Title: The Crimson Cat
Author: A.J. Llewellyn & D.J. Manly
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (81pgs)
Publisher: Amber Allure (23rd June 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: When Tomi Hadley and his brother, Ren, make fun of their Japanese-born mom’s annual Setsubun bean-throwing celebrations, she’s furious. She warns them that their ridicule of her folkloric beliefs could be deadly. As if to prove her words, shortly after leaving her house, the two men are almost killed in a car accident by a hit-and-run driver.
Tomi’s whole world collapses. Worried about his brother, whose injuries are severe, Tomi struggles to put the pieces of his life back together. This is nearly impossible, however, since he loses his dream job due to his inability to work, and then there’s his mom’s insistence that oni, Japanese demons, caused the collision.
But one day, when Tomi sees a man washing his car on the street, he realizes it’s the same vehicle that caused the accident—a classic red sports car called a Crimson Cat. And the driver, the surprisingly handsome attorney Dusty Grayson, seems to be a man of hidden depth and many, many secrets…
Purchase Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/CrimsonCat.html
Review: Tomi and his brother Ren are on their way home from their mother’s Japanese bean-throwing ritual when they are involved in a serious car crash. A crash his mother blames on the oni. Tomi’s world begins to collapse when he loses his dream job because he can’t work and his worry for Ren. Luckily, Ren’s boyfriend is there for both of them as they recover. Tomi is determined to make the man responsible for the crash pay, but when he meets Dusty, the man whose car it is, he finds it hard to believe that he really did it and discovers he is covering for someone else.
This is a great little thriller that has an interesting twist. Tomi and Ren have to suffer through their mother’s traditions and on the way home from the latest one they are involved in a crashed caused by a demented driver. Recovering from their injuries Tomi loses the job he has longed for, but Ren discovers the depth of his boyfriend’s love. Tomi is determined to make the driver pay and is surprised when he confronts the owner of the Crimson Cat and discovers that something is amiss. Dusty is trapped in a situation that he sees no way out of without losing his job and everything he has worked so hard for, but discovering people were hurt and meeting Tomi has him rethinking his choices.
The characters in this story are great. I loved Tomi and Ren’s mother. She is just so quirky that you can’t help but smile at her behavior. Tomi is a determined man, but he isn’t so gung-ho that he is blind to inconsistencies. When Tomi realizes something doesn’t add up after he meets Dusty, he tries to convince the man to come clean and make the person responsible pay. Dusty tries to be a good man, but he has a secret that has him tied. He is tired of always covering, but can’t see any way out without losing his hard-earned job. But, when push comes to shove, he acts and ends up in danger from the one he always protected.
This is an enjoyable story that takes a sinister twist towards the end. You get to know the characters reasonable well and you can see how easily Dusty was trapped in a lie of his own making. Tomi and Dusty are good together, although they have a very rocky time of it and you can clearly see that Tomi is the catalyst for Dusty to put a stop to his problems.
I recommend this to those who love domineering quirky mothers, lies that bind, two men coming together in shrouded secrets, danger and finally a happy ending.