Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Nine Cocktails
AUTHOR: J.V. Speyer
PUBLISHER: JMS Publishing
LENGTH: 32,927 words
RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2019
BLURB:
Boston detective and Army vet Abby Morgan got into police work because she wanted to help people, but it seems she only gets to show up after they’re past helping. When a man is murdered outside popular cocktail bar The Gin Barrel, she finds a case that isn’t quite so cut and dry as it seems – and a bartender who arouses more than just her protective instincts.
Paige Lim knows, as soon as she finds out about the body outside her bar, who the killer is. She also knows the police won’t do anything about it. They never took it seriously before, why would they start now? The pretty detective seems sincere, but Paige knows there is a whole system set up to make sure she’ll never be safe – and neither will anyone in her orbit.
Abby is determined not to let the system fail Paige again, but getting the proof they need to arrest the killer is going to take ingenuity and risk. Can they catch a murderer before he kills again?
REVIEW:
I love a good mystery, and I especially love when a tough butch cop solves the mystery and takes down the perp with strength and skill—all while getting the girl at the end. This is a lovely little romance with plenty of action, but it needed a bit of story polish to really come together.
Army vet and Boston police officer Abby Morgan is called to investigate a mysterious murder at a local bar, but the young man’s death ends up being far from cut-and-dry. She soon learns that beautiful bartender Paige Lim has been battling a violent stalker for the last five years, a stalker who hurts anyone who gets too close to her. Over the course of nine different drinks at the Gin Barrel, Abby and Paige concoct a plan to finally catch Paige’s longtime abuser and put him behind bars forever. But he’s a dangerous man who knows what he’s doing, so it takes a lot of strategy—including faking being lovers in public to really get him riled up. Naturally, their fake dates sizzle with chemistry, and both women have to deal with their mutual attraction and what it could mean for the investigation.
Abby is a great cop character—focused, brave, and logical to a fault. She and her partner Mark have good chemistry and the action sequences are well-done. But the book revs its engine a little much in the first half, focusing on the would-be killer too early, making us think there’s a twist coming, then falling a little flat. It started with too much of a whodunnit tone when it should’ve been straightforward cop procedural from the start.
I’ve only read one other romance by J.V. Speyer and I really enjoyed it. She’s good at writing succinct stories at a shorter length with a relationship dynamic to root for, and she always includes characters of diverse backgrounds and body types. This book would get a higher rating if the police procedural drama wasn’t so rushed, and I wish we were left with a little more mystery as to who the killer was. Some sloppiness aside, I loved Abby and Paige’s chemistry (the gorgeous cover works in their favor, too), and I will definitely read more from Speyer.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: