Review: Murder and Mayhem by Rhys Ford

Author: Rhys Ford

Page/Word Count: 236 Pages

At a Glance: I closed the book with a smile. :)

Reviewed By: Karen

Blurb: Dead women tell no tales.

Former cat burglar Rook Stevens stole many a priceless thing in the past, but he’s never been accused of taking a life—until now. It was one thing to find a former associate inside Potter’s Field, his pop culture memorabilia shop, but quite another to stumble across her dead body.

Detective Dante Montoya thought he’d never see Rook Stevens again—not after his former partner’d falsified evidence to entrap the jewelry thief and Stevens walked off scot-free. So when he tackled a fleeing murder suspect, Dante was shocked to discover the blood-covered man was none other than the thief he’d fought to put in prison and who still made his blood sing.

Rook is determined to shake loose the murder charge against him, even if it means putting distance between him and the rugged Cuban-Mexican detective who brought him down. If one dead con artist wasn’t bad enough, others soon follow, and as the bodies pile up around Rook’s feet, he’s forced to reach out to the last man he’d expect to believe in his innocence—and the only man who’s ever gotten under Rook’s skin.

Review: Not that I didn’t know it before reading this book, but I honestly, in my opinion, don’t believe Rhys Ford can write a bad story. Everything I have read that she has written is amazing, and this may be my new favorite from her.

This book is a little different than what I am used to getting in a Rhys Ford book, and I have sat here and rewrote this sentence multiple times, trying to come up with the right words, or something to try to explain what makes it different, and I got nothing. The best I can think of is that this book is a little grittier than I what I am used to in her books. You still get all the things you love in a Rhys Ford book, though: you get mystery, love, humor – but in maybe a little darker package.

I love that everything is always so descriptive, and I get a clear picture in my head of each scene. As you’re reading, you can not only see the picture but almost feel, smell, hear and taste the things being described. Now, I am a romance girl, those are the books I like, and I rarely, if ever, read anything that isn’t in that genre. With that being said, even if this didn’t have the “romance” aspect to it, I still would have loved it just being a murder mystery story. But, boy am I glad that isn’t the case, because Rook and Dante are HOT!

Rook comes across as such as smartass. He is snarky and grumbly and always has a comeback. It was awesome and funny – but the more you learn about him, you see that he is really just hiding behind it and is kind of lost. Dante, on the other hand, comes across as much more calm and rational, but has no problem keeping up with Rook’s mouth. Then about three-quarters of the way in, I was literally sitting on my couch, curled up in a blanket saying out loud, “Awww….I love them together!” My husband at this point has pretty much excepted that I am nuts and talk to my books, so he just looked over, saw that I was holding my Kindle, shook his head, and turned back to the game. This book also had one of the best lines I have ever read in it about what a real man is – I don’t ever highlight on my Kindle, there was never anything that really jumped out at me where I felt, “Wow, I really want to remember this one line,” but there was in this book. I not only highlighted it but had to put my Kindle down and absorb just that one little part.

I love the great references in the book (one of my favorite movies of all time!) And waited and waited for the one line…I know it had to be in there at some point, and I finally got it in the very last paragraph, so I closed the book with a smile. :)