Dying to Play by Mark Zubro

71zpxPuPOFL._SL1425_Title: Dying to Play
Series: A Mike King Mystery
Author: Mark Zubro
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel (263 words)
Publisher: MLR Press (January 8th, 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Blurb: Gay PI Mike King is called upon to investigate what is happening to a minor league baseball team. He follows the trail of drugs, death, and destruction through the deadly dangers he finds in the rural community.

Through the lives of the hot studs involved in baseball, he has to navigate to find the truth about what is happening to them and their dreams.

ISBN: 978-1-60820-975-0

Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MZDY2PLA

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is my first read of a Mark Zubro novel and it was certainly an interesting book to read. Instead, this is a gritty mystery and realistic enough to real life. The story is narrated by Mike King, an intelligent man who knows his way around, not just the men he falls into bed with, but also knowing his way around the human mind. Being a PI, he also knows how to get his man.

I’m going to put this out there, but for anyone wanting a happily ever after, you’re not going to get it. This isn’t an erotic book either, but don’t worry, there is a lot of sexiness and the actual physical act was alluded to only a few times. Instead, the sexiness comes from the actual character personalities themselves.

Mike King, the PI, has been hired by a millionaire/billionaire who owns a minor league baseball team. There have not only been threats during the construction of their stadium and now the team players are also facing threat from an unknown perpetrator. And of course, everything revolves around money.

Quite honestly, it took me a while to get into the book and then by just over half way I pretty much had the plot figured out. However, I have to admit, it was a whole heap of fun as well. I loved the sarcasm, which was also very amusing. It certainly made the characters more likable in my mind, but then again sarcasm is a natural state for me.

The pace of the book was also good, nick and quick but not too rapid. That’s another reason why I was able to continue on when I was first getting into it, then later when I had figured out the plot. I think for me though, the surprises came in Mike’s personal life, which provided another riveting facet to the plot of this book.

The blurb doesn’t do justice to the complexity of the plot. Reading the blurb, I had expected something in the range of 90 pages, not 300. And because of that, I’m just going to have to leave things as they and not spoil anything!

There are many tiny elements that make up the story, some related some interrelated but on the whole, every bit of information was important, so you can’t get too lazy when you read this one. I also found it amusing how the final chapter basically sums up Mike’s when it comes to men.

This isn’t the type of book I would read on a lazy day, this one requires some brain cells to function to get into and through this one.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *