A Teachable Moment

Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries #6

by Ripley Hayes

(Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0B6RZFR36.)

Husband-hunting can be fatal…

As a favour to their friend Sasha, Daniel and Mal are looking for the husband she fled so she can get a divorce and marry again. Instead of a husband, they find a mystery that could see Daniel charged with murder.

It turns out the husband wasn’t who he said he was, and anyway he’s dead. So who is living in the former marital home, and why is Daniel attacked after they visit? Then one of the people they’ve talked to is murdered, and the body is dumped on Daniel’s doorstep. Daniel is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the local police have him in the frame for the killing.

Sasha’s husband was keeping secrets, and someone wants those secrets buried deeper than a nuclear bunker. If Daniel an Mal insist on digging up the past, they risk being buried too.

Genres: M M Romance, Crime, M M Mystery, Romance, LGBT, Mystery, British Literature

249 pages, ebook

First published July 31, 2022

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

In reality, I should give it only 2, except that I have to come to love this series and the MCs so much that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. However, I had real problems with this installment

There are two things about this book that made me nuts:
1. The Plot
2. The dancing around of a potential break up between Mal and Daniel

I’ll deal with the plot first, because that was easier to get past and honestly, some readers might have zero issues with it and I don’t want to cause folks to not read the book. Spoilers to follow because this plot is so effed up and hare brained I can’t even comment on it without talking specifics.


The main thrust of the plot is that Sasha and Hector want to get married so they can adopt Cerys (and because they really do love each other). We find out the backstory on Sasha’s ex and, short story long, she is unsure if her ex is still alive and/or if he is truly married to her, as he was a completely secretive control freak (albeit in the nicest way) and Sasha is uncertain about whether she was ever really married to him as she never saw the marriage certificate. Because Mal and Daniel are such good friends with Hector (and thus Sasha), they take it upon themselves to see if they can track down this elusive ex under the guise of a week off to visit the environs of Kent. Sarah is completely aware of this and in fact, is always on pins and needles waiting to hear what they find out.

This whole plotline is a complete non-starter because we then find out that not only was Sasha in touch with her ex after she officially left him, but she and her sister forced a confrontation with him, wherein Rhi approached him in camo and threatened him with a fake gun – in public, mind you – at which point the ex falls down and hits his head. Rhi flees the scene with Sasha (who was not part of the actual confrontation) and Sasha is now convinced that a) her ex might be dead from injury and b) she would be culpable for what happened.

Unfortunately, Sasha and Rhi don’t tell Daniel and/or Mal ANY of this up front, which means they spend all kinds of time and energy finding out that this confrontation took place and that the ex did in fact die from head injury. However, the head injury that killed him was NOT caused by the fall, but rather by someone bashing him in the head with a blunt instrument after he fell. Which was determined when Hector called the coroner involved and got the coroner’s report.

There’s a whole crapload of small arms dealings and neo-Nazi organizations involved as well, but seriously? None of it mattered to me because I could not get past the fact that Sasha and Rhi had Mal and Daniel spinning their wheels to find out what happened while somehow believing they could keep their part in the final confrontation hidden. I mean – W.T.A.F., you know?? This was so incredibly unbelievable, not to mention stupid, that it made the whole story pointless. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, we also had both sisters doing incredibly stupid things for no good reason (Rhi confronting the ex; Sasha going back to a farmhouse full of armed neo-Nazis for NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER and somehow managing to pull Daniel along for the ride), things that make me rethink why these two idiots are going to be allowed to remain part of Dan and Mal’s inner circle. And finally, where the f(*& was Hector during all of this? Oh, he was doing his job and not knowing about how much Mal and Daniel were involved because Sasha decided not to tell him. Which makes NO sense, especially as Hector is the one who was able to confirm the ex was dead and that it was NOT due to Rhi’s freaking stupid bout of vigilantism and would have kept Daniel and Mal out of physical danger.

I am extremely hopeful that the author has gotten this 'need to include the side characters in the main plot even though it makes no sense whatsoever' out of their system.

The next book in the series feels like it might take a very different route and I hope that’s true. I personally don’t need anymore disclosure of family skeletons at this point, especially if they are being forcefully torqued into a murder mystery. Between Daniel's ex and now this, the whole point of this series could use a reset.



