Genre: Romance, Fantasy
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Jay
Get It At Amazon | Publisher
About The Book
In a world where the public knows about the existence of supernatural creatures, hardened human private eye Jake Monroe makes a living cracking cases with a paranormal element. A resident of LA’s gayest neighborhood, Jake fills his days with work, drink, and men.
When the daughter of a wealthy family goes missing, Jake dives into the case, discovering the girl in question is transspecies — a mermaid born into the body of a human. As Jake uncovers evidence of her whereabouts, he’s also drawn to a handsome young actor who happens to be a burgeoning sorcerer. This complicates his love life, as his sexy ex-boyfriend, the porn star-turned-MMA fighter Nico, is helping him on the case.
Will Jake be able to find the missing mermaid, pay his rent, and choose which man he’s meant to be with?
The Review
This was a nice introduction to what is going to be a series of investigations set in a world that is effectively our own plus paranormal creatures who were ‘unmasked’ in 2014.
Jake investigates mysteries that involve such beings or revolve around them, and is asked to find a young woman who wanted to be a mermaid and was looking for ways to transition.
Jake has two men in his life – his ex who still has feelings for him and a new date who is helping him with his case.
The mystery itself is resolved satisfactorily, but Jake’s love life is not as easy to manage, and I imagine his indecision will continue further into the series.
The story is well written and Jake is a nicely developed character. I could have done with more information about the ‘great unmasking’ but maybe that will come in another volume. The trials and tribulations of being a PI, especially one with a paranormal caseload, are vividly portrayed, and there are good minor characters, such as Jake’s assistant and the mother of the wannabe mermaid.
Recommended for romance readers who like their mysteries spiced with a little paranormal.
The Reviewer
I’ve been doing book reviews on my website, crossposted or linked to various social media, for a few years. I read a number of genres but I really enjoy all kinds of speculative fiction so thought I’d like to share my views with you. I love sci fi and other speculative fiction because of the way it can, at its best, make us see ourselves in a new light. Quite apart from the exciting stories, of course! I used to be an English teacher, and I’m a writer (fantasy) so I can be quite critical about style etc. but I hope I can also appreciate properly some books that don’t appeal to me personally but might be simply perfect for others. I have, obviously, read widely, and continue to do so.
