Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Bitter Legacy
SERIES: Bitter Legacy #1
AUTHOR: Dal MacLean
NARRATOR: Gary Furlong
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
RELEASE DATE: November 12, 2019
LENGTH: 14 hours, 11 minutes
BLURB:
London.
Detective Sergeant James Henderson’s remarkable gut instincts have put him on a three-year fast track to becoming an inspector. But the advancement of his career has come at a cost. Gay, posh and eager to prove himself in the Metropolitan Police, James has allowed himself few chances for romance.
But when the murder of barrister Maria Curzon-Whyte lands in his lap, all that changes. His investigation leads him to a circle of irresistibly charming men. And though he knows better, James finds himself enticed into their company.
Soon his desire for photographer Ben Morgan challenges him to find a way into the other man’s lifestyle of one-night stands and carefree promiscuity. At the same time his single murder case multiplies into a cruel pattern of violence and depravity.
But as the bodies pile up and shocking secrets come to light, James finds both his tumultuous private life and coveted career threatened by a bitter legacy.
REVIEW:
Is this really a debut novel? Because it sure didn’t read like one. And if this is a testament of what this author can bring, then please sign me up for more!
Detective Sergeant James Henderson is on the fast track to becoming an inspector with London’s Metropolitan Police Murder Investigation Team. With his incredible instincts and sense for details he closes one case after the other, find clues others overlook and his tenaciousness never lets him give up. But his latest case his him spinning in circles, a young woman is found brutally murdered and the clues don’t seem to fit, and when a second victim is found, James fears they are on the trail of a serial murderer.
James has dedicated his life to his work, but he’s slowly realising that he needs something more. That he needs to be true to himself and explore his sexuality. So when he comes across the most charismatic and beautiful (gay) man he’s ever met, who so happens also have a room to let, James jumps at the chance. In Ben he finds a man who’s not afraid of going after what he wanted, someone who’s unapologetic about who he was. A man he’s drawn to like no other and one he starts out exploring all the things he ever only dreamed of.
I didn’t like Ben. It’s not so much the revolving door he had to his bedroom, I mean to each his own. And if all parties are agreeable, then who am I to judge? However I had major issues with how calculatingly cruel he was to James. How he so deliberately toyed with James’s feelings. I mean he knew how James felt for him, yet time again he paraded his conquests in front of him. And whenever James took one minute step away from Ben, he was there dangling the carrot and reeling him back in – only to be thrown away again the next morning.
I can’t say that James made the right or wrong choice – I mean, is it better to have loved and lost, or only to have lost? Is it better to grab a scrap of happiness even if it’s laced with hurt and heartbreak? I have no clue, I haven’t been there and in the end it’s not up to me. I only wished that James had found someone more worthy of his love, someone that treated him right – or at the very least respected him, because Ben with all his stunts so clearly did not.
All that being said, I kind of also loved that mess. I didn’t love the mess per se, just how it was portrayed, it was credible. Dal MacLean created wonderfully genuine characters, some with more flaws than others. Every one of them felt real to me, their actions made sense, they had history and personalities and it shone through every encounter, they were as alive for me as much as my co-worker is in the next room. I didn’t always agree with them, but I did believe in them and in their actions.
As far as the mystery itself goes, I’m a big fan. Sure at times I might have wished for a bit more focus on the investigation and a bit less on the relationship rollercoaster, but it was still a good one. There were many clues and possibilities neatly woven into this story. It had me entertained, sometimes guessing, but more importantly it has left me with the need for more.
Gary Furlong was incredible in this book. I loved his narration, the accents the pacing but even more the feelings. He was invested in this book, and he made the listeners invested and a part of it. He made you hate that red sock just as much as James did whenever he saw it. Made you feel that thump of his heart, the wrenching of his gut but also the longing. The longing to be loved, for friends to be part of something larger. This has definitely been one of my favourites, if not the favourite, book I’ve listened to by Furlong.
RATING: 
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