Title: Cairo Malachi and the Adventure of the Silver Whistle
Author: Samantha SoRelle
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 192 Pages
Category: Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, Murder Mystery
Rating: 4.5 Stars
At a Glance: I’m not sure I was aware of how mad about this book I was while I was reading it. It was only after I finished that I realized I’d read it from beginning to end without putting it down. When I came up for air, I only wanted more of these delightful characters.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: “The first time I met the love of my life, he died in my arms.”
Cairo Malachi, Conduit to the Spirits, is a liar, a thief, and a fraud. He may be building a reputation as one of the most fashionable mediums in London, but he doesn’t even believe in ghosts and has certainly never conjured one. Which is why, after he witnesses the brutal slaying of a handsome young constable, he’s shocked when the man’s spirit appears in his home, begging for his help.
Constable Noah Bell is everything Mal can never be—honest, funny, and kind. But it’s ridiculous to be attracted to a man he can’t even touch, especially when every step they take towards solving Noah’s murder is one step closer to bringing him the justice he needs to move on—and out of Mal’s life forever.
As their investigation brings unexpected enemies to light, the secrets they’re keeping from each other may prove even more dangerous. Mal and Noah will have to work together… or risk a fate worse than death.
Review: The opening quote Samantha SoRelle uses in the blurb for Cairo Malachi and the Adventure of the Silver Whistle also happens to be the first sentence in the book. Talk about a hook. SoRelle, however, didn’t stop baiting that hook there. She then proceeded to draw me into the entire chapter with a scene so intriguing, and a bit poignant too, that I couldn’t look away. She went on to win my full adoration of both the story and its protagonists, Cairo Malachi and his ghostly love, Constable Noah Bell. I remain unsurprised by that, though, considering how much I’ve loved this author’s previous work.
What a perfectly delightful display of love overcoming adversity at its utmost this book turned out to be. The story encompasses a romance between a man, Cairo, who can only be described as a good-hearted scoundrel, and the handsome peeler (aka police officer), Noah, who Cairo never got the chance to love . . . at least not while Noah was alive. The criminal and the lawman trope will never get old for me, and Samantha SoRelle uses it to such great effect here, especially when complemented by the fact that Cairo is a fraud who capitalizes on the fascination with spiritualism common in the Victorian Era to earn his keep. In short, Cairo has positioned himself as a medium of prodigious skill and holds seances for the strict purpose of parting his wealthy patrons from their money. And that’s not even his deepest, darkest secret.
Imagine his surprise, then, when he unintentionally summons Noah’s ghost directly on the heels of the policeman’s death.
The mystery in the story comes, of course, at Noah’s expense as he implores Cairo to help investigate his murder, and I was kept guessing, right up to the Big Reveal and its dramatic conclusion, who the killer was. Through the danger and dead ends and incredible risks to life and limb for Cairo, he and Noah can’t help but grow emotionally closer. It also stands to reason that the desire to be physically closer would figure into their relationship, which presents as another obstacle to be overcome. Naturally, they do overcome it. I mean, this is a romance after all, and it’s a sweet one at that. But let’s not forget that Cairo has secrets and is hiding not only that he’s a charlatan, or at least he always believed he was, but his true identity and significant details about his past as well, which causes its own set of problems.
A charming medium, a kindly spirit, a feast of atmosphere and stirring moments, and a ghost cat who steals every scene she’s in appear to be heading for a series of books (? – fingers crossed), based upon the end of “Silver Whistle”. Why wouldn’t London’s vast spirit world need a pair of paranormal private investigators, after all, and who better to fill the void than Cairo and Noah? I’m not sure I was aware of how mad about this book I was while I was reading it. It was only after I finished that I realized I’d read it from beginning to end without putting it down. When I came up for air, I only wanted more of these delightful characters.
You can buy Cairo Malachi and the Adventure of the Silver Whistle here:
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