Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Sins of the Father
SERIES: Wilde Love #2
AUTHOR: Sam Burns
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2017
BLURB:
Six years ago, Keegan Quinn was working for his father in the Irish Mob. When a shootout left him shattered in more ways than one, he left the family business and opened a bar in downtown Chicago. Now with his father sick and the FBI investigating the family, his old life is threatening to tear his new one apart.
The last thing FBI agent Jon Brookfield expected to find while investigating the mob was a kind, soft-spoken man like Keegan Quinn. Dating wasn’t in Jon’s plans, but he’s willing to make changes. When the Quinn family business and Keegan’s ex-boyfriend threaten to come between them, Jon has to decide just how important their newfound relationship is to him.
This novel is intended for adult audiences, and contains swearing, violence, and sex scenes
REVIEW:
When Brendan Quinn’s “best friend” Pat turned himself in–to escape a rather harsher retirement from Quinn’s mob business–the FBI think they might just have a chance at cracking the case on the Quinn criminal enterprise. And as part of their investigation they send in Special Agent Jon Brookfield to interview Quinn’s eldest son, Keegan. Keegan has supposedly been out of the business for years, but with the mob, you can never really tell. So off to Wilde’s–Keegan’s bar in Old Town–Jon goes.
Dealing with law enforcement is hardly a new experience for Keegan Quinn, but ever since the shooting that left him bleeding out and an innocent kid laying dead, Keegan has done his best to keep to the right side of the line. Even if that means leaving his dad to deal with the “family business” all on his own. So he is not too worried when Agent Brookfield shows up to his business asking questions. He is a bit flummoxed to find himself flirting with the man though. And for the Agent to be flirting back. Mob boss’s son and an FBI agent is a horrible mix, even if the chemistry is in all the right places. But Keegan doesn’t have long to worry about the do’s and don’ts of dating, because something is up with his father–something far deadlier than any FBI investigation.
I remember saying in my review of Straight from the Heart that a story from Keegan’s pov would be really cool. And I was right. This was just as enjoyable as book one.
I admit that I was worried that lighthearted tone book one took towards criminal and policing reality would be thrown out since this book has a FBI main character, but the feel actually carried over nicely from book to book. There is very little I would buy about the more procedural aspects of this book in real life, but once again the story was able to convince me that those parts actually mattered very little, and that I should instead just focus on the characters and the plot. What should have been a rather big sticking point–Jon basically wants to start dating the son of a mob boss he is investigating–was easily brushed aside, but was done in such a way that I was perfectly willing to buy it. Kudos to the author for totally having me do this twice in a row.
And I was probably able to do this because Jon and Keegan really do work well together. They have an almost instantaneous fit that doesn’t at all seem forced. Through the ups and downs of the story we really get to see how perfect they were for each other. Granted I would have liked a tad bit more confrontation about certain things (Keegan’s ex and Jon’s job), but for what I think the book wanted to be, it works.
I will say though that my biggest sticking point about his story is Phil, Keegan’s ex. Not so much the character, because as annoying as he is, I think he does pay-out by the end, but Keegan’s reaction to the man. Look, I get that people’s reactions to their ex showing up out of the blue may be varied. But, when everyone you know says the dude is creeping them the fuck out, I don’t think the correct response is to keep meeting up with the dude to have meals and talk. Especially when you keep saying that you have no real connection to the man anymore. It felt way too much like Keegan kept meeting the dude because the plot required Phil to be at the end of the book, than any real response to having everyone he cares about warn him off the creepy fuck. Either I needed there to be a better reason for Keegan to keep seeing the dude, or I needed the stalker vibe to be toned down a bit. Because as is, I honestly couldn’t believe that Keegan would just shrug off everyone’s attempts at warning him. It just didn’t fit the character at all.
Other than that…let’s just say this was a lighthearted story much in the same vein as book one. If you liked that one, I’m pretty sure you are going to love Keegan and Jon’s story. Just don’t go in expecting dirt and grit out of the whole cop/crook angle. If you are needing something with a good romance and well written characters, though, this is a good bet.
RATING: 
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