as Valor and Doyle, I find that new books to a series just feel like another “story outing”. That the creative edge and newness to them appear lost in episodic story telling. With this series, there is a freshness to each book that I really hope continues throughout the series. They definitely make these books hard to put down. Even though the story telling is simple and slower than most, with a definite leaning more towards cosy mystery than detective fiction, the various story and character threads make you turn each page with eagerness as you follow the path the author lays before you.
As in the previous books the Welsh town plays it part as a fitting backdrop to Ripley’s writing, but we also get a peak into Manchester life as well, as the story flits between Mal and Daniel’s cases, the contrast between the two detectives worlds foreshadowing something yet to come. But along the way we do get some great new characters added to the mix, as well with the welcome return of certain strong minded social worker who we met in the previous book.
And as in the previous book we see the investigation slowly unravel as we follow Daniel’s point of view as he works through all the clues to try to discover how everything fits together. However this time we have Mal’s view point and his own investigation, and this adds another welcome dimension. We see two different detectives at work and two very different approaches to solving crime. I was unsure about getting Mal’s point of view, having just heard Daniel’s voice until now, but it really works. What didn’t work so much for me were the last few chapters. Contrasting with the slower pace of the main story telling, the last few chapters were an information dump covering a large time period in order to get to Huw and Rhi’s wedding. It felt very rushed and the uncertainty of where Daniel and Mal’s relationship was going was hastily brushed over. I guess that will be picked up in book 4. And that’s where I’m heading now, because despite the tiny issues I have with this book I’m really keen to see where Ripley Hayes takes this series next.
A third outing for Daniel and Mal and the detecting just got a lot more intriguing. On the face of it this seems like a non event, both to the detectives and the reader. But as the story unfolds and the investigation progresses, things start to become a lot more interesting as an equity release scheme isn’t quite what it appears to be.
An unsuspicious death involving equity release doesn’t seem enough to spark the interest of DI Owen but quite early on his spidey sense starts to tingle and he decides to look into things a little more deeply. And of course Ripley Hayes uses this non-event to take us on an exploration of some of the poor rental housing that some of the most vulnerable in society have to face. As well as a look into the shadier side of the landlords and letting agencies who have such a strong control over this market. With the inclusion of Mal’s voice to the author’s narrative, we get an opportunity to explore his new undercover mission in Manchester, as well as his relationship with his estranged family and of course his growing love for Daniel.
These new additions to this series by the author, have helped keep it feeling fresh and alive. In some detective series, such as Valor and Doyle, I find that new books to a series just feel like another “story outing”. That the creative edge and newness to them appear lost in episodic story telling. With this series, there is a freshness to each book that I really hope continues throughout the series. They definitely make these books hard to put down. Even though the story telling is simple and slower than most, with a definite leaning more towards cosy mystery than detective fiction, the various story and character threads make you turn each page with eagerness as you follow the path the author lays before you.
As in the previous books the Welsh town plays it part as a fitting backdrop to Ripley’s writing, but we also get a peak into Manchester life as well, as the story flits between Mal and Daniel’s cases, the contrast between the two detectives worlds foreshadowing something yet to come. But along the way we do get some great new characters added to the mix, as well with the welcome return of certain strong minded social worker who we met in the previous book.
And as in the previous book we see the investigation slowly unravel as we follow Daniel’s point of view as he works through all the clues to try to discover how everything fits together. However this time we have Mal’s view point and his own investigation, and this adds another welcome dimension. We see two different detectives at work and two very different approaches to solving crime. I was unsure about getting Mal’s point of view, having just heard Daniel’s voice until now, but it really works. What didn’t work so much for me were the last few chapters. Contrasting with the slower pace of the main story telling, the last few chapters were an information dump covering a large time period in order to get to Huw and Rhi’s wedding. It felt very rushed and the uncertainty of where Daniel and Mal’s relationship was going was hastily brushed over. I guess that will be picked up in book 4. And that’s where I’m heading now, because despite the tiny issues I have with this book I’m really keen to see where Ripley Hayes takes this series next.
