REVIEWED by Becca and Jen B.
TITLE: Dead Man Stalking
SERIES: Blood and Bone
AUTHOR: T.A. Moore
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 275 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 10, 2019
BLURB:
A Blood and Bone Novel
Agent Luke Bennett proved that humans could rise just as high in the ranks as their vampire colleagues—until a kidnapper held him captive for a year and turned him without his consent.
Now he’s Took: a reluctant monster afraid to bite anyone, broke, and about to be discharged from his elite BITERs unit.
When an old colleague suggests he consult on a BITERs case, Took has little to lose. The case is open and shut… but nothing is ever that easy. As he digs deeper, he discovers a lot more than one cold case is at stake, and if he wants to solve this one, he’ll need the help of the BITERs team. Even if that brings his old commander, Madoc, back into his life.
BECCA’S REVIEW:
Possible triggers: kidnapping, blood and gore, blood drinking, gorging, and all that goes with vamps. But there is history of abuse and other kidnappings as well. So proceed with caution if need be.
This was one incredible story. And I can NOT wait to see what happens in the next book. Holy crap. Of course, with it being paranormals, I was in absolute heaven. But it was so much more than that. It was a murder mystery, a set of groups on the edge of war because of actions of everyone, it was suspense. It was past events, and learning to trust. All shelled within characters that are so incredibly beautifully flawed but you can’t help but love. Well, not the bad guys, but you get my drift lol.
The two main characters, Took and Madoc, have been circling each other for a while. Madoc has been in love with Took for a long time, but for Took, he’s broken. And nothing can ever fix him, he doesn’t think. After being kidnapped and tortured for a year, he has no trust for anyone. Well, maybe Madoc but it’s barely there. In part of his mind, he still wonders if Madoc had anything to do with it, even though he knows it’s not possible. Since then, he’s been on medical leave from Biters. He’s terrified he will freeze in the field or have some kind of flashback that will get someone hurt. He’s also scared to stay home, so he travels a lot to feel safer. But a consulting job he’s taken, is taking him on a journey that is not a pretty picture. It also puts him back in Madoc’s clutches, which he’s nervous about. The more they dig into this case they thought was solved, the more secrets that are coming out. And some are causing him flashbacks. And he really wants to know who was the one who kidnapped him. But for now, he has to figure out if this kid is really innocent of all the murders he’s been accused of or if it’s all true and he’s a psycho. While digging out more and more, people are determined to kill them. The Hunters want to purge the world of vamps and anything related to them, but yet have no problem using their powers for their own greed. The problem is, when they find out what is really going on, they’ve been set up in a trap they may not get out of. And it takes a lot to kill them. But they may not make it out alive.
Damn, those two. Took just captured my heart. Through the hell he’s been through, he keeps surviving. He may feel broken and unsure of himself but he keeps going. He keeps trying to hold on and get through it all. And while he tries to overlook and deny the love Madoc has for him, he has to admit, if only to himself, he helps him get through even more. Madoc, I love just because he’s a badass. He takes no shit of anyone, except Took and it is magnificent to watch him. But I’ve loved watching these two circle each other as well. They don’t bullshit each other. They might let something go for the moment but it gets taken care of. They have each others backs, even if angry, and make sure the other is ok. I love these guys.
BECCA’S RATING: 
JEN B.’S REVIEW:
It has been quite a while since I last enjoyed a paranormal story as much as this. It ticked quite a few of my boxes – low on fluff, plenty of mystery and suspense, bad ass characters, flawed/damaged characters, interesting worldbuilding, etc. There is a lot to learn – but it doesn’t take much to get up to speed. There are dhampirs, those born, and vampires, those made, and Hunters who want to eradicate them, werewolves, politics, both human and vampire, murder mystery, past abduction and much more. Definitely a lot going on. But the characters pulled it all together.
Took is the vampire who used to be Luke, the star agent until he was abducted and turned. He is not coping very well with any of it and feels broken for not being able to remember anything. He has trouble coming to terms with what he now is, he is afraid of who took him but wants to find out just the same, and that fear is basically crippling his life. He is afraid to sleep during the day for one reason and afraid to sleep at night for another. It’s easy to see he can’t keep that up for much longer without having a total breakdown.
Luckily, badass dhampir Madoc is there to pull him back in on the team. He is in love with Took, but having already been rejected before, is a bit cautious. He knows when to push and when to table things. He is clearly much older and wiser with a great deal of patience as he tries to help Took with his issues while, at the same time, trying to solve the other mystery of the murders. I loved their interactions. There are also some other interesting side characters to enjoy. The older dhampirs clearly have more history and I really enjoyed that aspect of things.
As for the storyline? There are twists and deceit, bad people and cover ups, and while all things are not answered by the end of this, I was left excited to continue on and see where things are going. This was a fairly slow read for me, but I felt as though I was savoring it as I went. My only real niggle was the feeling like I missed part of the previous story. I would have liked to have seen Took as Luke and how he and Madoc’s relationship began. But, this is where the story begins, and as I really enjoyed the style and how well it was woven, I can’t wait for the next installment!
JEN B.’S RATING: 
[…] by Becca and Jen […]