Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Family Jewels 
AUTHOR: M.J. O’Shea
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
BLURB:
Corbin Ford, aka the Nightwatchman, named for the antique pocket watches he leaves behind at jobs, has been in the cat-burgling business for years. His father was. His grandfather was. His mother is still one of the most renowned thieves. Corbin likes his high-profile heists, priceless paintings from private collections, artifacts from museums, but his favorite? Jewels. Sparkly, beautiful jewels. If they’re famous, better yet.
Interpol agent Luke Eldridge has one goal and one goal only: to catch the Nightwatchman. Luke’s been after him for months, but getting the slip time and again is getting embarrassing. Luke has never even laid eyes on the bastard, but he’d happily strangle him. And then arrest him.
When Luke meets Corbin, the man of his dreams, he falls hard and fast… only to catch Corbin red-handed with his hand in a jewelry case at the scene of the highest-profile murder that’s rocked the international world in years.
REVIEW:
Luke Eldridge is an agent for Interpol, living in London, along with his friend and fellow agent Rob. Luke is single, just having the occasional hook-up, but has never had a relationship. Luke and Rob are called out to the scene of a burglary, only to discover the thief has left the same calling card as a well-known thief they both studied in school years before. The thief stole some jewelry from a safe, and left a pocket watch and a bit of poetry. The two men are assigned the task of finding this thief, who is given the nickname Nightwatchman 2, or NW2 as they call him.
Corbin Ford is the thief. His father was the original Nightwatchman, and now all these years later, Corbin has decided to use his calling card to play with Interpol a bit. He liked to sneak in to houses and steal expensive items, but he is particularly fond of jewelry. He goes about his business, thieving away….
So Luke goes out one night to pick up a guy to fuck, and guess who he picks up? Yup. Corbin, the very criminal he is after. Of course neither know who the other is, for some time. They begin to see each other, both lying about their jobs. Eventually Luke confesses to Crobin, that he is not a banker as he’s been telling him, but an Interpol agent, currently working on a series of burglaries. Corbin knows damn well that Luke is looking for him, but can’t seem to walk away, even though he knows he should. But he doesn’t and eventually it all goes to shit.
What I liked about this story, was Luke and Corbin. They are very different people, obviously on opposite sides of the law, but even taking that out of the equation, they are different. Physically Luke is big and alpha, Corbin small and softer some how. Even though we know he’s a criminal, he’s a soft hearted one. The connection between them is very strong, and the sex scenes between them are the perfect balance of hot and sweet.
What I didn’t like about this story was that there was not one surprise in the whole book. I had to do some serious suspending of reality to accept the plot. I had so many questions; Why does Corbin steal things? Does he sell them? Work by contract for people? Hoard things? What was Corbin’s background? We know he is the son of criminals, but why? Why was he leaving the watch and poetry? Then the whole resolution to this. I just could not accept that… how can I say this without giving any more away… There is a crime that takes place that Corbin does not do, and he is used to solve that crime. What? Why would that happen? Why would the police do that? Then the ambiguous ending. I couldn’t see how they would get out of the situation they are in, and I didn’t like the way it did end. I can’t say it’s a happy ending, but it wasn’t a sad ending. No one died, but it was not what I wanted to happen. I’m trying so hard not to say too much! I got to the end and just went “Huh… ok, well that’s over.”
I don’t know what to say about this one. I liked parts of it, the characters are great, the sex is great, I could have liked the plot with some different choices, and I certainly could have liked the ending if it had ended differently. Or if it ending by saying “See the continuation of Luke and Corbin’s story in book two.” But it doesn’t say that. If just ended. So I’m going with a rating of 3.5, which is average. I didn’t dislike it, I just wish it had been more realistic! It was mostly a good book, if you can let go of your hopes for a realistic plot and a happy ending you may enjoy this one.
RATING: 
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