So as you can tell, I didn’t care for the plot, but that wasn’t the worst bit for me. The worst bit was how the author casually dangled a possible break-up between Daniel and Mal through the first part of the book, which added insult to the injury already being incurred due to the plot.
I am really invested in these two MC’s as a couple. If they are going to have issues (which makes sense), then those issues need to be treated more realistically. This story starts with Mal being a complete asshole to Daniel because he has a family issue he doesn’t want to talk to Daniel about. Again, spoilers are necessary.


In this book, we are meant to believe that, upon getting a letter from his sister telling Mal that their father is dying, with said sister taking care to load the message with a whopping great dollop of guilt, blame and blind ignorance as to the realities of how Mal was treated by his father and the family, that Mal Doesn’t. Tell. Daniel.

OK, first of all, why didn’t he? There are some mental rumblings by Mal that make me think the author was aiming for Mal being too ashamed/embarrassed to tell Daniel because Daniel has a perfect family and perfect friends and this would keep Mal from exposing his – what? Family background that Daniel already knows about? Pain and embarrassment that, of all the people in the world, you would want to have mitigated by the person who knows you best and loves you most? Illogical and sudden resentment that Daniel doesn’t have a toxic family? It makes no sense. Ah, but that’s not bad enough. While Mal is not telling Daniel, guess who he does tell? FREAKING Bethan. Because it makes so much more sense to expose the worst parts of your family background to a co-worker you aren’t even particularly close to. THEN Mal goes and talks to his brother (which does make sense) and his sister-in-law (which does NOT) rather than talk to Daniel. At which point his sister-in-law informs Mal that he is being an idiot for not telling Daniel.

This is all so crazy-making I could hardly stand it. In previous books, Daniel has been the more emotional partner, quicker to anger, quicker to be emotionally hurt, and way more sensitive to upsets within the relationship. Mal has been portrayed as realizing that what matters most is Daniel, and NOT engaging in unnecessary emotional repercussions if possible. I think the author is attempting to do some role swapping here, with Mal being an emotional mess and making really stupid decisions while Daniel is the cool-headed one, but it doesn’t work for me. In fact, Daniel comes off as almost blasé about the whole thing, i.e.:

”There was something wrong with Mal. He just didn’t know what it was, and Mal had subject-changing down to a fine art. Daniel turned the ring Mal had given him round and round on his finger. Was Mal having second thoughts about getting married? He was going to have to find out, but not right now.”

He (Daniel) didn’t understand why Mal wanted to leave, and he didn’t know when he planned to return. It felt like he was losing his lover, and what made it worse was that he didn’t know why.


And this exchange when Mal finally tells Daniel what’s going on:

“I didn’t leave to come and see Bethan, though I’d like to help her. She is struggling; not with the job, but with her self-confidence. We all know she can do the job. She could do mine; better than me probably. I wish someone would. I’m not doing police work any more, I’m just pushing paper.”

“Maldwyn.”

“Sorry.” Mal took a breath. Just say it. “I’m here because my dad is in the hospice. He’s got cancer and he hasn’t got long. I got a letter from my sister Branwen, saying I should go and see him.”
“That’ll be the dad who threw you out onto the streets, then? Who you haven’t seen for what, twenty-five years? Who hasn’t made any attempt to get in touch with you, not even to say hello at Huw’s wedding?”

“That’s the one.”

“That’s a horrible decision to have to make. Did you go to see him?”

“No. And I won’t. Dad hasn’t asked me to visit. It’s only Branwen doing her big sister act. He’s not going to change, and if he does, he’s got the phone. But it all came back… all those years I spent trying to keep out of his way, but I kept thinking that perhaps I should go. I haven’t been able to think about much else to be honest. I might have seemed a bit pre-occupied.”

“Yes, love, you have. Just a tiny bit. And then you tried to blame me, and you spurned my sexual advances after I had arranged a holiday full of your favourite things. But I’m not bitter.” There was a pause and Mal heard Daniel take a sip of his wine. “I’m sorry, Maldwyn. I’m teasing you. I can imagine how awful it must be.”

And just like that, everything between the two is completely OK again. Meanwhile, I’m ready to fling my Kindle across the room because I was having more of an emotional reaction than either of the two MC’s.

