REVIEWED by Jen B.

TITLE: Murder by Design

AUTHOR: J.P. Bowie

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing

LENGTH: 201 Pages

RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2019

BLURB:

An unexpected meeting in a bar gives Detective Sam Walker a real chance of finding long-awaited happiness. All he has to do is stay alive.

Detective Sam Walker gets a surprise phone call the day he wakes up with the hangover from hell. The caller informs him that his name is Justin and that they met the night before in a gay bar. Not only met, but kissed and traded phone numbers and Sam has no memory of it at all. Intrigued, Sam wants to meet Justin again, but any chance of that is delayed when he and his partner are assigned a murder investigation and told to take care of it ASAP.

Sam has a problem, a deeply personal one that he doesn’t talk about, but when he’s with Justin the problem seems to disappear and he’s convinced he’s been given a new lease on life. His elation is short-lived, however, when the case he and his partner are working on takes a dark turn.

Justin also has a problem…Maria Esteban, a fiery-tempered Puerto Rican who owns the fashion company Justin designs for. Theirs is a volatile relationship and when tragedy strikes, the finger of suspicion points at him.

Can Sam save Justin not only from a bigoted detective intent on cracking the case quickly, but from a new and unexpected source, too? Or is their love affair doomed before they can truly savor Sam’s newfound freedom from the past?

Reader Advisory: This book contains homophobia, the remembered assault and rape of the main character and attempted murder. There are some scenes of violence, as well as brief references to child slavery.

REVIEW:

I already loved Mr. Bowie’s The Vampire and… series, so I didn’t hesitate to pick this one up. I was not disappointed, as this has the same easy going style that makes it enjoyable regardless of the plot.

Sam had been out celebrating solving a big sex trafficking case, but when he wakes up the next day to a phone call from a stranger with whom he uncharacteristically apparently hit on, kissed, took a selfie with and instructed to call, he is a bit thrown for a loop. But, he decides to take a chance and meet up under better circumstances. The attraction is still there, as is a definite connection, and they seem to fit in the best ways.

Sam has dealt with ED due to a traumatic event in his past. It has cost him numerous boyfriends, including his last who was a bit of a jerk. Needless to say, he doesn’t seem to have that problem with Justin, so their relationship starts with Sam taking advantage of that, although Justin is fully on board from the get go. Unfortunately, Sam and his partner get a new case that limits his social time.

Meanwhile, there is trouble at Justin’s work when the boss he has had a tumultuous work relationship is murdered and Justin is the one accused. There are, as expected, a few bigoted, homophobic cops involved who make things difficult, but there are just as many fabulous characters to make up for it. Sam’s partner and his family are amazing. Not only are he and Sam best friends, but they took Sam into their family (his own disowned him when he came out in his teens). Justin’s family was supportive as well, which was nice.

I enjoyed watching the cases get solved, especially the murder of the young hustler, although I thought the murder involving Justin was a bit over the top making it difficult to take seriously. However, it was the chemistry and budding relationship between Sam and Justin that I really enjoyed. Justin was such a total sweetheart and there was very little angst where their relationship was concerned. I’m not usually a fan of insta-love, but it totally worked here. They were honest, supportive and open with each other pretty much as soon as that initial lust was sated, and it just continued from there. I was a little disappointed this was a stand-alone story, because I would love to see more of these guys and the other characters as well. I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for an easy, smooth reading story that has a few difficult aspects but which the focus remains on the relationship without being obvious about it.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Pride Publishing

Amazon