August 16, 2022
A Welsh Jekyll & Hyde
Mal and Daniel are definitely a force to be reckoned with, but a scheme orchestrated by a Manchester Jekyll & Hyde promises to challenge both men. Wade can be a conman, but to many in Manchester he brings promise of renewal to the city as he renovates and restores old buildings. Little does Mal and Daniel realize that recent deaths and housing schemes have a link to Manchester. Called on to assist police in Manchester, Mal leaves home and Daniel to fend for himself as he tries to unravel problems surrounding several mysterious deaths and a growing problem with rentals that are anything but livable. As time tells, it soon becomes apparent to Mal and then Daniel that despite the distance between them, they are still tied together. Another great mystery and definitely nothing run of the mill about it!
Mal and Daniel are definitely a force to be reckoned with, but a scheme orchestrated by a Manchester Jekyll & Hyde promises to challenge both men. Wade can be a conman, but to many in Manchester he brings promise of renewal to the city as he renovates and restores old buildings. Little does Mal and Daniel realize that recent deaths and housing schemes have a link to Manchester. Called on to assist police in Manchester, Mal leaves home and Daniel to fend for himself as he tries to unravel problems surrounding several mysterious deaths and a growing problem with rentals that are anything but livable. As time tells, it soon becomes apparent to Mal and then Daniel that despite the distance between them, they are still tied together. Another great mystery and definitely nothing run of the mill about it!
April 7, 2024
Another excellent police procedural in this developing series effectively combining MM romance and suspense.
Mal has moved in with Daniel, and as a professional compromise, is outsourced to Manchester police, leaving Daniel effectively in charge. While Daniel is investigating suspicious deaths locally connected with a possible property scam, Mal is undercover to hook a major city criminal.
It was great to get Mal's point of view as well as Daniel's in this story, as he is the more complex and less open character. By this stage, the reader can really see how these two mesh together, as well as possible future points of contention.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way the apparently disparate strands of various investigations gradually tied together with increasing tension and a sense of danger. A cracking read. On to book 4!
Mal has moved in with Daniel, and as a professional compromise, is outsourced to Manchester police, leaving Daniel effectively in charge. While Daniel is investigating suspicious deaths locally connected with a possible property scam, Mal is undercover to hook a major city criminal.
It was great to get Mal's point of view as well as Daniel's in this story, as he is the more complex and less open character. By this stage, the reader can really see how these two mesh together, as well as possible future points of contention.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way the apparently disparate strands of various investigations gradually tied together with increasing tension and a sense of danger. A cracking read. On to book 4!
April 12, 2023
I like this series more with every additional book. I was a bit hesitant about this volume because the situation Mal finds himself in stresses me out. He has already been forced to deal with questionable actions by fellow law enforcement, and this new situation is equally tense. Despite my reservations, I was already hooked on the author's style of storytelling so I needed to keep going. I am so very glad that I did.
I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. I had some suspicions about who and why, but the resolution still had some surprises which I appreciate in a mystery.
Daniel and Mal's relationship is a part of the story, and their dynamic continues to evolve as they work together. I appreciate how the relationship is a part of the story, but the core of the story is s still about catching the bad guys.
I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. I had some suspicions about who and why, but the resolution still had some surprises which I appreciate in a mystery.
Daniel and Mal's relationship is a part of the story, and their dynamic continues to evolve as they work together. I appreciate how the relationship is a part of the story, but the core of the story is s still about catching the bad guys.
November 14, 2023
Two different places
Daniel is caught up with maybe murders, no one is sure and it all stems from properly investment and building fraud, poverty dumps and money laundering. Mal is sent undercover working in Manchester as a crooked cop. His mission is bringing down very powerful criminals. One using guns the other using charm and his brain. Most unusual is that they are very much connected and its up to Mal and Daniel to bring them down. In their small town in Whales they have a great team, great detectives who go out of their way to make things right. They have Mal and Daniel's back and they will help them.
Daniel is caught up with maybe murders, no one is sure and it all stems from properly investment and building fraud, poverty dumps and money laundering. Mal is sent undercover working in Manchester as a crooked cop. His mission is bringing down very powerful criminals. One using guns the other using charm and his brain. Most unusual is that they are very much connected and its up to Mal and Daniel to bring them down. In their small town in Whales they have a great team, great detectives who go out of their way to make things right. They have Mal and Daniel's back and they will help them.
