Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: The Royal Street Heist
AUTHOR: Scotty Cade
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 206 pages
BLURB:
When valuable Civil War era art is stolen from a popular New Orleans gallery, NOPD Lead Detective Montgomery “Beau” Bissonet and his partner set out to solve the crime. When the gallery’s insurance company sends Tollison Cruz to the Big Easy to conduct their own independent investigation, personalities clash and battle lines are definitely drawn.
The heist quickly becomes a politically driven high profile case, and Detective Bissonet is furious when he’s ordered to work along side Investigator Cruz to assure a timely arrest. The heat index soars to new levels when the two investigators discover they have a lot more in common then originally thought.
With the tension between them temporarily sated, Bissonet and Cruz finally start to work together, on more then just a professional level. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Beau discovers his cohort in crime has been withholding information regarding the investigation and has been concealing a very questionable past. What happens next rivals the scorching summer heat.
REVIEW:
Oh man, I really liked this story. This author wove together a perfect blend of mystery, investigation, romance, and intrigue. I loved the in depth plot, the rich full characters and the enemies to lovers theme.
Tollison Cruz is an ex-art thief turned insurance investigator for Lloyd’s of London. He’s learned the error of his ways and now walks the straight and narrow.
Beau Bissonet is a Lead Detective for the New Orleans Police Department. You get the impression that he is damn good at his job and is serious about being a public servant.
Tollison and Beau meet after a local gallery was broken into and 2 very valuable paintings were stolen. The police sent Beau and his partner Auggie to investigate the burglary and murder, while Tollison’s employer sent him to investigate whether the insurance claim on the missing paintings is legit.
Tollison and Beau butt heads big time when they first meet. Beau doesn’t like Tollison stepping on his toes and he doesn’t try to hide his irritation. The smoldering attraction is very obvious. I loved the tension that arose when they would interact and needless to say the passionate arguments only made them that much sweeter.
Watching these two men give into their attraction for each other was smokin’ hot. There were parts that reminded me heavily of the Cut and Run series which is definitely a compliment.
Another little added nugget of drama came when we realized that Beau worked very closely with his ex boyfriend. The ex had cheated on Beau about a year and a half before and Beau was still incredibly angry about it. And he didn’t hesitate to remind Bruce, the ex, every chance he got. I enjoyed the angst that arose between these two and I loved that they were able to find peace.
Tollison and Beau work tirelessly to solve this case. The intrigue, detail, and powerful writing made this a story that I just couldn’t put down. You can definitely tell this author did his research which added to making this story incredibly interesting.
This story had the perfect ending. I loved the sacrifices and compromises that were made to be together. I’m wondering if there will be a sequel…if so that would be a definite must read for me. Great, great, great story!!!!
RATING: 
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