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Irreversible Error #1
Irreversible Error
Asked by an old friend for help solving her son’s mysterious death, cop Erik Steppenwolf plunges into Houston’s night world of drag queens and hustlers. First he enlists the aid of a flamboyant drag queen named Lola, who introduces him to street hustlers who may have clues to the murderer’s identity. During one of Lola’s outrageous shows, a naughty but nice dancer named Red bursts onto the scene, stealing Steppenwolf’s heart.
As the commitment between Red and Steppenwolf grows, each piece of the murderous puzzle uncovered reveals a wild string of events that leads to a capital murder conviction… but also a nagging suspicion that there’s a lot more to the story. When he and Red break up, there’s no reason for Steppenwolf to stay in Houston, unless he makes up his mind not to let go of his search for the truth—or Red.
As the commitment between Red and Steppenwolf grows, each piece of the murderous puzzle uncovered reveals a wild string of events that leads to a capital murder conviction… but also a nagging suspicion that there’s a lot more to the story. When he and Red break up, there’s no reason for Steppenwolf to stay in Houston, unless he makes up his mind not to let go of his search for the truth—or Red.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2010
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53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 11, 2012
This is definitely more of a mystery or suspense novel than a romance. Steppenwolf returns to Houston to help the widow of his old (police) partner uncover the truth of her son's murder. He uncovers a whole world of lies and deceit and in the process meets and falls in love with Red, an exotic dancer. . The book keeps you guessing and you definitely want to have the sequel on hand as it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
January 20, 2011
3.5 stars. Good m/m mystery/romantic suspense about a cop who gets drawn into a murder investigation when his friend, the mother of the victim, asks him to look at the case more closely. You'll definitely want to have the sequel on hand, since the first book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Also, I dislike the covers on both this book and the sequel, primarily because they're spoilers for the books.
March 21, 2013
2.5 stars -- i didn't quite like it because of the numerous flaws, but it did grab my attention sufficiently to finish it.
i enjoy mysteries, and if you add believable gay protagonists, i enjoy them even more. and while some aspects of this story are not believable, steppenwolf is, for the most part. he's a hard-boiled, no-nonsense guy but not to the point of suppressing his emotions and shying away from serious introspection; i like the character and think he has potential. the story itself is overall interestingly conceived; it too has potential.
alas that's where the enjoyment stops for me. dear dreamspinner, enough already with the misleading blurbs! this isn't a romance, and the romantic elements are not particularly well integrated. most egregious example: after steppenwolf screws up badly and gets dumped by his lover, they get back together a few weeks later -- but even though that would be expected in a romance, an author cannot relegate it to an event that happens behind the scenes and just gets mentioned in passing. this sort of thing is the meat of a romance. forgiving a serious betrayal has to happen on camera. i also don't get a good sense of red; his characterization is weak, and i don't actually believe him, he's defined to be a top at first, and the first flirtation with steppenwolf circles around them both being non-reversible tops, but then red flips without any todo, and flips permanently. huh? why then make him a dedicated top at all? again, something that can be deftly handled as a tension heightener in a romance is relegated to a non-issue. and what's with the artificial insemination thrown in as a random element? in any partnership i know this would necessitate some serious soul searching of the partners, nevermind more thought by steppenwolf himself, considering the relationship he has with the prospective mother. and heck, the mother doesn't even think much about it, and she's just lost her grown son! building a family becomes important for steppenwolf, who has nobody, and i can see why the author included it here. but one doesn't build families on the random spur of a moment. i love the unorthodoxy of this budding family, but this kind of unorthodoxy needs to (forgive me) gestate for a while. it'd make for a great series, in fact, but shoehorned into this book makes it all feel rushed and unreal.
so it isn't a successful romance, which is alas par for the course for m/m mystery/romance mashups. but unfortunately it isn't a successful mystery either. the antagonist is heavy-handedly telegraphed via a dream steppenwolf has, and i seriously rolled my eyes when the fateful sentence was repeated. really? steppenwolf has precognitive dreams? *sigh*. there are a also a lot of very convenient obstacles in the way of steppenwolf's investigation, which don't ring true to me. the plot is too complicated and then unbelievable twists are inserted to wrench it into obedience.
and lets not talk of the ending at all. i mean, i like the final twist, pervert that i am, but how we get there is a rushed infodump and totally unbelievable. bad, bad denouement.
overall, puts this all below the bar, is the writing, and this is where the lack of a good editor sinks the book. there's way too much info-dumping via narration, and the prose doesn't flow well; it lurches in stops and starts between eloquent and awkward. i can tell the author has talent, and the failings here are not the banal failings of, say, siren bookstrand's offerings. there is a substantial, interesting book hidden here, but the author could not write it yet. i am perversely curious how the sequel will pull this out, but i am not sure i want to know badly enough to cough up the cash.