April 27, 2024
In the meantime I've devoured the whole series. And I love it. I wish there were more books. The author creates interesting, complex crimes, well interwoven in the whole setting. In addition the MCs go through several personal developments, each on their own and as a couple. The writing is excellent, the atmosphere is spot on, the people are all real individual characters, each side character well fleshed out. Even the fact that sometimes not all crimes get punished as you wish as a reader fits perfectly in the whole setting.
Very satisfying read, love the romance as well as the crime plots. Higly recommended series.
Very satisfying read, love the romance as well as the crime plots. Higly recommended series.
November 16, 2021
oooooof. I think we’re meant to read that ending as HFN, as I spose it technically is, but I don’t have a good feeling about it—especially considering Sasha’s comment about Mal probably leaving Daniel again before he figures out what he wants. I’d kind of hoped that would come to pass in this one but it didn’t, so now we’ve got that hammer ready to fall on the next.
mystery-wise this one’s the weakest of the three so far, tho that played well into the thematic choices and meta plot. I can’t decide if it was worth it or not.
mystery-wise this one’s the weakest of the three so far, tho that played well into the thematic choices and meta plot. I can’t decide if it was worth it or not.
April 9, 2022
A warm mystery and the development of a solid relationship
I really enjoyed the mystery in this one. While Mal and Daniel were off in separate cities attempting to solve separate crimes, I enjoyed the threads that brought them together. I also really enjoyed seeing them work out the kinks in their relationship by actually talking though and confronting some of the things they hadn’t been saying - especially on Mal’s part. I think there is a lot more that needs to be tackled and that’s definitely why I’ll be diving right back into this series.
I really enjoyed the mystery in this one. While Mal and Daniel were off in separate cities attempting to solve separate crimes, I enjoyed the threads that brought them together. I also really enjoyed seeing them work out the kinks in their relationship by actually talking though and confronting some of the things they hadn’t been saying - especially on Mal’s part. I think there is a lot more that needs to be tackled and that’s definitely why I’ll be diving right back into this series.
February 10, 2024
まずミステリーというより警察小説として、わたしはとても面白く読みました。点と点が線で繋がって絵になるカタルシスももちろんですが、イギリスとアメリカ、それに日本の警察機構の違いとか共通点がとても興味深いです。イギリスの警察は日本よりも銃を携行しないんだ、とか知りませんでした。あと不動産取引から見える高齢社会とか、前作の気候変動もでしたが、押し付けがましくなく、けどしっかり物語に埋め込まれてるのがよいです。
で、Daniel とMalです。Malが43歳で、Danielはちょっと下ですかね。ほんとにグズグズで最高。
とくにエリートで出世頭の切れ者MalがDanielとは絶対離れたくないのに、そうするとWales（彼にとってイコール家族との確���）に直面しないといけなくて、怯えて事態をややこしくするのがとてもよいです。とても好みが分かれると思いますが…Art of Murder シリーズのSamに近い造形ですが、Samより欠けてるものが多くて不完全なのが好み。
Danielも清廉で強い人だけど、今作で自分のなかの制御できない憎悪とか、Malへの不必要なほどのためらいであるとか、アンバランスがいいです。
あと英語が読みやすいです。たぶんどんどんと巻を追うごとに叙述もよくなってる気がするので次巻も楽しみです。
で、Daniel とMalです。Malが43歳で、Danielはちょっと下ですかね。ほんとにグズグズで最高。
とくにエリートで出世頭の切れ者MalがDanielとは絶対離れたくないのに、そうするとWales（彼にとってイコール家族との確���）に直面しないといけなくて、怯えて事態をややこしくするのがとてもよいです。とても好みが分かれると思いますが…Art of Murder シリーズのSamに近い造形ですが、Samより欠けてるものが多くて不完全なのが好み。
Danielも清廉で強い人だけど、今作で自分のなかの制御できない憎悪とか、Malへの不必要なほどのためらいであるとか、アンバランスがいいです。
あと英語が読みやすいです。たぶんどんどんと巻を追うごとに叙述もよくなってる気がするので次巻も楽しみです。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2021
I am liking the series, Mal and Daniel are generally much more comfortable with each other though there are still areas where Mal reverts to type and runs. This is all learned behaviour from his family and the S Wales police experience.
The mystery in this one starts off as Daniel in N Wales and Mal in Manchester but somehow ends up being connected by more than themselves, and danger again!!!
Liked that eventually Mal gets some of his family back and seems more at ease with the rest.
