Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  Tempest

SERIES:  Playing the Fool #3

AUTHOR:  Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock

PUBLISHER:  Riptide Publishing

LENGTH:  205 pages

BLURB:  

Something wicked this way comes.

FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness and con man Henry Page are on the run again. This time they’re headed back to where it all began: Altona, Indiana. Population: some goats. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm, but they’ve got nowhere else to go.

While Mac fights to clear his name and Henry struggles with whose side he’s really on, a ghost from the past threatens to destroy everything. And those aren’t the only storms on the radar. Cut off from both sides of the law, Mac and Henry must rely on their tenuous partnership to survive.

If Henry can convince himself to let Mac see the man behind the disguises, they’ll stand a chance of beating the forces that conspire against them. The course of true love never did run smooth, but for the two of them, it might be their only hope.

REVIEW:  

This was going to be a wonderfully written, highly thought out review. I swear. Then I got woken up at 8am by the power cutting out and the fire-alarm system in my house blaring. Also, did you know that when there is no power, there is also no coffee? So, yeah. I am cranky. Which is sad, because this review does not deserve crankiness.

Because it was so good.

 “You believe in destiny, Val?” Henry settled back. “Like big destiny?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like something Shakespearean.” Henry’s fingers twitched against Mac’s. “Like whatever you do, you can’t avoid it. Like it was the Rasnicks’ destiny to ruin my life from before I was even born.”

“I think that’s bullshit.”

“I am fortune’s fool,” Henry said. “Or fortune’s bitch.”

This has been a bit of a long ride, but I have to say that it was worth it. Tempest is the third book in this series, and a wonderful ending to the story of Mac and Cheese…er, I mean, Mack and Henry. 😛

Mac and Henry are on the run. Someone at the FBI clearly has it out for Mac, and Henry and his past is all tied up in the reasons why. Viola is along for the ride, Remy has vanished, and Val is trying to keep Mac safe…and out of jail. Was it only weeks ago that Mac didn’t even know Henry existed? Because now his life is thrown upside down and he has no clue where he is going to land. Or if Henry will even be around when the dust settles.

If you haven’t started this series yet, I will say it would probably be best to just start reading at book one and not stop till you reach the end of Tempest. While each book is self contained, I think this is one of those series that practically demands marathon reading. Because the individual mysteries are interesting, but Mac and Henry’s story is enthralling.

This book had me on tenterhooks the whole time. Even when things were calm, I was tense, knowing that most of the calm was an illusion. And when things started to really pick up? Yeah, on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t get enough of these guys and their rather shakespearean level of bad luck and poor decisions.

And speaking of Shakespeare…I loved all the quotes and how they tied into this story. They’ve been there before in the two previous books, but as Henry falls apart, little by little, they become a lot more prominent. It was such an interesting aspect to him (and his sister) that it was one more thing that set this book apart from a lot of the ‘crime’ mysteries that I have read.

Tempest is able to be funny but also talk about serious issues. It tied you up in knots, but also never left you there so long that you started to get cramps from all the tension. And it was sexy, but in a bit more muted way then the last book. They still certainly have their connection, but larger issues are afoot, and sometimes their ‘relationship’ (whatever the hell it is) takes a back seat to finding out why both of their lives have gone to shit all of a sudden.

It is going to be interesting, when I get around to doing a reread of this series, to go back and see if I can’t spot all the little clues that pop up in books one and two. I pretty sure they are there, but having seen the ending, I would find it fun to go back and see the whole shape of the thing. I don’t want to spoil the whole mystery, but I really really liked it.

And I really liked how all the characters played out in this story. All of them: the good, the bad, the main and the secondary. There is just so much about this book that I love.

So, yeah, read it. And if you have been part of the ‘I’ll just wait till they are all done’ group (like a few of my friends), well nows the time! Have fun reading. I know I did.

RATING:  

BUY LINKS:

Riptide

Amazon  

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