ARC Review : Murder by Design by J.P. Bowie

Blurb :

An unexpected meeting in a bar gives Detective Sam Walker a real chance of finding long-awaited happiness. All he has to do is stay alive.

Detective Sam Walker gets a surprise phone call the day he wakes up with the hangover from hell. The caller informs him that his name is Justin and that they met the night before in a gay bar. Not only met, but kissed and traded phone numbers and Sam has no memory of it at all. Intrigued, Sam wants to meet Justin again, but any chance of that is delayed when he and his partner are assigned a murder investigation and told to take care of it ASAP.

Sam has a problem, a deeply personal one that he doesn’t talk about, but when he’s with Justin the problem seems to disappear and he’s convinced he’s been given a new lease on life. His elation is short-lived, however, when the case he and his partner are working on takes a dark turn.

Justin also has a problem…Maria Esteban, a fiery-tempered Puerto Rican who owns the fashion company Justin designs for. Theirs is a volatile relationship and when tragedy strikes, the finger of suspicion points at him.

Can Sam save Justin not only from a bigoted detective intent on cracking the case quickly, but from a new and unexpected source, too? Or is their love affair doomed before they can truly savor Sam’s newfound freedom from the past?

Reader Advisory: This book contains homophobia, the remembered assault and rape of the main character and attempted murder. There are some scenes of violence, as well as brief references to child slavery.

Christelle's rating :

My first try with this author. And lucky me, I was in the mood for something low-key, with no angst and some sweetness.

Sam is a sweet detective : he’s law-abiding and has empathy for victims, a reflexion of his character : despite his big bulk, he doesn’t have a bad temper at all and enjoys being the “uncle” of his police partner’s kids. He’s also very insecure, for reasons, when it comes to his personal life. Being drunk one night ends up being a good fate for him as he dares flirting with the colourful and joyful Justin, luckily not deterred by Sam’s state.

And while going through cases, one unfortunately involving Justin, Sam is beginning to think that he found the right partner and takes a chance.

A tiny bit fast on the romance, smooth and way too fast on solving Sam’s issues (quite unsettling for me), but if in need of some relaxing time with goodness, two sweet characters, and a bit of heat, this book will do the trick.

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ARC of “Murder by Design” was generously provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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