Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Conspiracy Theory
SERIES: Hamarsson & Dempsey #1
AUTHOR: Elle Keaton
NARRATOR: Michael Dean
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 6 hours, 42 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 18, 2019
BLURB:
Years of grueling police work have left Niall Hamarsson jaded and disillusioned with life…although it’s likely he’s been that way all along. The last straw lands when the DA refuses to try a case Niall worked for years to bring to justice. Within hours he finds himself heading to the only place he’s ever been able to call home – a place he knows he doesn’t belong.
Mat Dempsey returned to Piedras Island after his father’s death. These days he’s Island County’s sheriff. He’s happy enough, even if moving home from San Francisco effectively forced him back into the closet. Mat’s well-ordered universe collapses when a local’s body is discovered floating in the cold waters of Hidden Harbor’s marina. All hell breaks loose in the community, and accusations fly…all coinciding with Niall Hamarsson’s return.
Niall and Mat have a history, and it’s not one Mat’s proud of. He owes Niall an apology, even if it means getting down on his knees. However, Mat’s first priority is investigating the murder before his community tears itself apart and he may have to ask the aloof Niall Hamarsson for help.
Push apart, pull together, yes or no…The chemistry crackles between them but will the two men be able to put aside their pasts and embrace a future?
REVIEW:
Conspiracy Theory is my first book by Elle Keaton and it was only by coincidence that I did pick it up. I am the first to admit that I judged this book by the cover, put it in the category of “not for me” and moved on. I mean a cover with two bare torsos is in my mind bound to be steamy and with pages and pages of sex. Which is not my cup of tea, so I discarded the book and put it out of my mind. Until I came across a review or comment, I can’t remember at the moment, that stated that this book was a mystery and barely had a hint of romance to it. It piqued my interest in an instant and I just knew that I had to listen to this book and find out more. I’ve done this before, written books of because of the cover, or because of the narration sample, probably have missed some real gems because of it. But I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on this one. This was my kind of book in every way.
Homicide detective Niall Hamarsson has reached the end of his rope. When the DA refuses to try a murder case and bring a killer to justice. It was the last straw for him and in need of something else he quit his job and went back to the only place he ever called home, but wasn’t sure he was worthy of. Arriving in the small towns make the gossip mills run rampant, but all he wanted was peace and quiet to fix up his grandparent’s old cabin. Not long after arriving at Piedras Island strange, a body is found in the water and things only went worse from there.
The county sheriff Mat Dempsey is not happy to investigate a murder with the meagre resources the Island has. But he’s even less thrilled of involving Niall – no matter the man’s previous experience. I liked watching them dance around each other, ignoring and defying orders and what not. The mystery was a good one and it kept my interest with all the twists and turns. The revelations were a bit much, but I quite enjoyed it all anyway. I loved the sense of place Keaton created in this story. You could feel the secrets in the old town, the grudges smouldering under the surface, just waiting for the (in)opportune to erupt.
I love how we don’t know everything but have to figure stuff out as we go along. That we have to get to know Niall little by little. We know of some of his past horrors, but far from all of it. Trust is earned, and we just haven’t known him long enough to have the privilege of knowing his secrets. He’s a hard man to get to know, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
There is very little romance in this book, I wouldn’t say non-existent as our two main characters are attracted to each other, they just haven’t gotten around to doing much about it. Well, Niall is running scared – kind of, and Mat is trying to persuade him – or I guess he will in the next book – we didn’t quite get that far now. It will be fun watching them dance around each other trying to figure things out.
The book was performed by Michael Dean (formerly Michael Pauley) and as always he knows what he’s doing. He brings us passion and suspense and so much feeling that you can’t help but being swept away by him and the story. Niall’s reaction to the cabin fire especially got to me. So heart-breaking and sad, the horror of it, so much pain. Dean made you feel all of it – I still don’t know if I should thank him for that or not – I don’t enjoy heartbreak ;). I also loved the addition of a couple of Scandinavian words, it also added to the history between Niall and his mormor and morfar (grandmother and grandfather). The pronunciation of the words might not have been quite right, but I loved it anyway. And let’s face it, not many people will know that. In short, I loved the narration of this book and can’t wait to hear more.
I devoured this book in a day and I don’t have a single regret. And since there are no more books published in this series, all we can do is wait for the next one and hope that it isn’t too far away, because I need more books like this in my life.
RATING: 
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