Title: Parting Shot
Series: A Matter of Time 07
Author: Mary Calmes
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense
Length: Novel (264pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (19th July 2013)
Heat: Explicit
Heart: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Life has never been easy for Duncan Stiel. His childhood was the stuff of nightmares, and his day job as an undercover police officer forces him to hide his true self and occasionally lands him in the hospital. So, when he finally meets the perfect man, it comes as no surprise that everything falls apart around him. What Duncan doesn’t expect is that the hardest hurdle to get over before he can make a life with Aaron Sutter is the one inside himself.
Everyone thinks Aaron has it all—looks, money, fame, and success beyond measure. Everyone, that is, except Aaron. At the end of the day, the cameras stop flashing, friends go back to their own lives, company business is handled, and Aaron is always alone. The moment he meets Duncan Stiel, Aaron knows he’ll do anything to hold onto the larger-than-life detective. But when he realizes money won’t buy him the ultimate happiness, Aaron needs to find the strength to give Duncan something much more important—his heart.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4020
Review: This story is part of a series and can be read as a standalone but is best read as part of the series. Duncan has been through a lot in his life; he hides his sexuality because of his job and sometimes finds himself in hospital from doing undercover work. When he finally meets the perfect man for him it does not go easy, but Duncan discovers that the biggest hurdle he comes up against is himself. Aaron might be a mega rich man and can buy anything he wants but he has never been able to have the one thing he truly wants… a man to share his life equally with. Aaron is amazed when he finds the man who finally understands what he needs, and Aaron plans on grabbing Duncan as tight as he can and never letting go.
Oh my god it’s here, it’s Aaron’s story! We have seen Aaron in many of the A Matter of Time books and we saw more of Duncan in But for You, and we were there to see the two of them meet when sneaky Jory set them up on a date and now we get the whole story of Aaron and Duncan. Aaron is a billionaire businessman who is used to people either wanting him for his money or wanting absolutely nothing from him, all Aaron wants is a man of his own who wants to share everything with him. Duncan is a police detective who is in the closet, he works a lot of undercover and when he is with a man he wants to take care of them and be cared for in return, but he needs them to understand why coming out of the closet could be a problem.
I have read all the A Matter of Time series and I have always wanted for Aaron to find his happily ever after with a man who knows just what he really needs, and finally he has. In Duncan, Aaron discovers a man not impressed with his wealth, he finds a man who wants an equal and who also wants to stay in the closet but he also finds a man who will take care of him and be taken care of in return. Duncan finds Aaron mesmerizing because of his personality and he loves the give and take between them. But their relationship becomes rocky when Aaron’s brother, Max, interferes and Duncan himself begins to put up barriers.
This is a great story that has the usually action/adventure that we have come to expect from Mary Calmes, it also has its mega sweet moments that we have come to adore, and we have the needy moments that are a must have from the MC’s. The storyline mainly follows their relationship as they both accept that they need each other, but their own lives get in the way muddying the waters until it begins to clear and they both come to their senses when Aaron is pulled into an undercover operation with Duncan. We do get to see Sam briefly early in the book and we get a solid clearing up of his relationship with Kevin Dwyer, who we also see briefly.
Aaron is a much more developed character than what we have previously seen of him, we get why he has always hidden in the closet and the way he acts towards people, he shines through in this story and we see the needy wanton side emerge as he falls for Duncan. Duncan is a pretty easygoing guy who comes to realise that the reason he is still in the closet is because, until he met Aaron, he hadn’t met the man he wanted to give it up for. Duncan is needy in his own way but it complements Aaron’s neediness, they are also both strong men but between them they make it all work. The sex between them is smoking hot and they really know how to get each other panting, they are incredible.
I recommend this to those who love strong injury prone detectives, suave billionaires who are explosively possessive, undercover screw-ups, hospital visits, brilliant characters and a brilliant ending.