Review - The Phantom by AJ Rose

Tracey is recovering from his gunshot wound at Jon’s house. It’s convenient, since there are fewer stairs to negotiate and Jon can take him to and from work, since the injury prevents Tracey from driving. It’s also given the two time to get to know each other, but for Tracey it’s starting to feel like too much, too soon. Personal conflicts end up taking a back seat when a new murder in the DC area finally confirms the team’s suspicion that a serial killer is targeting gay men in several cities.

“The Phantom” is a direct follow-up to the first book of this series, The Family Man, so you really should read the two books in their published order to know the circumstances of Jon, Tracey, and their team. The first story is where Jon and Tracey meet, and Tracey subsequently gets shot by a serial killer, so you’ll be missing a lot of background if you haven’t read the first book.

The narration once again alternates between Jon and Tracey’s points of view. In the first book, Tracey came to terms with his attraction to men, specifically Jon. Tracey’s qualms and doubts seem very natural and believable. He is a very sympathetic character that you can identify with.

Jon reveals more of his fallible human side in this story. He makes a few mistakes with Tracey. The kind that are easy to make in a new relationship. This book also reinforces our impression that Jon really is a good guy, trying to do the best thing for Tracey, even if he doesn’t always get it right. Of course, the big elephant-in-the-room issue of the series is the fact that the relationship between Jon and Tracey violates more than one rule of their workplace. Something has to give, with their careers on the line, so perhaps we’ll find out in the next book of the series.

“The Phantom” is available from Smashwords or see Bookbub for links to other places where you can buy online.