IF there’s going to be a meaningful plot line played out based on conflict between the two MC’s, then make it meaningful. Imagine if Mal had told Daniel right away and then Mal continued to act like a jerk because he was unable to reconcile the concept of not allowing his family’s toxicity to take him down into their swamp with what the heteronormative world (other family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances) expects a “good” child to do. For Mal to work through this with Daniel would have made an amazing storyline and added yet another layer of depth to their relationship – I would have loved it if the author had explored it to at least some degree. Daniel and Mal have moved on from casual attraction to being integral parts of each other’s lives and that is part of what makes these books so much richer overall. I think about Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series and how well those books work the MC’s relationship (which can definitely head right into train wreck territory) into the overall fabric of whatever else is being dealt with so that the relationship is germane to the plot and vice versa.

Extra negative points from me for the following:

1) Allowing the scene where Hector keeps Mal, who is completely smashed, from driving, without revisiting it. In fact, we are told that Hector has this thought:

You’re a senior police officer. You were about to drive a car while you were so far over the limit that you couldn’t walk straight.

I found that intensely disturbing, particularly since it was never revisited.

2) The whole Bethan thing. Not only is she displaying how woefully unfit she is for the promotion, her whole sexual/emotional attraction to Mal is so utterly inappropriate in a work environment that it makes my flesh crawl. Not to mention she’s married. When the author has a scene where her son calls her out on it (but in an amused way, which is just another level of wrong), you know she’s gone beyond the pale. I find it highly problematic and honestly, Mal needs to confront her about it.

[PaperMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would not be a Daniel Owen title without some big emotional drama between our 2 MCs but at least the emotional tensions did not hijack a rather interesting investigative cold-case plot personally affecting quite a few of Daniel and Mal's close circle of friends/family. Further development of some PD secondary characters rounded out one of the better books of this series.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't seem to matter what Daniel does, he gets dragged into police matters. Mal and Dan are in Kent to try to find Sasha's ex husband so she can get a divorce and marry Hector. However, things don't quite go to plan.
A really good mystery which I thought was going to interweave with the murders in Wales. Not sure if there is going to be an 8th book, but I'd like one.

One point I have to add and it caused me to take away a star. My friends and I who read MM books read them for the MM, we do not want some random MF sex in the books. For me MF is completely unwanted in my books.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brillant. I love the unique writing in this. Different Povs and jumping the timeline. Kept me on my toes.
The mystery was ok, good twists -I just thought the whole involvement of both sisters wasn't totally believable.
Mal and Daniel just work together so well I still can't get over the fact Daniel is changing careers 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Dot · Rating 5 out of 5]

What begins as a favor for a friend, turns into a deepening mystery that ensnares Daniel and Mal as they attempt to unravel it. So many twists and turns, with each new reveal upping the suspense and intrigue.

While working through this maddening puzzle, Daniel and Mal can no longer avoid the brewing issues between them. Mal’s discontent at work and pressing family problems cause him to isolate from Daniel, pushing him away.

As they dig deeper into this case, their ease in working together resurfaces. There’s a satisfying connection between them as they work the process of investigative pursuit. Yes, violence still repels Daniel, but not the work of sourcing connections, researching data, and dissecting case details. I don’t think Daniel is as through with being a detective as he thought he was.

Perhaps if there was a consulting role with local police, Daniel would have an analytical outlet for his skills, while he and Mal would again have a connecting bond in their professional lives.

Hands down, this is one of my favorite books in the series. I highly recommend it.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Daniel Owen…

… so I’m thrilled to report that number 7 in the series is as good as the rest of the series! You could read A Teachable Moment as a stand alone, but you should read the series if you have not already, because it’s so cleverly constructed on a colorful Wales background.
And you can’t help but fall in love with Daniel, and his lover Maldwyn. It was riveting to see the development of their relationship, unlikely as it was 7 books ago in the beginning, and now solid, despite the changes in their lives.
A lovely book.

[RE Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so thrilled to see another Daniel/Mal mystery. I enjoyed seeing Sasha's past here, and the complications were intriguing, as always. I was also (again) somewhat horrified by the British law enforcement system, which seems weak and overly bureaucratic compared to the US. But I love the setting, and I could easily spend many more hours with Daniel and Mal. I hope Hayes keeps it going. :)

[ML · Rating 1 out of 5]

This installment was a bit different than the others because a person in Daniel and Mal’s circle was the mystery. Sasha wants to get married but must get a divorce from her 1st husband first before she can marry Pathologist, Hector. Chaos ensues.

