Review: Matchstick Men by Adira August

Title: Matchstick Men (A Hunter Dane Investigation: Book One)

Author: Adira August

Publisher: RedDeer

Length: 272 Pages

Category: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense, BDSM

At a Glance: I love these books and this series. Great character driven novels that are well written and contain a depth of story are hard to come by, but these books fit that bill to a tee.

Reviewed By: Carrie

Blurb: SEX, GAMES & MURDER Want to play?

It was munch night at the most elite underground BDSM club in the Rockies. Relaxed and informal, highlighted by the weekly Matchstick Challenge game. Detective Sergeant Hunter Dane, reigning champion, looked forward to a relaxing evening to start his 3 days off. A few beers on the deck. An interlude with a sweet sub. Stumping a challenger with a new puzzle. Home early for a decent night’s sleep.

Some people are SO deadly serious about their games.

Now Hunt has a fresh body and a new puzzle to solve in twenty-four hours if he wants to find a killer.

Review: The relationship begins to deepen for Hunter and Cam, the dance has begun in earnest, and the chemistry, the tautness of their interactions keeps your interest right where August wants it, and that is on Hunt and Cam. We really start to intimately get into Hunter and Cam’s headspace in this book. These characters are so complex, there is such a depth to Adira August’s writing that she once again draws us into the world of her MCs, and takes us on a roller coaster ride of love, horror, joy, and tension.

In this book, we get to see Hunter in a new light, another facet of his personality is revealed, and we see what a good detective he is. Someone has been murdered. And that someone was a Dominatrix at the club Hunter is a member of. In fact, Hunter was the last one to have any interactions with her there, and they weren’t good. Not at all. This first book in the investigations series is a police procedural as much as a romance. Romance just isn’t the right word. The relationship between Hunter and Cam is so much more complicated than “romance” suggests. For two such powerful men, we are shown vulnerabilities in them which up to now weren’t explored.

“So tell me how you figured out you needed men for power, women for sex and no one for intimacy,” Cam said. His tone was curious. Polite. Judgement free.

I appreciated the police work in this story. Yes, I figured out who did it, but the writing was believable and the story was entirely plausible. August weaves a creditable murder/mystery here, all the while keeping her eye on our MCs and their alliance. One thing you will not be while reading this book is bored. The older, hardened cop and the younger but perfectionist Dom—we start to see glimpses of how much these men need each other on a cellular level, all the while trying to discover who killed an unpopular Dominatrix from our favorite club, and not have all its members exposed in the process.

It was the very thereness of him that was beautiful. All of a piece. Cam was surety. In the playroom, Cam had soothed him and tortured him with a relentless compassion.

Hunter is bi and he makes no apologies for it, at least not to us. If you decide to forgo this book for that reason, let me tell you it is important. I appreciated the title to this one; I love a good play on words and when a title denotes cleverness in the author. This title is certainly that.

This book also leaves us with somewhat of a cliffhanger. All these books are tied together, an ongoing storyline which continues in the next book. They are not, not really, standalones. I said in my review for the first book in the series, On His Knees, that I read these books straight through, and I meant it. There is a compelling storyline here that draws you into the next book, and you will feel at the end of this one that you just can’t leave them there…. Cam’s determination will take you straight to book three and you won’t be disappointed.

I love these books and this series. Great character driven novels that are well written and contain a depth of story are hard to come by, but these books fit that bill to a tee. Not to mention page melting BDSM, chemistry and two beautiful but flawed main characters. Start with On His Knees and read from there. You won’t be disappointed, and you will probably find yourself with a weekend binge!

You can buy Matchstick Men here:
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