Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Back To Black
SERIES: Makaha Beach Detectives (Book 1)
AUTHOR: A.J. Llewellyn
PUBLISHER: MLR Press
LENGTH: 96 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2016
BLURB:
Quinn Novak is a Honolulu Police Department detective working to solve an unusual string of robberies in the economically depressed town of Makaha Beach. A gang of thieves appears to be trailing pest control units then breaking into houses tented for termites. So one night, Quinn is assigned to watch over an important actor’s home.
Quinn has one problem, however–he’s afraid of the dark. At first, he seems able to cope with his phobia until he spies two men breaking into the house, and he follows them, despite the dangers of the pesticide and his fear.
Once inside the home, he appears to enter another realm–one in which two hot men desperately want him, and where he has the most incredible threesome of his life. But afterward, once he leaves, he yearns to get back to black…back to the dark and the two sexy men he left behind. Will he ever find them again?
This story has been previously published.
REVIEW:
Anyone who knows and follows me will know why I jumped and grabbed this book immediately. Waianae, located in the Makaha Valley on the Northeast tip of Oahu, is where I call home for over half of each year. I had to see if an author would do my little slice of paradise justice.
Quinn Novak works for Honolulu Police Department as a detective. HPD is not just for the city but the county of Honolulu, which covers the entire island of Oahu. He, and his partner Jackie, are sent up to the Waianae station to be part of a task force to stop a sudden rash of break-ins on houses being treated for termites, which are a major problem on the islands. The Waianae Coast is the most financially depressed area on the island and crime rate is high. The task force is worried how the sudden rash of break ins will affect the already struggling community. They have even brought in a lead from the mainland, “Special Agent J.D. Justus is visiting here from California. They are informed that he’ll be heading up this task force. SA Justus had been lead in the LA area on a series of break-ins that fit the same MO but that had come to an abrupt stop. Jackie and Quinn are assigned to a stake out of one of the houses they believe will be targeted. A very famous actor is renting the beautiful cottage. The thing that has Quinn thrown for a loop is that J.D. is absolutely no stranger. Not after that 3 day stand that they had awhile back. “Back To Black” is the story of how these men team up to solve this crime spree and to deal with past actions and a possible future.
Quinn is a bit of a unique person. He has many different sides…brave police officer, caring partner, wild boy who is finally starting to settle down after a rich history of sowing his wild oats. His partner Jackie, and her husband, mixed martial arts champion Arthur, were quite the pair. Quinn is very protective of his partner and knew something was up with her. Arthur was a bit of a goof. I’m not sure if he was just naive or he hit his head a few too many times in fights. I think I liked J.D. the best however. He was a man on a mission and knew what he wanted/needed. The thing that threw me and I still don’t full comprehend was the “Back To Black” scenes. They had a bit of a sci-fi/paranormal twist that left me a bit confused. I am hoping that this will be cleared up more in the next book.
I didn’t realize that this was a re-release until after I finished it and went searching for the links and blurb. Although the author did an amazing job in guiding me down streets I know by heart and to restaurants I frequent regularly, I was confused with some small details. They all make more sense now that I know that this was originally written several years ago. The city is now cleaning up and revitalizing. It has a brand new shiny police station and the economy and land prices are shooting up since Disney built the Au Lani resort a couple miles away. This is one of the most beautiful and driest sections of the island. The people are warm and friendly. I am proud to call Waianae/Makaha home. I just didn’t want anyone scared away with how it is described in the past.
All in all, I am quite trilled to have happened upon this little gem and look forward to the next book in the series. This was a fun, quirky little book with an interesting paranormal twist. I recommend it!
RATING: 
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