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Pat St. James Mystery #2
Task Force
Sequel to Murder Most Gay
Promoted to his own patrol beat after solving a series of anti-gay murders, Prince George County police officer Patrick St. James is happily deepening his relationship with his new lover, Dean, when more young, gay men start turning up dead. He and fellow officer Hank Capstone, now in a relationship of his own with a cute clerk from the local Seven-Eleven, face being outed by a blackmailer as they begin their investigation into the murders.
Promoted to his own patrol beat after solving a series of anti-gay murders, Prince George County police officer Patrick St. James is happily deepening his relationship with his new lover, Dean, when more young, gay men start turning up dead. He and fellow officer Hank Capstone, now in a relationship of his own with a cute clerk from the local Seven-Eleven, face being outed by a blackmailer as they begin their investigation into the murders.
As the killings continue and the pressure to find the perpetrator intensifies, Pat and Hank go undercover again, and Dean has to face the sometimes harsh realities of loving a cop. When a chance DUI stop nets them a potential witness who implicates one of the most powerful men in the state, the two officers have to choose between risking their lives and letting the murderer get away scot-free.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
9 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
John Simpson
276 books125 followersJohn Simpson, a Vietnam-era Veteran, has been a uniformed Police Officer of the Year, a federal agent, a federal magistrate, and an armed bodyguard to royalty and a senior government executive. He earned awards from the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of the Treasury. John has written articles for various gay and straight magazines. John lives with his partner of 35 years and three wonderful Scott Terriers, all spoiled and a breed of canine family member that is unique in dogdom. John is also involved with the Old Catholic Church and its liberal pastoral positions on the gay community.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2021
The writing is shaky (ok, shitty), the story meanders, the ending is goofy and implausible. It’s as if the author wrote two separate stories (the hunky young cops and a sleazy governor) and then toiled unsuccessfully to mesh them. The first six or so chapters are short (a few to 10 or 12 pages), then there’s a very long, odd chapter filled with sex; then another couple chapters about a mad and murderous governor,m; and then a couple clumsy chapters when the author tries to pull it all together.
October 31, 2012
I like Simpson more with each book of his that I read
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- The plot is good. Some of the book is just the everyday ins and outs of the life of a beat cop, which I found interesting in and of itself, and the murder investigation is exciting once it gets going: I was surprised at the identity of the killer, and I’m a pretty big fan of the main character, Pat; he’s one brave dude.
- There’s a secondary romance between Pat’s partner and a 7-11 clerk that I thought was really cute. The presence of that relationship allows for some depth in the “romance” department: we have Pat and Dean, who we saw get together in Murder Most Gay and who are now practically an old married couple (even though they haven’t been together all that long), and we have Hank and Shawn, who are still in the new-love phase in this story.
- I like that this book is written by a verifiable tough guy (Simpson is a veteran, a former police officer, a former federal agent, etc.) and that his characters are verifiable tough guys yet they still use sweet pet names for each other. I’ve known one couple like the ones depicted in Simpson’s books (a cop and a construction worker), and those guys used words like “babe” and “sweetheart” when they were talking to each other. I think a lot of female m/m authors are afraid to let their characters use words like that because they think endearments detract from the characters’ masculinity.
- Again, as is the case with every book I’ve read by this author, there’s lots of realistic-sounding cop jargon and descriptive language. (And some of the stranger dialogue is explained for those of us who might not know exactly what it means.) It’s easy to get swept up in the story’s setting.
CON:
- The writing contains some of the same elements present in the other 3 Simpson books I’ve read before this one. Namely, the author struggles a bit with telling rather than showing as well as redundant exposition/dialogue. (Example: “He was hoping to surprise Dean by having supper ready for him when he got home. …‘I was going to have dinner waiting for you when you got home.’”) But this is the best written of any of the 4 I’ve read, and the writing skill demonstrated in this book is leaps and bounds above Condor One, which was the first book I read by him.
Overall comments: Simpson has sort of gotten under my skin; each book I’ve read by him has been better than the last, and I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m reading them in the order in which he wrote them (I think I am, but I’m not positive) and his writing is improving, or because I’m just developing a taste for his storytelling. The sex scenes in his books are realistic and not overly graphic, and even if the writing isn’t as good as some other authors’, Simpson has consistently good stories.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- The plot is good. Some of the book is just the everyday ins and outs of the life of a beat cop, which I found interesting in and of itself, and the murder investigation is exciting once it gets going: I was surprised at the identity of the killer, and I’m a pretty big fan of the main character, Pat; he’s one brave dude.
- There’s a secondary romance between Pat’s partner and a 7-11 clerk that I thought was really cute. The presence of that relationship allows for some depth in the “romance” department: we have Pat and Dean, who we saw get together in Murder Most Gay and who are now practically an old married couple (even though they haven’t been together all that long), and we have Hank and Shawn, who are still in the new-love phase in this story.
- I like that this book is written by a verifiable tough guy (Simpson is a veteran, a former police officer, a former federal agent, etc.) and that his characters are verifiable tough guys yet they still use sweet pet names for each other. I’ve known one couple like the ones depicted in Simpson’s books (a cop and a construction worker), and those guys used words like “babe” and “sweetheart” when they were talking to each other. I think a lot of female m/m authors are afraid to let their characters use words like that because they think endearments detract from the characters’ masculinity.
- Again, as is the case with every book I’ve read by this author, there’s lots of realistic-sounding cop jargon and descriptive language. (And some of the stranger dialogue is explained for those of us who might not know exactly what it means.) It’s easy to get swept up in the story’s setting.
CON:
- The writing contains some of the same elements present in the other 3 Simpson books I’ve read before this one. Namely, the author struggles a bit with telling rather than showing as well as redundant exposition/dialogue. (Example: “He was hoping to surprise Dean by having supper ready for him when he got home. …‘I was going to have dinner waiting for you when you got home.’”) But this is the best written of any of the 4 I’ve read, and the writing skill demonstrated in this book is leaps and bounds above Condor One, which was the first book I read by him.
Overall comments: Simpson has sort of gotten under my skin; each book I’ve read by him has been better than the last, and I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m reading them in the order in which he wrote them (I think I am, but I’m not positive) and his writing is improving, or because I’m just developing a taste for his storytelling. The sex scenes in his books are realistic and not overly graphic, and even if the writing isn’t as good as some other authors’, Simpson has consistently good stories.
March 15, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. The mystery was great and the build up made it worth the read. It didn't give it a four or more stars because (for me) the book seemed to have a lot of superfluous "filler" type scenes. Now don't get me wrong ... The man on man action described was hot during these scenes but it seemed like those were thrown in just to add "girth" to a book. With that said, I did enjoy it and would recommend.
May 31, 2012
This was a fun read. Hot cops, a murder mystery with a surprising twist and oh yeah, hot cops having hot sex.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews