Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Chambered

SERIES:  The Bureau

AUTHOR:  Kim Fielding

PUBLISHER:  Tin Box Press

LENGTH:  149 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 15, 2022

BLURB:

Agent Dash Cooke likes simple assignments: annihilate the dangerous monsters and move on. He likes a simple life too: a furnished apartment that he switches out for a new one every few years and no messy personal connections.

Then his boss gives him an assignment that’s not simple at all.

Reports claim that a beautiful old house in Sacramento is haunted by a poltergeist, but Dash soon discovers a very different type of spirit. Henry will be destroyed if Dash evicts him. And suddenly Dash’s life has become very complicated indeed.

REVIEW:

NOTE:  This is Book 10 in this series, but it can certainly be read as a standalone.  I recommend reading the other books – mostly because they are really well written and also because the characters from those books are mentioned throughout this one.

Dash Cooke is an agent with the Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs.  In this capacity, he has specialized as a sort of monster hunter.  He’s very very good at his job.  He’s finally taking a vacation – one he has been pushed into by Chief Townsend, the head of the Bureau.  However, he’s only been in Portugal for a very short time when he’s called home.  It seems that he has to deal with a problem in Sacramento.  The assignment is to deal with an infestation at a house that has the interest of someone who is politically powerful.  So it needs to be dealt with in all due haste.

Dash is NOT happy about it.  A poltergeist is not a very interesting assignment at all.  He really doesn’t know why he has to be the one to do it.  He’s even less enthused when he meets the house owners.  He really doesn’t like them.  He also knows immediately that this is not a poltergeist.  Because he can see him.  And communicate with him.  He’s not like any being that Dash has come across before.   He says his name is Henry and he belongs to the house.  Dash is confused.  The longer he interacts with Henry, the younger and stronger he appears.  When Henry tells him he literally cannot leave the house or he will be killed, Dash doesn’t know what to think.  But when Henry shows him, well Dash is convinced.

Now comes the dilemma.  He doesn’t want Henry to die and if he removes him from the house, it definitely could happen.  Dash is able to minimize the threat, but he can’t be with Henry 24/7.  Even the agency archivist seems to be at a loss as to what to do to protect Henry and isn’t finding any answers.  For some reason, Henry brings out Dash’s protective instincts.  He vows to keep Henry with him and safe until the Chief is ready to deal with things.  But then things take a really unexpected turn!

This might just be my favorite of the Bureau stories.  I don’t know why really, because I’ve really enjoyed this whole series.  I just loved Dash and how Henry helps him fix some of his broken pieces.  I don’t want to spoil any of this story for the readers, because there are some pretty big surprises here that I think are best discovered without any previous teasers.  Suffice to say that there are big changes in the offing.  Dash and Henry get to know each other over the course of this assignment.  Henry wants to take care of Dash.  He learns more about Dash than Dash has shared with anyone in years.  In fact, Henry learns more about Dash than probably anybody except the Chief knows.  Henry is a lovely gentle soul who is brave beyond words.  Dash respects Henry as well as cares for him and wants to protect him.  With Dash’s past, he is well aware of what it’s like to not be able to protect oneself.  He is grateful for the things that he has been able to do and the job he has, but he would like maybe something a little bit more – if he can only figure out how to get it.  He really does want to pay it forward.

I highly recommend this latest book.  If you are a fan of this series, you need to jump on this!  There is just no end to this writer’s creativity and this story provides a shocking surprise as well as a satisfying HEA.  These two characters really deserve something good and they have found what they need in each other – another surprise.  I absolutely loved this.  And honestly I am so excited to see what happens next!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

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