Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: The Driver
SERIES: The Long Con #3
AUTHOR: Amy Lane
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 373 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 15, 2022
BLURB:
Hell-raiser, getaway driver, and occasional knight in tarnished armor Chuck Calder has never had any illusions about being a serious boyfriend. He may not be a good guy, but at least as part of Josh Salinger’s crew of upscale thieves and cons, he can feel good about his job.
Right now, his job is Lucius Broadstone.
Lucius is a blueblood with a brutal past. He uses his fortune and contacts to help people trying to escape abuse, but someone is doing everything they can to stop him. He needs the kind of help only the Salingers can provide. Besides, he hasn’t forgotten the last time he and Chuck Calder collided. The team’s good ol’ boy and good luck charm is a blue-collar handful, but he is genuinely kind. He takes Lucius’s mission seriously, and Lucius has never had that before. In spite of Chuck’s reluctance to admit he’s a nice guy, Lucius wants to know him better.
Chuck’s a guaranteed good time, and Lucius is a forever guy. Can Chuck come to terms with his past and embrace the future Lucius is offering? Or is Good Luck Chuck destined to be driving off into the sunset alone forever?
REVIEW:
The Driver is another fantastic entry in The Long Con Adventures series. I like to classify it into what I call the Ocean’s Eleven genre: it has action, adventure, romance, humor, and thrills. There’s Chuck evading the police while driving 90 mph on downtown city streets, Grace crawling through vents, Danny masterminding, Molly killing it undercover, loads of bad guys, lots of feels, and perhaps best of all – the greatest found family I’ve encountered in MM romance. And sadly, we have Josh – the twenty-one-year-old heart of the operation – battling leukemia.
“They weren’t thieves to make money; they were thieves and con men because there was something inside them, some fundamental damage, that made it easier to contribute to the world through breaking the law than upholding it.”
This is Chuck Calder and Lucius Broadstone’s love story, wrapped around a plot to save Lucius’ company from sabotage, and stop the security of his abused women’s shelter from being compromised, putting the residents in grave danger. We know Chuck as a retired bank robber and getaway driver extraordinaire. He was welcomed into the family through his friendship with Josh and because of his “special skills”. Lucius we met in The Muscle as a thirty-year-old billionaire and cutting-edge tech company owner.
While working the job, Chuck and Lucius grow closer. They had already shared a scorching kiss in The Muscle and while the physical attraction is strong, Chuck knows he’s a criminal and feels unworthy of Lucius. He’s spent his life convincing everyone of his Good Time Charlie persona where nothing bothers him. But his true self wants to set down roots like Hunter and Grace. He’s always wanted love but never had it until now. He’s afraid to be forthcoming about his darkest secret, though, because he badly wants Lucius to see the good in him, not just the bad. On his end, Lucius has been lonely since childhood with no one he could trust or confide in. He desperately wants someone he can relax with, someone with whom he can let go of his fears, anger, and bitterness. He’s never had a man to hold him through the pain, but now he’s found that in Chuck and he’s not going to let go.
The action we’ve come to expect lets loose in the aptly named chapter, Let the Games Begin. There is so much corruption and crime among the plethora of bad men that we never know quite how the pieces are going to go together. Caraway, Lucius’ shelter, is what drives the Salinger crew to turn their crime into a good purpose. It is a safe, healing place for women, children, and the occasional young man who have possibly never known peace or security. Somehow, the shelter has been infiltrated by a mole.
This is a critical job, one that might save lives. All the players are involved, even Josh. The core group is nine strong with others being collected along the way like a dragon hoarding its treasure. Only two – Julia and Josh – are related by blood, but this is the closest, most loving, supportive, heartwarming family I’ve come across. Felix welcomes Lucius into the fold, telling him in a little speech that made my eyes sting, that he is no longer alone in the world and is expected to be part of the family. We know he’ll fit in well because of his love of cookies.
This is an outstanding series. The Driver has been among my most anticipated books recently and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Josh’s story, perhaps? I just can’t get enough of this crew of heroic outlaws.
RATING: 
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