Reviewed by Cinnamon
TITLE: Every Breath You Take
SERIES: Pride and Joy book 2
AUTHOR: Robert Winter
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 240 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2017
BLURB:
When Zachary Hall leaves Utah for a job in Washington, it’s finally his chance to live as a gay man and maybe find someone special. In a bar he meets Thomas Scarborough, a man who seems perfect in and out of the bedroom. But Thomas never dates. He never even sleeps with the same man twice. Despite their instant connection, he can offer Zachary only his friendship, and Zachary is looking for more.
Thomas is tempted to break his own rules, but years before, he became the victim of a stalker who nearly destroyed his life. Even though his stalker died, Thomas obsessively keeps others at a distance. Despite his fascination with Zachary, he is unable to lower his barriers. Frustrated, Zachary accepts he will never have what he wants with Thomas and soon finds it with another man.
But young gay men in Washington, DC, are being murdered, and the victims all have a connection to Thomas. Once again someone is watching Thomas’s every move. Can it be a coincidence? When the depraved killer turns his attention toward Zachary, Thomas must face the demons of his past—or lose his chance to open his heart to Zachary forever.
REVIEW:
Wow. Robert Winter shows us one more time that his true talent and vocation is writing. This is the writer’s second story and I am totally blown away once again. I enjoyed September, his debut novel, and have been waiting for this book since I finished reading it. The story I got was sooo not what I had expected. Every Breath You Take is a true, very well written murder mystery with a romantic story-line woven into it. The details are amazingly well built together and we get drawn into the story bit by bit, page by page. The epilogue gives us, readers, a sharp slap, and from then on we are in for one of the best book rides of the year.
The mystery is well done with just enough excitement and tension to keep our insides tied up in knots and the underlying love story gives us the required positive emotions to get the perfect balance and all the amazing feels. The secondary characters are equally important and all of them are wonderfully portrayed, unique, and make this story all the more complex. I was happy to read about Terry and Joe who we had met in September and now we get to know them a bit better.
I truly enjoyed everything about this book and I simply couldn’t put it down. I had a few cathartic moments and I was screaming at times. My heart got a serious workout and I’m nursing some major book hangover at the moment.
The writing is solid, the excitement and tension is masterfully escalating, the characters are complex and lifelike with everyday flaws and some extraordinary circumstances.
I appreciate that we get to know the motivation and reasons behind the deeds of our villain. Nobody is evil from birth. Some messed up upbringing and abuse create unthinkable monsters and I was glad to see the root of all that.
The great chemistry and the sweetness of the romantic angle balance out the unbelievable craziness that lingers throughout the story and give all our senses a satisfying feeling.
I can’t wait to read the next book, where hopefully Randy gets his happily ever after.
This book is a real page turner, so get ready to retire from your everyday life for a few hours because as soon as you start, you won’t be able to stop reading. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
I pre-orderd this book because i loved September (one of the best books i read last year) and i was about to download it to my reader but it is already late in the evening here and i want to read this book in one setting (especially after reading your review) so i better not start now LOL.
Thank you for your review Cinnamon i really enjoyed it and it made me want to read this book even more 😉
Angela, I hope you like it!
I finished this book on the day I downloaded it, and it was more than worth it. It’s very rare that a writer can combine new love, amazingly hot sex, and heart pounding suspense in one book, but Robert Winter does just that. I can’t recommend this book enough.