Infected: Holden by Andrea Speed

andrea-speed-infected-holden-coverTitle: Infected: Holden

Series: Mean Streets #1

Author: Andrea Speed

Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Mystery 

Length: Novel (200 Pages)

Publisher: DSP Publications (September 20, 2016)

Heat Level: None

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Blurb: With his friend lion shifter Roan McKichan no longer in the picture, former sex worker Holden Krause is now working as a detective investigating cases in Seattle. When he receives a request to investigate a rather unusual case for Big Mike, a local drug dealer, he ignores the potential hazards in working for such a client and takes it on.

But Holden hasn’t given up his vigilante ways, occasionally seeking violent retribution for those ignored by the justice system. There’s a man stalking the streets, assaulting anyone he perceives to be trans or gender nonconforming in any way. When the brutality escalates, the case becomes personal for Holden. 

If he cannot juggle being a detective and a vigilante, his taste for blood and danger might finally catch up with him. 

ISBN: 978-1-63477-180-1

Product Link: https://www.dsppublications.com/books/infected-holden-by-andrea-speed-310-b

Reviewer: Lisa

Review: The first thing I am going to say is that you really should start this series with reading the Infected series first. It explains the characters mentioned and how they got to be where they are now. 

For many of us who have read these stories, we have gotten pretty good at figuring out Roan’s deal. In this series Roan is mentioned quite a bit but he is no longer in the picture. Holden was a sex worker, but will do it on the side if he needs to. There are so many characters mentioned that it is a bit hard to follow sometimes. Also this story jumps around quite a lot. I wasn’t a fan of the one, two and three bits with title for each paragraph. It made it feel off to me. In my opinion if it had not bounced around so much from Holden to his ex, it might have flowed a bit better and kept my attention totally on it. 

Holden will always take care of those around him. If a john needs his ass kicked, he is the first one to do so. He is a vigilante for those who live and work on the streets. His friend Roan got him started working as a private investigator although Chai is the one who really should get that job. One of the worst guys contacts him to find out who he is. It seems Big Mike might have been abducted as a child. Then there is someone out there beating up prostitutes and they need to be taken care of.

Now I got interested in the previous series because Roan was a shifter and had a mate. In this story there is no paranormal aspect to be found. Holden is a good man in his own way, protecting those around him. However he doesn’t shift into any animal which sucked. Plus there is no romance to be seen. He had a chance with a very sexy man, but held part of himself back to the point where he got is ass dumped. 

The tone to the story felt off, as well as Holden’s attitude. He is a very weird guy to say the least. He just does what he wants and doesn’t really care for those close to him other than to help if they need it. Plus the straight, gay, bi and who knows talk throughout the story really made it stupid in my opinion. You have cops so far in the closet but damn they are in love or lust with Roan. It would seem everyone is in love or lust with the man. I just wished the story would be just a normal story with a great story line, however with this one you get a mix of different stories all focus around one. Add in the fact that Roan is thrown into every other sentence is a bit crazy. 

Now this story you have a guy who is so complicated and it doesn’t seem to be figured out any time soon. You have a guy doing multiple jobs but doesn’t seem to be really good at his actual job. The case of Big Mike would have been perfect had it not came off as a secondary thought. This story was definitely different then what I had expected it to be, but in another sense it wasn’t. It has a lot of twists and turns, with a darker tone to it that I didn’t really like. I did enjoy the previous series, but this one just didn’t make me connect with it. Although that might just be the first book and will have to hold my true feelings until I see what the next story brings out.