Reviewed by Colette
TITLE: Devil’s Own
AUTHOR: Susan Laine
SERIES: The Wheel Mysteries Book 2
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 142 pages
BLURB:
A month and a half into their relationship, PI Niall Valentine and his occult shopkeeper boyfriend, Gus Goodwin, are hoping for a little time alone, but they’re thrown into another murder mystery.
Niall’s client, Angelina Talbot, is certain her new husband attempted to kill her, ambushing her in their bedroom, half-naked and covered in blood. Scared out of her mind, Angelina hit him with a lamp and ran away. Florian Talbot lies dead in the bedroom, his head smashed in with a lamp—but the door is locked from the inside. Is Angelina truly an unwitting murderer, or are more sinister forces at play?
With a family of eccentrics, borderline criminals, and Satanists, the real killer could be any number of people wandering the mansion that night under the cover of darkness. The entire Talbot clan thrives in secrecy. Still unfulfilled and utterly perplexed, Niall and Gus are tasked with shedding some much-needed light on the shadowy case.
REVIEW:
“My Husband is the devil incarnate”, so opens this second book in the Wheel Mysteries series. Niall Valentine is a private detective and his latest client, Angelina Yates, wants to hire him to find out if her husband, Florian Talbot murdered someone. Florian, it seems, belongs to a Coven, a satanic coven, and since returning from their honeymoon Talbot has been acting strange, speaking gibberish and being generally creepy, all leading up to the night he tries to kill her. Though he thinks it will not go anywhere, Niall takes the case, and heads over to Gus’s occult shop.
Niall and Gus are still navigating the waters of their new relationship, getting used to each other and getting to know each other better. They are very different, underneath a casual appearance; Niall was a military man, neat organized and ordered. Gus on the other hand, “epitomized a pagan hippy”, tall, lean, curly blond hair, laid back and mellow. Their differences though, seem to compliment rather than antagonize. Having met on one of Niall’s cases, when he needed someone familiar with the occult, he again reaches out to him to interpret some symbols and writing on a piece of paper Angelina Yates had given him. Gus confirms that the symbols are satanic and suggests he speak with Juliette, his mentor, as he is not really familiar or comfortable with the satanic faith.
After speaking with Juliette, Niall heads over to the Talbot Mansion, only to discover Florian Talbot has been murdered.
Since this is a mystery, I don’t want to give anything more away; I’ll just say that this is an enjoyable story and a fun series. The plot is complex enough to keep you guessing and the characters are likable and engaging. If you like Victoria Laurie or Juliet Blackwell you will like this series. The romance is sweet and sexy, Niall and Gus are a great couple and I look forward to more books in this series
RATING: 
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