Reviewed by Cindy

TITLE: Bound

SERIES: Chinatown Demons Book 1

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER: Rogue Firebird Press

LENGTH: 105 Pages

RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2020

BLURB:

Chinatown, San Francisco.

A different place — another time— and where the city’s streets keep secrets, shadowy mysteries SFPD Inspector Spencer Ricci needs to dig through after he finds himself on a case involving a dismembered, mummified man in a restaurant’s locked storage room.

Spencer drags around a lot of baggage, including an ongoing battle with the bottle and a long career as an LAPD detective he’d set fire to in a blaze of booze-soaked mistakes. San Francisco is supposed to be a new start but his old ghosts haunt him, beckoning him back into his self-destructive bad habits. Bad habits that include contemplating doing dirty things with the wrong kind of guy and this time, it’s a sleek, cold-tempered medical examiner named Xian Carter with a complicated reputation.

For a century-old demon, Xian Carter is content with his secretive life. Hiding his nature from the mundane world, he blends in with the city’s inhabitants as best he can but even the best of predators make mistakes. Delving into the mysteries of the dead provide a welcome distraction from endless nights and hiding in plain sight amuses him, until something supernaturally wicked comes knocking on his door with an extremely hot, broody Inspector close behind.

Murder makes for strange bedfellows and this one is no exception. The twists and turns of the case leaves Xian and Spencer on a wild goose chase after clues but Xian can only hope there’s a human at the end of the trail—because the last thing San Francisco needs is another predator.

REVIEW:

So, the first thing I have to say is…THAT’S IT??? That’s where it ends??? WTH?????

I was so into this story that getting to the end was like hitting a brick wall! All I can say is, that hopefully, the next one comes really, really quickly!

There’s a lot going on in the story, so many little tidbits to ponder over, and a ton of questions that need answers.

Xian and Spencer are both fascinating in their own ways. I’m looking forward to finding out more of their back stories. I wanna know how Xian evolved into who he is and how Spencer ended up in Chinatown when he started out somewhere so very different.

As usual, Rhys Ford builds the most amazing world for her characters to exist in. She paints a picture so bright that I can almost hears the sounds of the city and smell the air they are breathing. The world she’s creating is obviously a real place but you would swear she’s lived there all her life.

Once I started reading, I was lost to my own world until the last word of the last chapter and I gotta be honest. If I’d been reading a paperback instead of reading on my phone, I would have launched the book across the room in a fit of rage! I don’t usually read serials for this exact reason. I like the kind of series that wraps up the story in every book and moves on to a new couple for the next. It’s easier on my heart.

Now that I’ve calmed down, I can only say that once again, Rhys Ford has managed to get everything in this story just right. I want to know more about everything. Xian’s friends and assistant. Spencer’s background. It will be an obsession until the very last chapter of the very last installment. Then I’ll probably go back and read it all again.

RATING:

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