The mystery in this one starts off as Daniel in N Wales and Mal in Manchester but somehow ends up being connected by more than themselves, and danger again!!!
Liked that eventually Mal gets some of his family back and seems more at ease with the rest.
October 18, 2021
The book was a little slow out the gate but once all the characters were introduced and things started moving, it was a page turner. The plot was solid, the action well written, and plenty of character development for the major characters. I'm looking forward to more of Sophie.
June 30, 2022
Needed more
I liked that they are still together and it’s working out. I like that there was a little character development. I enjoyed the addition of new characters. I didn’t enjoy the flimsy plots and their connection, but I know it was needed to tie the two characters together in the end. I was also looking for more to happen, even though I don’t know what that could’ve been. Still good and enjoyable.
I liked that they are still together and it’s working out. I like that there was a little character development. I enjoyed the addition of new characters. I didn’t enjoy the flimsy plots and their connection, but I know it was needed to tie the two characters together in the end. I was also looking for more to happen, even though I don’t know what that could’ve been. Still good and enjoyable.
April 20, 2023
Each book in this series gets better and another enjoyable m/m story of the two policemen who are the main characters. There is plenty of action regarding the police elements of this mystery with tentacles which reach between the North Wales fictional town and Manchester where Mal has been seconded from Clwyd Police.
Great read and very enjoyable and good reading with its share of excitement/suspense. I fully recommend this book.
Great read and very enjoyable and good reading with its share of excitement/suspense. I fully recommend this book.
July 29, 2023
I like the cases more than the relationship with Daniel and Mal.
Mal is exhibiting dick behavior.
So Hector and Sasha? I’m not interested in that pairing. I never care about het relationships in my m/m reading. Plus it seems like a cop out to pair Hector with a ‘safe’ woman after being in a violent relationship with a man.
I think Sasha and Rhiannon should have stayed in book one as oddball witnesses.
Mal is exhibiting dick behavior.
So Hector and Sasha? I’m not interested in that pairing. I never care about het relationships in my m/m reading. Plus it seems like a cop out to pair Hector with a ‘safe’ woman after being in a violent relationship with a man.
I think Sasha and Rhiannon should have stayed in book one as oddball witnesses.
March 5, 2022
Excellent series
The best things about this series is the excellent sense of place (small town in Wales) and the balance of mystery and relationships. Daniel and Mal are a great couple winding their way through normal couple stuff and they have a great family and work crew around them.
The best things about this series is the excellent sense of place (small town in Wales) and the balance of mystery and relationships. Daniel and Mal are a great couple winding their way through normal couple stuff and they have a great family and work crew around them.
March 26, 2024
Yet again, I was left in a surprising state of suspense toward the end. The story kinda meanders along for a while and then everything comes together - Mal is spending time in Manchester doing things he's NOT telling Daniel about, and Daniel is doing things in Wales that he IS telling Mal about. And Megan has a bit to say about that ! Enjoying the series thus far :-)
September 21, 2024
These books have now hit their stride. This story is solid and complex with more POV's from other characters and more focus on the mystery, rather than Mal and Daniel. Which is fine because their relationship is still bubbling along but is not as angsty as it was and is settling into a steady constant around which the mystery can be wrapped. Good stuff.
May 1, 2021
Appreciate the Welsh setting
Plotting is getting stronger as this series continues. I feel same as Megan does about Mal; I’m not sure I like him. Perhaps he becomes more likable in the future. Looking forward to next book due out this summer.
Plotting is getting stronger as this series continues. I feel same as Megan does about Mal; I’m not sure I like him. Perhaps he becomes more likable in the future. Looking forward to next book due out this summer.
January 24, 2024
More than gay mysteries
I approached Ridley Hayes' novels as advertised, gay mysteries. Yes, the relationship of Daniel and Kent grounds the series, but what didn’t expect was the quality of the plots, story after story. That is what keeps me coming back.
I approached Ridley Hayes' novels as advertised, gay mysteries. Yes, the relationship of Daniel and Kent grounds the series, but what didn’t expect was the quality of the plots, story after story. That is what keeps me coming back.
April 11, 2024
I'm ever so glad that Mal is fully on board with Daniel by the end of this one! I'm sure they'll have ups and downs to come, but for now, at least, I'm content. Excellent mystery with a great resolution.
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