NGL, the Bethan thread of the story was SO asinine that it made me hate this author a little bit. After 7 books, you’d think that you wouldn’t need cheap plot points to move a story forward. It felt very Days of Our Lives. BLECH.

In the beginning,Mal was a bit of a wank in this one too. Daniel is my fave and Mal really isn’t.

I’m 75% in and I’m completely soured on this series. I was going to recommend it to my group but now I think not. Ugh. 7 books and I’m completely annoyed at how all the main characters acted. SO BAD.

Got to the end and tbh I wished I had not read it. The tie up was so troublesome and illogical. AND now I’ll pretend this book doesn’t exist. All the secondary characters were ruined for me and Daniel and Mal are dead 💀 to me now. They can’t communicate properly with one another. I give their marriage a few years.

Read to book 6 and then stop. Yes, it’s that bad.

[SebFox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Threads of time and storylines are woven together into an emerging mystery that Daniel and Mal have to deal with while on holiday in Kent. As always Ripley Hayes draws out character insight as she plunders Sasha’s backstory in this next chapter of the Daniel Owen mysteries. But it’s the view we get of the side characters: Bethan, Charlie and Rhiannon, that proves the most enlightening.

There is also quite a bit of “setting up” that takes place here with the introduction of Mal’a ex Paul and a new police officer John Bean, as well as Charlie Rees being edged further towards the exit in readiness for his own new series. But in the hands of Ripley Hayes non of this seems forced as it all flows seamlessly in the unfolding plot and in the exploration of Charlie’s character.

However, as in the other books, the ending feels a little rushed. But by the “ending” I don’t me the big finale when the mystery is solved, I mean those personal story threads of Sasha and Hector, Bethan and her self confidence, and of course Daniel and Mal’s “time away from crime”. We never get enough time to enjoy those moments as the author rapidly brings things to a close, quickly blurting out “… and they all lived happily ever after”. And that’s such a shame as most of us who have made it up to book 7 really want all that stuff as much as we want the mystery element.

But still, I can’t fault an author who continues to deliver an excellent crime thriller that brims with original ideas that still feel fresh and exciting to read. We get the usual subtle Ripley Hayes humour sprinkled throughout the book and plenty of “awww” moments with Flora the dog. I hope book 8 doesn’t prove to be the last as I still feel there’s more to tell. For starters, we never got to read much about “Daniel the teacher”, despite what this title hinted at. Now isn’t that a reason to keep this series going.

4.25 Stars

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great read from Ripley Haynes

Really enjoyed this book, all the usual characters were there and the story was split between Wales and Kent. Daniel and Mal are such a great partnership and fingers crossed for book 8.

[Gareth Jones-Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one yet

[Vintage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced with a side of angst

I adore this mystery series with Mal and Daniel and the awesome original setting of Wales. Hope there are many more of these to come!

[Wayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the poorest written books I've ever read. I found A Teachable Moment annoying and embarrassing for the author.

Right off the bat we are faced with a then/now manner in which the story is told. Flashbacks if you will - that happened then, this happens now. I've encountered this in serious literary fiction. While not my favorite style of telling a story, the talent of these writers is such that the interest level is high enough to where I am not so put off that I find this pretentious way of telling a story too off-putting. Ms. Hayes does not publish with a major publishing house which attests to the limitations of her writing skills . Attempting to tell a story by switching back and forth in time is unfortunately something that she is not capable of carrying off as a writer.

Adding to this negative is her depiction of male gay men. If there is a crisis the characters face, it is solved by having sex. Evidently Hayes is incapable of realizing this way of presenting her characters buys into a certain prejudicial point of view that gay men are only interested in one thing: sex and that this makes them threats to a decent society. As a gay man, I find this attitude insulting and infuriating. For a female writing about gay men to include graphic sex scenes makes me wonder if she includes scenes like this only to garner additional sales from those people who buy books for that particular type of scene.

Sprinkled throughout the book are missing words and instances where there are double double words in sentences. Do do you you know know what what I I am am referring referring to to?? If there was an attempt at proof reading it was inadequate.

Finally, there is the mystery itself. The mystery was so disjointed in its presentation, I never developed enough of an interest in what was going on to care how the mystery was solved. And, when it was finally put to rest, the outcome was lacking in energy, momentum and interest. Sadly, this did not redeem the rest of the poor writing the reader suffers as they make their way through this book.

