Title: Shadows Deceive
Series: Psychic Detective Mysteries: Book Three
Author: S.C. Wynne
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 266 Pages
Category: Murder Mystery, Paranormal
At a Glance: S.C. Wynne doles this story out in terrific pitch and timing, and the moments before Liam and Thompson have the chance to reconcile truly is the stuff of impeccable romantic suspense.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: If I could have put off meeting Thompson’s family forever, I would have. But he made it crystal clear it was important to him, and I got the feeling if I blew it off again, I’d lose him.
So, like a good boyfriend, I accompanied him to the rustic city of Big Bear, hoping for the best. I expected awkward moments, and funny looks from his family. What I didn’t see coming was having to hang out with his perfect ex-lover, Alexander, and for dead bodies to start piling up.
Working and living together, Thompson and I formed a bond I didn’t think could be broken. But when he starts doubting my abilities, and pulling away, simply because he doesn’t like what I’m saying, I start to realize maybe we were never as tight as I’d thought.
Thompson needs to decide if he wants to protect the past, more than he wants to join me in the future. He thinks I’m just scared of commitment, and so I’m causing trouble. But the reality is, Thompson is the person with one foot out the door.
Review: All it takes is the third book of a series released two and a half years after book two to make you realize how much you’ve missed a couple of characters and the bloody awful situations they find themselves in. Psychic Liam Baker and his boyfriend and LAPD homicide detective, Kimball Thompson, are back and as good as ever, solving murders with their usual high rate of success. What’s different this time around, though, is the internal conflict which has them working against each other, at times, rather than with.
What was supposed to be a quiet and relaxing two weeks with Thompson’s parents and brothers, albeit an agonizing notion for Liam, who is dreading it—because family—but is still trying his level best to be a good sport about it for Thompson’s sake, turns into anything but quiet or relaxing when they happen across a dead body on the hiking trail behind Thompson’s family home in Big Bear. The stress on Liam, of trying to make a good impression—definitely a better impression than he made on Thompson’s brother Jeff when they first met—as well as the added irritant of the appearance of Thompson’s ex-boyfriend, the wealthy, successful, and handsome Alexander Barnaby, who Thompson’s family clearly still adores, almost makes having a crime to solve a backhanded blessing. The way Liam and Thompson work together is comfortable, they complement each other, and it’s familiar. But Alexander quickly becomes a thorn in Liam’s side, and it’s Thompson’s fault. The past gets in the way, and it’s not long before Liam’s jealousy and Thompson’s inability to see what’s going on right in front of his face begins to cause a world of hurt in their relationship.
The suspense and tension and anxiety in Shadows Deceive is tied to the murder investigation—which soon becomes a series of murders to solve—but not necessarily because the case appears unsolvable. The killer’s identity is somewhat inferable, in fact, which is not a slight but more an observation that this is a cat and mouse investigation rather than a strict procedural/whodunnit. The escalating discord exists fully in Thompson’s refusal to see that while Liam’s feelings are hurt, and also valid, it’s Liam who’s working to identify the murderer while Thompson is letting his own feelings blind him to certain truths that are getting in the way of discovering the killer’s identity. Liam’s awkwardness with the family, compounded by an embarrassment of epic proportions, furthers the escalating antagonism between him and Thompson. It all comes to a head right at the moment the danger to Liam increases exponentially, and in a way that also revisits a horror from his past.
S.C. Wynne doles this story out in terrific pitch and timing, and the moments before Liam and Thompson have the chance to reconcile truly is the stuff of impeccable romantic suspense. There’s so much anxiety and strife of a personal nature going on between them that the murders themselves seem almost placid in comparison. They aren’t, of course, but it’s easy to lean into their friction as a motivator for turning these pages and the inherent edginess brought on by it. Welcome back, Baker and Thompson. Here’s to hoping you don’t stay away so long again.
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