REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Undercover
SERIES: Undercover #1
AUTHOR: T.A. McKay
PUBLISHER: T.A. McKay
LENGTH: 262 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 23, 2016
BLURB:
Drake Donovan is one of the good guys. He spends his life helping people who need it. Being a police officer is all he’s ever wanted to be, and there is nothing else that could ever compare.
After months of work he finally has a way in to the underground world he’s been trying to close down. A trail of dead prostitutes has led him to a chat room and a man called Dreamfixer, but when a late night meeting goes wrong his life changes forever.
Ryden Garrick has the life that nightmares are made of. Growing up with a father like his taught him everything he needed to know to run his area in one of Britain’s largest crime organisations.
Guns, drugs, money laundering, and the area that Ryden excels in, prostitution. Running one of the largest male prostitution rings, one where anything is acceptable, even murder, is where he dedicates most of his time.
When Drake discovered the connection with the young dead bodies, all linked with a letter tattooed on their chest, he knew he had to do something. Now standing in front of the elusive Dreamfixer, he knows that life will never be the same.
When gathering evidence becomes the last thing he’s thinking about he knows that he will have to make a decision. Follow his feelings or stay strong, doing what he was here to do.
Now he has to decide between the job he loves and the man who could change everything.
Life for Drake was easy before he went Undercover.
M/M romance. Not suitable for readers under 18 years of age due to language and sexual content. ***Please note*** This book contains scenes of murder, rape and abuse which some readers may find uncomfortable.
This one took me a little bit to get on board, even though I was interested from the get go. Drake decides he is the best option to go undercover to get to the bottom of the missing and deceased men who have turned up. Word has it there is a high end escort business, which is how Drake manages to get an invite. Luck goes his way when he happens upon a name and ends up making contact. Unfortunately, before he is able to make the scheduled meeting, he is grabbed and kidnapped. Turns out the business is more like the Hotel California – men check in, but they never check out.
Drake caught the eye of Ryden from the first time they met in that chatroom. The plan is still to add Drake to the pool of escorts, but Ryden keeps changing his own rules where Drake is concerned. Among other things, Drake is kept out of general population under the guise of allowing him to adjust. He is also rooming with another escort, Corey, so that Corey can help ease Drake into things.
Drake and Corey strike up a quick friendship. Drake still has the mission on his mind though and wants to save the others, but he isn’t getting anywhere very quickly. With little hope of anyone on the outside knowing where he is, he is on his own. But, in the meantime, things are heating up with the mysterious Ryden. The sparks fly with these two causing Ryden to bend more rules and Drake to give in to the man behind all the horrible things happening to the captured men.
I had a bit of trouble with this aspect of the story, and it took me a little bit to get past it. Ryden was not a good man in any way. But, things turn around, and as their feelings grow and the attraction skyrockets, Ryden realizes he wants a different life and Drake is right smack in the center of it. Likewise, things change for Drake as well. Priorities shift for both of them, and by the end, I was really excited to see the story continue in the next installment. Luckily, I had it all queued up and ready to go!
