Whiskey and Wry by Rhys Ford

Whiskey&WryLGTitle: Whiskey and Wry     

Series: Sinners, 02

Author: Rhys Ford     

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense     

Length: Novel (254pgs)    

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (19th August 2013)    

Heat Level: Moderate – Explicit     

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts   

Reviewer: Pixie     

Blurb: He was dead. And it was murder most foul. If erasing a man’s existence could even be called murder. 

When Damien Mitchell wakes, he finds himself without a life or a name. The Montana asylum’s doctors tell him he’s delusional and his memories are all lies: he’s really Stephen Thompson, and he’d gone over the edge, obsessing about a rock star who died in a fiery crash. His chance to escape back to his own life comes when his prison burns, but a gunman is waiting for him, determined that neither Stephen Thompson nor Damien Mitchell will escape. 

With the assassin on his tail, Damien flees to the City by the Bay, but keeping a low profile is the only way he’ll survive as he searches San Francisco for his best friend, Miki St. John. Falling back on what kept him fed before he made it big, Damien sings for his supper outside Finnegan’s, an Irish pub on the pier, and he soon falls in with the owner, Sionn Murphy. Damien doesn’t need a complication like Sionn, and to make matters worse, the gunman—who doesn’t mind going through Sionn or anyone else if that’s what it takes kill Damien—shows up to finish what he started.     

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4107    

Review: Damien finally gets a chance to escape his prison when it is set on fire, but he discovers that he just might have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. With an assassin on his trail, Damien heads for the only place that he knows he can find help: San Francisco, but finding his best friend isn’t going to be easy when most of his memories are missing. Sionn offers help to the young man who busks outside his pub, but things become dangerous when Dee seems to become the target for a mad man. 

This is a great mystery/suspense as we dig into the mystery surrounding Damien and his death. Damien is a dead man; after his band was in a car crash Damien was mysteriously whisked away and locked up in an asylum but now his memories are resurfacing stronger than before and someone wants him shut up permanently. Managing to escape, Damien sets out to find the person who means more to him than anything: Miki St. John, but finding his friend is next to impossible when all Damien can remember is a warehouse somewhere in San Francisco. Sionn owns his own pub and becomes intrigued by the young man who busks outside; when he discovers the problems Dee is having, he offers to help. As the two get close things start to fall into place but there is still a killer and the person who hired him to deal with. 

I loved this story and the mystery surrounding Damien’s ‘death’, I loved the circumstances of Damien finding himself and Miki again and seeing their incredible friendship in play. Sionn is a wonderful character and he compliments Damien well, he was supportive as Damien fumbled with rediscovering his life and they were very hot together. Damien is wonderfully written with him having fears about his sanity at times and his struggle to remember just what is the truth of his life. The storyline is well paced and drags you in from the beginning; we become involved with discovering the truth about why Damien was locked up in an asylum. The danger is exciting and has you biting your nails on the edge of your seat, the mystery intrigues as you try to work out who was behind it all, and the love story is sweet and passionate.    

Although I really loved this book, I wasn’t blind to its faults. The assassin: was there a more incompetent bumbling killer? He might have been vicious and twisted but he was more like an amateur than the professional he professed himself to be. The story never explained how Damien managed to be declared dead…. there would have had to have been a hell of a lot more pay offs than just the pretend parents and many more witnesses to the fact that he was really alive. Those were the things that left me feeling slightly disappointed with this story, I like things to be wrapped nicely in a parcel, and everything explained. 

I recommend this to those who love danger and mystery, finding love in dangerous times, rediscovering a friendship, getting to the truth and an ending that makes you wonder what is coming next.