Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Shadow Men
SERIES: Hunt&Cam4Ever
AUTHOR: Adira August
PUBLISHER: Red Deer
LENGTH: 379 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 7, 2020
BLURB:
DARKNESS FALLS, EVEN IN PARADISE…
“I said, no.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t accept that.”
Hunter gave Ben Hart an incredulous look. “Accept it or don’t Hart, I’m not leaving Cam right now.”
The billionaire put his hands into his pockets and looked around Cam’s yard—an unimproved clearing to the edge of the woods. Above the jagged line of the canyon rim, a lone raptor circled lazily. “I don’t like calling in favors, but if that’s what it takes…”
“If you ‘call them in’ they aren’t favors. And before you explain exactly what happened, why do you need me? If it’s a police matter, Hawaii has police departments. The locals aren’t meeting your high expectations?”
Hart’s indigo eyes flashed fire. “Remember who you’re talking to, Detective.”
“Remember I don’t work for you, Hart.”
Benedict Hart and Hunter Dane faced-off. They were both big men, both men who had killed, and both motivated by the same thing.
“Don’t fight me on this, Hunter; I’m protecting my family.”
“So am I, Ben. Either tell me what the hell is going on or leave. Cam and I are still on our honeymoon.”
Something desperate flickered across Ben Hart’s face. “I’ve done a lot for you, Hunter. And for Cam. You think I can’t hurt you? And hi—”
WHAM!
One billionaire facedown on the redwood table.
“Hunter!” Cam was on the patio, in sweatpants and nothing else. He crossed swiftly to the table. “Let him go before one of his bodyguards takes you out from the woods.”
Hunter didn’t move. “He threatened you.”
“Then he’s scared s**tless about something money can’t fix.”
A 72k word police procedural, the seventh in the Hunt&Cam4Ever BDSM-MYSTERY series. This is the book the author calls “The hardest book I ever wrote.” This is an ending no one was expecting.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the 7th book in this series, and as such, it won’t work as a stand alone too well. Reading the series in order really is required to understand the dynamic of this couple and of the team that Hunter Dane leads. Major spoilers for all pasts books in this one as well as this review 🙂
Cam and Hunt have returned from what was supposed to be their honeymoon – but which turned into a murder mystery topped off with a natural disaster of a killer flood that required Hunt to take charge and basically save everyone. Not the most relaxing trip 🙂 They both are OK physically, but within a couple days of coming home, there is another crisis that requires their help.
Ben Hart, billionaire fiance of Hunter’s good friend Avia has a situation on his hands and he needs Hunter’s help. There’s a dead body and a ship at see with passengers – including what might be a murderer. Hart is desperate to determine what happened and how to handle the situation and therefore, he’s desperate for Hunter’s assistance. But Hunt and Cam are still on their honeymoon – just at home 🙂 They are working through some stuff that happened on the aborted trip and trying to figure out some things in their new relationship as husbands. Now is not the time. But Hart’s plea and Cam’s acquiescence convince Hunt to agree to this crazy plan.
Despite having given the team the week off because Hart and Cam are going to be away, they show up right on time to investigate. The players – both known and unknown to Hunt – are and odd mix of people. Hunt’s pretty sure he knows who isn’t the killer – but he’s still got a list of suspects. There are a lot of wildcards in this deck though, so he’s got to play it very carefully to get to the bottom of what really happened on that boat. Hart’s team, whom we’ve met in previous books, are there to assist and take some of the worry off of Hart and Cam. But even after they learn what happens, they are not in the clear.
So I didn’t think I could love this couple more. I was wrong. My hearts was hurting so much with this book. And this one is a bit of a sad story in more ways than one. I guess most stories involving the death of someone young is sad. Cam says at one point
Why does it all have to be so sad? The life the killers live, wasted. The life the victims don’t get to live, wasted.
This quote and the timing of it, are pivotal to this story. Just brilliant. While the death in this story is not as gruesome as many of Hunt’s cases, there are other circumstances surrounding the ship and the passengers that hit a little too close to home for Cam and Hunt. There are things that they are equipped to handle and things that they aren’t. Merisi, Hunt’s hand-picked detective and Twee, their continually surprising and amazing CSI tech, provide so much support on this one – and not just on the case. Merisi is really coming into his own and Twee is her usual brilliant self. I love these two more with each successive story. Of course they solve the case, but it’s what comes after that is the biggest surprise of this book. I have no idea what is ahead for Hunt and Cam, but I am waiting with bated breath to find out. I sure hope the next book is coming soon because this was a painful way to end this one. But absolutely brilliant! I highly recommend this whole series. The dynamic between these two is like nothing else I’ve ever read and I cannot get enough.
RATING: 
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