Title: Sinner’s Gin
Series: (Sinners #1)
Author: Rhys Ford
Narrator: Tristan James
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: 7 hours and 57 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press audio (01-03-14)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: There’s a dead man in Miki St. John’s vintage Pontiac GTO, and he has no idea how it got there.
After Miki survives the tragic accident that killed his best friend and the other members of their band, Sinner’s Gin, all he wants is to hide from the world in the refurbished warehouse he bought before their last tour. But when the man who sexually abused him as a boy is killed and his remains are dumped in Miki’s car, Miki fears Death isn’t done with him yet.
Kane Morgan, the SFPD inspector renting space in the art co-op next door, initially suspects Miki had a hand in the man’s murder, but Kane soon realizes Miki is as much a victim as the man splattered inside the GTO. As the murderer’s body count rises, the attraction between Miki and Kane heats up. Neither man knows if they can make a relationship work, but despite Miki’s emotional damage, Kane is determined to teach him how to love and be loved provided, of course, Kane can catch the killer before Miki becomes the murderer’s final victim.
Purchase Link Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3470
Purchase Link Audible: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_at_ano_tseft__galileo/186-1800291-6780718?advsearchKeywords=sinner%27s+gin
Review: Miki St.John is a recluse that rarely leaves his house. He even orders in his groceries. After the death of his three band mates, including his best friend Damien, in a car accident he has withdrawn from society. Living in the huge remodeled warehouse that he and Damien bought before their last tour and had renovated, he hides from the world. Until a serial killer, a stray dog, and a sexy Irish detective that just won’t go away and leave Miki to wallow in his self-misery come along, and turn his world upside down.
Kane Morgan is an openly gay, successful inspector with the SFPD in spite of his sexuality. No one cares! The second oldest of eight children, he comes from a long line of cops. Half the Morgan clan work for the police dept, as did their father and his father. ONE brother is a fireman, the black sheep they call him. His Irish roots and his family are extremely important to him. They are ingrained in him and make him the man he is. The only thing he’s been missing for a while now is someone to love. Then he meets his small, but boisterous neighbor and is immediately drawn into those gold/green eyes that smolder when the young man is angry or defiant. Which is most of the time.
While Kane dances around Miki’s troubling past, constant nightmares, and a killer that is probably coming after Miki… he starts to fall in love with the broken man. He doesn’t just want to protect Miki, he wants to help him heal and show him that it is possible to love and be loved without pain. There are so many obstacles in the way of their happy ever after. Miki misses his best friend something fierce and blames himself a lot for the accident, that coupled with the scars he carries both mentally and physically make it difficult for him to open up and trust anyone. Seriously, it’s as if Kane has to wade through a minefield every time he tries to get close to the young man.
Kane works his way under Miki’s skin a while getting on his last good nerve. Just when you think these two may actually be able to love each other and not kill each other, you are reminded of the killer that is stalking Miki’s every move and leaving body parts on his front porch in a Wal-Mart sack!
This is a very dark story about sins of the past and the inability to bury them. Murder, mystery, intrigue, and suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. But then you have this magnetic love story building between Kane and Miki, polar opposites that with one goal in mind. Loving and protecting each other. Kane is large and in charge and refuses to allow Miki to hide from him or push him away. Miki’s dry and often self-deprecating sense of humor adds some comic relief to this otherwise very dark and serious storyline. And when these two finally succumb to the attraction, it is erotic, explicit, detailed, and perfect.
I’m so happy I found these books and I’m off to start the next one immediately. If you are a fan of murder, mystery, and mayhem with some passionate guys tying a big bow around it, then this is a book for you. Narrated by Tristan James and he nails every intricacy of the Irish family clans various accents and nuances superbly. And there is this wounded animal aspect to Miki that comes across with such rawness in his voice, that it will almost make you cry. Love the storyline, characters, and narration!!
** I received a copy of this audio book from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews **