Psychologist Ben and ex-police detective Gavin are back for another adventure. Things start innocently enough, as they always do. The two men are just married and off on their honeymoon at the Puget Sound island cabin that Ben spent many summers at when he was younger. But when Ben starts reading through his monther’s old journals he uncovers evidence that the car crash that killed his parents may not have been an accident. Their quest for the truth puts the duo on the trail of a talented art thief, and right in the sights of a crime syndicate that they already know will stop at nothing to protect their dirty business.
It’s always a pleasant surprise when a new book appears in the Power Exchange series. Not only does each installment seem complete, but each also ends rather emphatically with no dangling loose ends, and with the main characters seemingly in a good place. Yet, Gavin and Ben seem to find trouble where-ever they go, or trouble finds them, as the case may be. The plot line in this book, like the last one, is not your typical detective story.
Ben and Gavin are very complex characters, with a rather complex Dom/sub relationship as well. So, while each story stands on its own, there’s a lot you won’t know about the mens’ backgrounds and experience if you haven’t read the preceding books of the series. However, while this installment of the series layers on more depth to the central characters, it’s the new players that really add interest to the story, as well as provide the means for gaining more insight into the two protagonists.
Perhaps the most interesting character, and probably the only one in the entire series that you’d like to see with a book of his own, is the art thief Leo. He plays a significant role in the story, and we learn enough about him to want to know more about the path that led him to the life he leads. While Leo seems to be written out of the story at the end, I still hold out hope that he’ll somehow be back again to unsettle Ben and Gavin’s lives a little more.
Although Leo is by far the most interesting new character, the author has created several others on the island where much of the story takes place; enough to form another series line altogether. The story line of this book gets wrapped just like all the previous books, it’s just that you can see scope for new stories based on the new characters and settings introduced in this latest installment, so I won’t be so surprised when a new book shows up in the series.
“Restraint” is available from Amazon.