Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: Love and Punishment
AUTHOR: Susan Mac Nicol
PUBLISHER: Self Pub
LENGTH: 261 pages
BLURB:
Someone is leaving a trail of bodies throughout London, and Detective Anthony Parglietto is determined to end the violence. Then he’ll return to the man he loves.
Tough, street-savvy, and used to dealing with lowlifes, Flynn Parker is the last person Anthony thinks he has to protect. Then the Bow-Tie Killer strikes close to home and the world turns upside down. Right is wrong, black is white, and a policeman might become a monster. But in the name of love, justice must be served. In the name of love, pain can be endured. In the name of love, a man can taste the very essence that defines him.
REVIEW:
This was an unwanted, but very pleasant surprise. I picked this book up as a favor to help out another reviewer. I didn’t necessarily want it but I wanted to help, so I chose this one. Reading the blurb it pinged so many of my interests that I was very hopeful it’d be right up my alley. And I’m happy to say, it most definitely was! This book was fantastic, FAN FRIGGIN TASTIC!!!! The author is new to me; I believe she’s European so the story is set in England with a lot of English slang. I got a little lost at times but the story was so beautifully told I just went with it and it all made sense in time.
Flynn Parker is in love with life! He has an amazingly hot police detective boyfriend, a thrilling job, and lots of good friends. It’s all going great until he’s kidnapped and sexually assaulted by the serial killer his boyfriend is currently hunting. He’s shocked when the serial killer releases him, letting him know the only reason he is being spared is because he wants him to tell his story. Flynn immediately goes to his boyfriend, Anthony. He sits through medical evals and lots of interviews to make sure they collect all the evidence they can. Flynn does a good job at moving on with his life after his attack but he’s always on edge not knowing what could happen next.
Anthony Parglietto has been a cop for his whole adult life. Protecting and serving is all he knows. His current case, a sadistic serial killer with no MO is weighing heavily on him. Especially after the killer kidnaps the man he loves and then releases him as a taunt. For very personal reasons, aside from the kidnapping of his boyfriend he’s taken this case very personal and knows he needs to be the one to catch this killer.
After meeting with an informant someone who becomes very important towards the end they might be able to break this case and catch the killer.
I don’t want to give it all away especially due to all the twist and turn and the gut wrenching suspense but this book had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed everything about it. The supporting cast seemed pretty important so it’d be nice if there was a sequel that delved more into those characters.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was pretty fantastic. Very suspenseful and the mystery kept me guessing. Absolutely recommend!!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Your review has sold it to me, not my normal read and I’ve not read any of this author’s books before, so it should be interesting!
Thanks so much for this review. I love Susan Mac Nicol’s work and had no idea this was coming out. It sounds wonderful and I’m buying it now!
I’m so glad you found the review helpful. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. This book was fantastic and I loved the characters.
Oh what a lovely thing to wake up to on Mother’s Day here in the UK. Thanks so much Amber for the sterling review. Thanks ladies for your brilliant comments and Andrea, I hope you enjoy this one. Lorraine, you too, let me know what you think if you read it. And Amber, if you want to read a bit more about British slang, head down to www dot effingpot dot com/slang…….
I rarely hear back from authors so please know I’m so appreciative for the response. Thank you. Your book was amazing…thank you for writing it and introducing me to these amazing characters!! Happy Mother’s Day!!!
My pleasure, Amber. I’m so happy that you enjoyed it 🙂