Dr Bashir Radim is called to the scene of a violent death. At first it appears to be a horrible accident, but the more he looks, the more he believes it’s murder. He just has to convince the detectives of that when they show up. One of them is Sawyer Villeray, a charming former child actor who has made no secret that he is attracted to Bashir. The doctor has sworn off dating cops for all sorts of reasons, but the detective is very hard to resist. As the bodies pile up, the two men need to work together to figure out who the murderer is before one or both of them end up as victims.
“Manner of Death” is a classic crime drama in the mold of the CSI television series, but with a bit of romance. The mystery driving the plot is a series of murders where the cause of death is not what it appears to be. There are lots of twists and turns as the bodies pile up, but in the midst of that, Sawyer and Bashir manage to steal a few moments to get to know each other. However, even the relationship is not without its twists and turns.
The point of view alternates between Sawyer and Bashir. Dr Radim is a man striving to do the best to bring peace and justice to the people who come to him. We get a chance to get to know Bashir’s back story quite well as he gets to know Sawyer. It’s a very convincing, well-rounded picture of a man whose hard work has gotten him to a key position in his profession.
Sawyer is more reserved about sharing his past, but we eventually learn enough to understand why that is. Like Bashir, Sawyer has managed to get very good at his job without getting too jaded. The two together make quite a team, even if they don’t seem that compatible on the surface.
“Manner of Death” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for other online sellers.