Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  The Suit

SERIES:  The Long Con Adventures #4

AUTHOR:   Amy Lane

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 439 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 7, 2022

BLURB:

Two and a half years ago, Michael Carmody made the biggest mistake of his life. Thanks to the Salinger crew, he has a second chance. Now he’s working as their mechanic and nursing a starry-eyed crush on the crew’s stoic suit, insurance investigator and spin doctor Carl Cox.

Carl has always been an almost-ran, so Michael’s crush baffles him. When it comes to the Salingers, he’s the designated wet blanket. But watching Michael forge the life he wants instead of the one he fell into inspires him. In Michael’s eyes, he isn’t an almost-ran—he just hasn’t found the right person to run with. And while the mechanic and the suit shouldn’t have much to talk about, suddenly they’re seeking out each other’s company.

Then the Salingers take a case from their past, and it’s all hands on deck. For once, behind-the-scenes guys Michael and Carl find themselves front and center. Between monster trucks, missing women, and murder birds, the case is a jigsaw puzzle with a lot of missing pieces—but confronting the unknown is a hell of a lot easier when they’re side by side.

REVIEW:

The Suit is the fourth book in Amy Lane’s The Long Con Adventures series about a found family – a group of noble thieves – for whom breaking the law for the greater good has become a calling. This time around, there are two action/adventure components. The first involves Hunter, Chuck, and Carl in Brussels and is all about a treatment to help with Josh’s leukemia. This leads to the primary plot about a possible murder, a woman’s disappearance, Carl’s job on DC, and engineered, cross-bred falcons the crew refers to as velociraptor murder birds with a sixteen-foot wingspan. Grace, Stirling, Molly, Hunter, Julia, Chuck and Lucius all have roles to varying degrees, but Carl and Michael lead the show (although it starts slowly).

Carl Cox/Soderbergh first appeared in The Mastermind as an insurance investigator who helped with the heist. He has since grown to be a part of the Salinger found family. He’s “The Suit”, the inside security guy who keeps the crew from being arrested. He has very few meaningful things in his life – no spouse, no kids or family, and no permanent home, just a sublet apartment in DC. It’s been a long time since something good came his way.

Michael is a more recent addition to the Salinger crew, having been introduced in The Driver as an ex-inmate and someone from Chuck’s past. He grew up with abusive parents and bullying brothers. Being invited by Josh to join the family meals and being asked for his input on their missions means the world to him. He’s been welcomed unconditionally.

Carl is pessimistic and lacking in self-confidence so he’s surprised that Michael’s crushing on him. He’s quite enamored of Michael in return. They feel a special connection with each other. They are important to each other. Neither has ever felt like a leading man in life but now they both think the other’s a star, not a bit player. More than anything, Michael wanted to feel safe as a child and young adult, free of being used and abused. Carl makes him feel safe and to Michael, that makes Carl a hero.

I thought it was interesting how the men talk frankly about their future relationship before they even kiss. It’s just a done deal. It reminded me of the dynamic between Mackey and Trav in my all-time favorite MM romance, Ms. Lane’s Beneath the Stain where they talked matter of factly about their future relationship before Mackey went to rehab. For both couples, it was accepted as an inevitability. I liked that confidence and belief in each other.

While I love this series, I enjoyed The Suit less than the previous books for a few reasons. It didn’t have the same “caper” feel of the first two books and the excitement of the third. There wasn’t that special quality I call the Ocean’s Eleven aura. There was also very little of Danny and Felix. They were not involved with the mission at all because they stayed at home to care for Josh. Additionally, the plot was too far-fetched for my taste with the slightly sci-fi storyline (ala Jurassic Park) about the hybrid Frankenbirds. Of course, like many great adventure books, this series requires some suspension of disbelief, which I’m generally fine with – it’s all part of the fun and excitement – but this was just one I didn’t care for; you may very well feel differently. Just a heads up if you’re an animal lover: there are a few graphic scenes of farm animals and roadkill being fed to the birds.

Even with the little niggles, this is a very good read. There’s nothing that made me not enjoy the story, just a few things that kept it from reaching the caliber of The Mastermind, a book I awarded 5 hearts/stars. But overall, this is a entertaining book I happily recommend.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press