A Teachable Moment by Ripley Hayes is poorly written. The presentation of gay men is troubling and an interesting story line is missing. For me, this was a book I should have been paid to read rather than one I had pay to read. Stay away from this book and be careful in any consideration to reading books this author writes.

[Cheezie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading this series over the course of a long weekend and have grown to love Daniel, Mal and their friends. The stories are cozy-ish and the I enjoy the descriptions of the Welsh countryside.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. I'm not sure I'm as interested in Daniel the teaching assistant as I was in Daniel the DI. The jury is out.

In this book we have several plot strings that frustratingly go nowhere or are dropped without discussion. Does Bethan have a crush on Mal? We get some chapters from Bethan's POV which hint that she has feelings for Mal. Rhi even reads some of Mal's text messages from her (sorry, but I'm pretty sure a cop would password protect his phone!) and says they sound flirty. This never is explored.
Why didn't Mal tell Daniel about the letter about his dying father? He tells Bethan and Huw/Rhiannon but not Daniel. His excuse is that Daniel wouldn't understand. Lame. He almost drives drunk, brushes off Daniel's concern and then has rough sex with Daniel before ditching him in the middle of their holiday. Why did Daniel forgive Mal so quickly about his deceptiveness? It makes him out to be a doormat!

I loved the characters of Rhi and Sasha in previous books but found them unpleasant in this one. Sasha is in a "controlling" relationship that she flees. But then she kind of goes back to the guy...but doesn't want to stay. Rhi and Sasha end up stalking and harassing the ex.

Sasha wants to marry Hector so asks Daniel & Mal to talk to Piers (the ex) and have him sign divorce papers. She only gives them part of the story which made NO SENSE to me. Dan & Mal are not only her friends, but police officers. Why lie to them?? In the end, I felt sorry for Piers which I'm pretty sure wasn't the emotion the author was trying to elicit!

The whole plot line about Duncan, neo-nazis, and undercover operations was scatty and pointless. I'm over the Cery's foster/adoption as so much of this plot line feels ridiculous and forced. Social services isn't happy but then everything is ok because Hector's family are aristocrats. Grr.

2.5 stars

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is somewhat different from the previous books. Daniel and Mal are asked to help out their friend Sasha and unknowingly open a can of worms that might have been better of staying closed, lol. By opening this can they are dragged into all kinds of trouble, as per usual.

The book is told from various POVs. Now that doesn't worry me in the least, but I wasn't really happy to have such a major part of the story taken up by a character that I never warmed to in the previous books. I'm sorry, but I've never liked Bethan, or her attitude towards Daniel and to have such a chunk of the book taken up by her, even though I know it was somewhat integral to the story, still grated.

I'm also definitely NOT a fan of a random m/f sex scene popping up in a book, even if the characters are well-known and somewhat beloved. It didn't add anything to the story, basically it seemed as a page-filler rather than having a vital function. That, as well as the comment above, is why this is only a 4 star for me, not a 5.

[Kate Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down. It felt like the same relationship issues replayed between Dan and Mal, although luckily they do get resolved faster than usual. But all of Sasha's decisions at the end were so so so so so so stupid and to me just didn't fall in line with her character. Yes, she is very much a "I only follow rules I agree with" type as well as the type who is impatient with red tape. But going to the lair of a neo Nazi doomsday prepper and just walking in is stupid beyond all reason when at that moment literally no one was in danger. In the previous book, searching for the location of a kidnapped child while keeping the police informed was slightly ill advised but the child was in imminent danger AND she took Dan with her. This time she lied to everyone about where she would be and then went to confront someone they knew had murdered his own wife the previous day and likely at least one other person. How did she think she was going to get him to confess??? It was just entirely unhinged and unnecessary.

[Lakerkat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mal and Daniel will have their rough patches. Communication breaks down in the most loving relationships. I like Daniel and Mal cuddly and happy and I still enjoy them during the rough parts because I like relationship angst in books.

The unintentionally hilarious part of this book is Bethan’s sudden crush feelings for Mal. WTAF?? 😧

Sasha is a liar. Her sister is a liar. Sasha let Daniel waste his holiday on bullshit and put him in danger. I didn’t waste my time reading any of her flashbacks because I don’t care about this character. Can some criminal kill her please.

Why is there het sex in my m/m mystery romance book???????

Ahhh. So this is why Charlie changes and seeks a new location. And hey Bethan, you have no grounds to lecture anyone about crushes on the boss.

