Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Death on Denial
SERIES: Quest Investigations
AUTHOR: E.J. Russell
PUBLISHER: Reality Optional Press
LENGTH: 227 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2022
BLURB:
DOA becomes BRB when this client goes MIA…
When I agreed to accompany my selkie boyfriend on a private boat trip, I didn’t realize the invitation included a swim. In the Pacific. In November. Naked. And I certainly didn’t expect to have our swim derailed the instant I got in the water—holy crap, that’s c-c-cold—by a literal boatload of selkie clan leaders.
Climbing out of the water in front of them—did I mention naked? Yeah, way to make a brilliant first impression. Then things get worse: I get served. Not in the metaphorical sense, either. Nope, I’m being sued.
By Death.
Well, not Death precisely, but an Ankou—a Celtic psychopomp who escorts the departed to their final destinations. This guy is miffed that his workload has increased exponentially, which he blames on my actions in Sheol on an earlier case. I’m not about to take the heat when eons of shady demon shenanigans finally come home to roost, but here at Quest Investigations, we aid any and all supernatural folk in need—especially if they’ll drop their specious lawsuits against the agency’s lone human.
When the Ankou skips out on us, though, all hell breaks loose. Because without anyone to lead them on, the dearly departed become nearly departed and stick around to party hearty. Now it’s not just the selkie leaders complicating my love life—it’s the ex-living as well.
And when one of the ex-living decides not to remain ex? Things get really complicated, not to mention deadly.
Dammit.
Death on Denial is the fourth in the Quest Investigations M/M mystery series, a spinoff of E.J. Russell’s Mythmatched paranormal rom-com story world. It contains no on-page sex or violence, and although there is a romantic subplot, it is not a romance. The series is best read in order.
REVIEW:
Matthew and Lachlan are finally alone! They are on Lachlan’s boat, it’s November and Lachlan wants Matthew to swim with him. Naked. In the Pacific Ocean. Lachlan will be his Selkie self, but Matthew will be puny human subject to hypothermia quickly. Just as Matthew jumps in, the boat is suddenly full of people – well Selkie clan leaders – as well as Jordan, Quest Investigations werewolf Junior Investigator and Frang, their transportation guide from Faerie. What the what? Turns out that they are demanding that Lachlan take his rightful place as their king. He has agreed because he took their tribute in order to save Matthew during a previous case. Also they sort of get tricked into a marriage? Matthew is not amused. First, Lachlan has never asked him and second, they haven’t even gotten to spend much time together alone! But even worse, while the Selkies are still there, Matthew is served. He’s being sued by a psychopomp – one of the folks who are supposed to escort departed souls to their last stop.
Upon returning to the Quest offices, things get even more crazy. Turns out that one of the departed souls – who Matthew saw on a previous case – is hanging out in the office. Construction work is also happening. Oh, and the party of the first part in the lawsuit against him also is there. And boy is he a slacker! He blames Matthew for the uptick in business and he does NOT want to work that hard 🙂 Then Matthew gets injured and it turns out that there are worse things than getting sued. That includes have an entity possessing and killing people!
Between the possessor, dealing with the Selkies who once again show up at the Quest offices and another unexpected visitor, things are crazier than ever in the longest day Matthew has ever had. Lachlan also shows up and isn’t happy that Matthew has been injured. Then Doop and more werewolves show up too. And Jordan is MIA. Can they find the possessor before he kills again? Where the heck is Jordan? Can Lachlan and Matthew get out of this surprise marriage and spend some time together? It’s all in a day’s work 😉
Oh my god! Just when we think Matt and Lachlan are going to be able to get together, there are more flies in the ointment. This story is a real action adventure – even more than the previous books. Matthew is all over the place – from Faerie to St. Stupid to Lachlan’s boat to the Quest offices to his home and he cannot catch a break. He’s trying to do his best in helping everybody that needs him and also trying to keep the Selkies at bay and the psychopomp doing his job. There are a lot of characters and new types of supes in this one too that were fun to learn about. I just really love this world and the lovely little Portland gems thrown in. All the usual suspects have a part to play here – with everybody at Quest getting into the action and crossover characters from Supernatural Selection and other EJ Russell series too. I loved seeing Doop (the hellhound) and meeting Jordan’s little brother too 🙂 There are some really sweet moments mixed into all the chaos. I was really impressed with how cleverly Matthew was able to extricate himself from promises made on his behalf and wrangle some time with Lachlan 😉 Highly recommended for fans of this series and world and anybody who likes a rollercoaster ride of a fun series.
RATING: 
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