Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Dirty Job

SERIES:  Dirty Deeds

AUTHOR:  T.A. Moore

PUBLISHER:  Rogue Firebird Press

LENGTH:  202 pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 5, 2022

BLURB:

All Grade Pulaski wanted was a quiet life, a few low-profile murders to clean up after, and his home-town in the rear-view as he headed back to LA. Simple, attainable goals. All he had to do was keep his nose down and everyone else’s hands clean…as far as the law was concerned…and he’d been able to show Sweeny his heels sooner rather than later.

Problem was that Grade’s ‘thing’ with local mob boss Clay Traynor–currently somewhere between a one-night stand and a bad idea–was a lot of things, but it wasn’t quiet or simple.

For example, Judge Charity Parker was the last person in Sweeny who needed to know Grade’s name. Yet here he was in her basement after midnight, cleaning up a mess that could derail a couple of political careers in one fell swoop. All because Clay owed Judge Parker a favor…or three.

Grade should have known better than to go along with it. Amateurs always made a job messy, and politicians didn’t have a grateful bone in their body. Now the only chance he had of seeing LA ever again, meant that he had to break his professional code of conduct.

He needed to get his client caught.

REVIEW:

Note:  This is the second story in this series with T.A. Moore and it is not recommended to be read as a standalone.

Grade, our intrepid hero, is still in Sweeny, trying to make enough money to get back to LA. He’s called into an unusual crime scene – where his job is not the usual make the bodies and evidence disappear.  Clay and Ezra need him to curry favor with the judge and Grade being Grade agrees.  And off we go.

It’s unclear who is actually pulling the strings here.  Is it the judge?  Is it Fisher?  What is really going on and will Grade and Clay survive this one?  Are they boyfriends?  Friends with benefits?  It’s unclear and perhaps things will be resolved in the next one?

This second installment of T.A. Moore’s quirky series expands on the strange entanglement of Grade and Clay.  The crime scene opener is another bizarre situation that Grade finds himself in and it’s a doozy.  The back and forth, push/pull, relationship between the two amidst Grade’s work as a crime scene cleaner – although this one is a bit stranger than most of his jobs in staging a scene elsewhere.  This is gore aplenty again, which isn’t my cup of tea, but is cogent to this story and this universe.  That being said, it’s definitely well done.  The “relationship” between Grade and Clay is complicated o be sure.  We do get a glimpse into Clay’s past and his PTSD.

This is a lot of violence also in this with Grade and Clay taking their lumps too.  It’s clear that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.  It’s a fast-paced rollercoaster of a ride with these guys and I’m guessing they aren’t done yet.  Grade’s family are along for this one as well.  It’s like peeling an onion with these guys – lots of secrets still to uncover 😉 If you like a gritty mystery suspense story with unusual characters who are trying to figure themselves out and how they will work together and you don’t mind some gore, you will like this latest installment.  Recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

Amazon