Most of the things happening in this book should have been a dream. Daniel should wake up and say “Mal, you’ll never guess what I dreamed! In my dream I had this friend named Sasha and…”

[joani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most interesting of friends

They all have messed up lives and huge mistakes that back to bite them. Its starting to come together as to how Charlie gets his own series. Again Hector's mother is awesome. Daniel and Mal go on holiday and to help Sasha move on with her life with Hector by serving divorce papers to her husband. What they find is a whole lot of bad that puts everyone in danger. Mush excitement to go around for all. One quick question about Simon, why didn't the just run his/ her fingerprints? Everyone is identified by fingerprints. No one mentioned trying, they just tried to find dealers. It didn't make much sense. Charlie would have been better to fill Daniels shoes, after all Daniel is his Mentor.

[Emily Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different than previous books

I just love this series. But this book felt like a serious departure from the rest of the series. The storytelling was completely different. On the one hand the addition of more POVs from supporting characters gave us more insight into unknown dynamics and fleshed out secondary plot lines. But on the other hand it was frustrating to read. And I kept wanting to go back to the main plot. I wonder if this book is just a set up for a new era in the series. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the flashbacks. But at the end of the day, I do love the characters and the little world in Melin Twylyl that the author has created. Still a strong read!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I read the last book before I read this. I just wanted to finish up the series that I started reading years ago and I wanted to read more of Daniel Owen &Mal.

Well the summary ?
This is more about Sasha rather than Daniel. Daniel seems to be the one who is always getting hurt and spraining and getting wounded compared to the well put together Mal.

I was not so taken in the midst of the book with the interchange of POV and less of story on Daniel. However the book made up in the end. Things started to become more interesting and all round it was interesting. The conclusion and the round up was fantastic.

[Sunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Steven Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in this series. The best thing about these stories is how they flow between our main characters of Daniel and Mal and also to pick up the stories of their friends. This one sort of completes the arc that started in the last book with the connection to Sasha and the story of how she got away from her husband and came to be with Hector. The link being that she and Hector are looking to adopt Pandy's daughter following her death in the previous book. It is these links that make these stories special because they are about the community of characters. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to the next.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might be the first real miss I’ve read by Hayes. It’s oddly sprawling, with a lot of plot lines and a lot of POV’s. There are several police investigations that just end without resolution but are given way too much time on page. The ending is reliant on smart people doing stupid things for no reason. There is completely unnecessary conflict between the main characters. There is a straight sex scene, which I never, ever, ever need in my gay mystery novels. It all feels padded and formless.

[Suze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mal and Daniel still keep getting in the thick of things, even when on holiday - and all for Sasha and Hector.
Really enjoyed this installment (may have been because I read quite soon after book 6) but lots of the regular characters had roles of their own, rather than being supoort for Mal or Daniel.
We get much more history about Sasha and Arwen, largely told in the past so watch for section headers.
Hoping to get many more from these 2

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery

I enjoyed the development of some characters. The plot was good too, since it involved some back story of one of the characters. I hope there will be more books, because I want to know what happens to Charlie. I also want to see Daniel and Mal married. There wasn’t much sex in this one, but the action made up for it.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great story!

I love the Daniel Owen mysteries and they just keep getting better and better. Hayes’ style and writing have evolved over the series, and all around- from pacing to storytelling to writing - each is better than the last. I can’t wait to see what’s next for these characters!!

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each book is so different from the last. This takes a well deserved holiday for Mal and Daniel and turns it into ...... yep more murder and mahem. Mal is still needing to learn to COMMUNICATE instead of going radio silent and being obnoxious. Helping their dear friend Sasha turns out to be a little more than knocking on a door but ends in celebration. Great series

[Ellie Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting to have the investigation outside Wales for this one, although it still very much involved Daniel and Mal together with some of the regular supporting cast.

The plot was fast-paced and full of thrills and spills, although the emphasis remained on emotions and family relationships. A cracking read. Looking forward to the next one!

[K.J.Purves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this set of books . I love the different characters and stories that thread them all together. I was definitely disappointed that there were no more. So I might just read them again

[Francis J Mallalieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect conclusion!

Daniel and Mal set off to help Sasha get her husband to sign divorce documents so she can marry Hector. What ensues is dramatic, exciting and compelling.
Complex, compassionate characters that you can emote with. Plot lines both exciting and complex.