Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Bell, Book and Scandal
SERIES: Bedknobs & Broomsticks
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: JustJoshin Publishing
LENGTH: 5 hours and 39 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2021
BLURB:
Black Magic. Blackmail. Little Black Books. Must a witch break his vows to save his marriage?
Cosmo Saville loves that his husband has finally accepted his witchy ways. And in return, his promise to stay out of police business guarantees them a happily ever after. At least, until he discovers he might be responsible for a dangerous game of blackmail….
Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith feels relieved that his marriage is back on track. Especially since he has his hands full with a high-profile suicide and rumors of a city-wide extortion ring. But when he stumbles across Cosmo breaking his vow by playing cop, John agonizes over old wounds.
With the commissioner’s badge and family in jeopardy, Cosmo has no choice but to put his life on the line.
Can the witch expose a dark conspiracy, save John’s career, and return to love’s delicious spell?
Bell, Book and Scandal is the third book in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks romantic gay mystery trilogy. If you like quirky characters, snappy spells, and madcap suspense, then you’ll love Josh Lanyon’s supernatural story.
REVIEW:
Note: This book is the third in this series and they should be read/listened to in order.
Cosmo and John have settled into their married life in their beautiful home after the events of I Buried a Witch. Cosmo is back at this antiques business and John is back to work as the Police Commissioner. However, there is a blackmailer that has his/her sights set on San Francisco’s elite and John is up to his a** in alligators on it. When Cosmo receives an envelope of compromising photographs, he’s left with trying to figure out how it all fits together. Despite his promise to John that he won’t get involved in police business or use magic unless absolutely necessary, it becomes clear to Cosmo that somehow this is tied back to him and the organization that has been causing him and his friends no end of grief since before his wedding.
Cosmo seems to be running into trouble on all fronts. His apprentice, Ambrose, keeps missing work. When Cosmo tries to figure out how to set things right with him, he discovers the serious problem that Ambrose is dealing with in his grandmother. Despite all attempts to keep his grandmother under wraps, things continue to go horribly wrong and somehow Cosmo is in the middle of all of it. And when he follows up on the blackmail photographs, things go from bad to worse. Cosmo knows that explaining all this to John is going to set them back and he’s not looking forward to dealing with John’s anger.
As predicted, John is fit to be tied that his husband seems to turn up in far too many investigations. He’s furious that Cosmo is not keeping his promise and he doesn’t want to listen to Cosmo’s reasons. He also doesn’t want to lose his husband though, so they have to figure out a way to be able to move forward. This is made doubly difficult because Cosmo doesn’t know who is friend and who is foe at this point. With his mother called away and his friends unable to help, he feels like he’s got no choice but to follow up on his own hunches. And this may or may not be the smart thing to do, since it’s pretty obvious that whoever is behind all of the machinations wants him out of the way. Permanently.
This series is just delicious! I loved every single thing about this book. The wide cast of characters – most of whom we’ve met in the previous books – return to the scene of the crime, as it were, in this installment. But the new characters are just as intriguing! I honestly had no idea where the mystery was going and who was responsible for what 🙂 I already loved Cosmo and John, but in this book, they really have to work in order to keep their marriage intact. John is forced to compromise – maybe for the first time in his life. He finally figures out he just cannot order Cosmo to be something he isn’t, and he can either accept that or walk away. Cosmo stands up for himself in the most respectful but insistent way. He doesn’t want this marriage to be over and he does his best to try to resolve the situation even though it’s dangerous.
Kale Williams does an absolutely masterful job of narrating this book. He is among the chosen few MM narrators that I seek out. His delivery of the various characters and voices in this book are *chef’s kiss*. His French accent and French pronunciation are just lovely and I enjoy so much the emotion (not over the top or “dramatic” in a grating way) he imbues into each character and scene. We feel Cosmo’s disappointment in himself for not being able to figure out another way to resolve the situations he finds himself in. John’s anger and frustration at being unable to control everything around him is palpable because of Mr. Williams’ talent. We still love John despite sometimes not liking how he treats Cosmo, because we can feel that at the end of the day, he does love Cosmo and wants their marriage to work 🙂 Beautifully done!
Highly recommended for fans of romantic suspense, mysteries, magic and true love 😀
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible