To be honest the whole reason I started this series was bc the third installment came out and it sounded good lol. I have ocd and I must read in order! Lol. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this book was! It is longer than most books in the genre but every page is quality material! The MCs are well developed and completely investable ( i might have made that word up). The cons are typical. The MCs are the ever common stripper twink and the macho man in uniform. But its easy to overlook the stereotyping bc the story sucks you in. This had everything I loved: danger, deception, intrigue, mayhem, bodily damage, worry, suspense, romance, true love, sex, a dog, etc., so I was willing to forgive the instalove. That stuff is always in this kind of romance series where each book is a new couple. There just isn't a lot of time to build the love in just one (short--these kind are always short) book without sacrificing plot. It can be done by a skillful writer but it's not easy so I expect instalove. At least it wasn't insta-we're going to get together right now.I liked the characters, and that these people aren't too stupid to live. The victim doesn't just take off trying to solve everything himself. The cops see clues and figure stuff out. The victim actually comes up with ideas to help the case. The characterization is very black and white/good or evil, and of course all the good people are gay men except for the grandma, but she was great. The plot was plot was interesting, the thriller aspect was suspenseful, the romantic stuff very sweet, there was more danger and mayhem and it linked together. The victim wasn't suddenly okay with everything, either, unlike so many books where being rescued cures all.There was an issue in this book that was never resolved. Basically near the end, a character says something to the effect of "things justs aren't adding up quite right" but the book moves on to the romantic conclusion and nothing else is figured out. I really enjoyed it even though I felt like I shouldn't. I suspect that it wasn't written very well but I was too busy trying to find out what happened next that I wasn't paying attention to that. 3.75 stars rounded up, because duh, didn't you take math in school?
What do You think about Lipstick And Handguns (2011)?