i enjoy mysteries, and if you add believable gay protagonists, i enjoy them even more. and while some aspects of this story are not believable, steppenwolf is, for the most part. he's a hard-boiled, no-nonsense guy but not to the point of suppressing his emotions and shying away from serious introspection; i like the character and think he has potential. the story itself is overall interestingly conceived; it too has potential.
alas that's where the enjoyment stops for me. dear dreamspinner, enough already with the misleading blurbs! this isn't a romance, and the romantic elements are not particularly well integrated. most egregious example: after steppenwolf screws up badly and gets dumped by his lover, they get back together a few weeks later -- but even though that would be expected in a romance, an author cannot relegate it to an event that happens behind the scenes and just gets mentioned in passing. this sort of thing is the meat of a romance. forgiving a serious betrayal has to happen on camera. i also don't get a good sense of red; his characterization is weak, and i don't actually believe him, he's defined to be a top at first, and the first flirtation with steppenwolf circles around them both being non-reversible tops, but then red flips without any todo, and flips permanently. huh? why then make him a dedicated top at all? again, something that can be deftly handled as a tension heightener in a romance is relegated to a non-issue. and what's with the artificial insemination thrown in as a random element? in any partnership i know this would necessitate some serious soul searching of the partners, nevermind more thought by steppenwolf himself, considering the relationship he has with the prospective mother. and heck, the mother doesn't even think much about it, and she's just lost her grown son! building a family becomes important for steppenwolf, who has nobody, and i can see why the author included it here. but one doesn't build families on the random spur of a moment. i love the unorthodoxy of this budding family, but this kind of unorthodoxy needs to (forgive me) gestate for a while. it'd make for a great series, in fact, but shoehorned into this book makes it all feel rushed and unreal.
so it isn't a successful romance, which is alas par for the course for m/m mystery/romance mashups. but unfortunately it isn't a successful mystery either. the antagonist is heavy-handedly telegraphed via a dream steppenwolf has, and i seriously rolled my eyes when the fateful sentence was repeated. really? steppenwolf has precognitive dreams? *sigh*. there are a also a lot of very convenient obstacles in the way of steppenwolf's investigation, which don't ring true to me. the plot is too complicated and then unbelievable twists are inserted to wrench it into obedience.
and lets not talk of the ending at all. i mean, i like the final twist, pervert that i am, but how we get there is a rushed infodump and totally unbelievable. bad, bad denouement.
overall, puts this all below the bar, is the writing, and this is where the lack of a good editor sinks the book. there's way too much info-dumping via narration, and the prose doesn't flow well; it lurches in stops and starts between eloquent and awkward. i can tell the author has talent, and the failings here are not the banal failings of, say, siren bookstrand's offerings. there is a substantial, interesting book hidden here, but the author could not write it yet. i am perversely curious how the sequel will pull this out, but i am not sure i want to know badly enough to cough up the cash.
January 15, 2012
The book itself was well written and I did like it up until a point...
This has nothing to do with the author or even the book but I'm uncomfortable reading and never liked reading books about surrogacy especially where the birth (mother) parent is involved. I don't know why but it's never sat right with me.
As soon as I hit the surrogate line in the book, I'm sad to say I rushed the rest of it and I HATE doing that.
So, I'm also sad to say that it was deleted from my kindle and I won't be reading the sequel.
Saying all that, I would recommend it to people who love anything like that and love drama, because it was jam packed with it, and I really liked that part of it. Don't let my misgiving put you off reading it!!
This has nothing to do with the author or even the book but I'm uncomfortable reading and never liked reading books about surrogacy especially where the birth (mother) parent is involved. I don't know why but it's never sat right with me.
As soon as I hit the surrogate line in the book, I'm sad to say I rushed the rest of it and I HATE doing that.
So, I'm also sad to say that it was deleted from my kindle and I won't be reading the sequel.
Saying all that, I would recommend it to people who love anything like that and love drama, because it was jam packed with it, and I really liked that part of it. Don't let my misgiving put you off reading it!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2011
This was an ok -- not great, but ok -- read until the end, which pretty much ruined whatever value the story previously had.
BTW, this pretty much solidifies something I've been noticing ... avoid this publisher (Dreamspinner) if you're expecting a romance. A fair number of their titles have blubs that make them sound like m/m romance, but are not, in fact, romance.
BTW, this pretty much solidifies something I've been noticing ... avoid this publisher (Dreamspinner) if you're expecting a romance. A fair number of their titles have blubs that make them sound like m/m romance, but are not, in fact, romance.
March 30, 2011
OMG! This book turned out to be amazing! It was a bit slow in the very beginning, but once you get into the story it sucks you up and won't let you go and the ending is unbelievable! *rushes off to buy the sequel*
April 27, 2014
This is a mystery combined with a M/M romance. It's a fast read with a bit of a twist at the ending.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews