3.5 stars

Oh, if only this book didn’t go that way when it came to the sexual intercourse and I would have gladly given this one a solid 4-stars...

I absolutely enjoyed this book for the most part. When it comes to murder mystery, I love when there is a paranormal element that comes to play. So when Oliver Marsh — who mainly relies on extensive research rather than an actual supernatural gift when it comes to his “conversations with the dead”– has his first psychic experience related to Robert Court’s cousin’s murder, the story became very interesting. A false medium who makes money by lying, so to speak, and a man who works in law enforcement who can actually arrest him? Well, that is a delicious set-up already.

It helped a lot that I thought Oliver and Robert had undeniable chemistry and both were likeable characters. Oliver has that cheeky attitude to him, which sometimes annoys Robert to no end. But it is clear that Oliver genuinely wants to help people, to put their mind at ease regarding their deceased loved ones. While Robert might be the grumpier between the two, but he is also solid and dependable. I loved reading how Robert finally gave in to the attraction he felt towards Oliver.

The identity of the murderer is given to us halfway through the book. So the rest of it is basically how Robert and Oliver work together to capture the murderer. Despite that there is no more mystery to solve, I found the planning and the action near the end as quite captivating.

Unfortunately, their D/s sexual scenes along with that one puppy play scene (with Robert actually calling Oliver ‘dog‘) totally turned me off. It actually ruined those intimate moments for me because it felt like it came out of the left field. I thought that maybe due to the popularity of D/s and BDSM, the authors would like to give it a go. However, it just didn’t fit in (with the characters or the storyline) and wasn’t necessary at all.

So enjoyable mystery-historical-romance EXCEPT for the sex scenes.

This book is why my "theory good, practice not" rating-slash-shelf exists. I can see the brilliance of the set up, the momentary genius in the writing, the detail that make others love the story, and yet it all falls short of my expectations.

The first twenty-five pages or so were a struggle and it all started with a fridged woman. Inspector Robert Court is investigating his cousin's murder unofficially, because someone was already hanged for the crime. Officially he's chasing a charlatan spiritualist Oliver Marsh, who accidentally gives Court the clue he desperately needs.

See that set up: Two equally cynical men from opposite sides of the law, thrown together by something paranormal and having to work together to rid themselves from inconvenient ghosts. That's the good in the theory. In practice however, it doesn't take much more than a cab ride and a couple short discussions before both men risk their lives for buggery. Technically, the anal intercourse enters the picture much later, but I doubt Court's colleagues would have seen it that way.

Both characters act too stupid to live because the authors rely heavily on romance shortcut where the reader knows to expect the two point of view characters to fall in love and spend the rest of their lives together because they are meant to be. Neither Dee or Devon justifies why would Court put aside his apprehension of getting close to a suspect or why would Marsh risk his life and living to give into Court. There are hints of instant attraction and lust but those aren't strong enough to explain that first surrender.

I quite liked the discussions that followed each and every sex scene, but I couldn't enjoy the rest of the story without a proper foundation. Especially when the dog play and elements of BDSM emerges. Court and Marsh never talk about their preferences and limits of consent until after the sex and even then it's mostly assurances that neither had gone too far.

"Was I too rough? I'm sorry. You just make me so… I could hardly help myself."

I'm pretty sure that if this had happened in a hetero romance, there'd be an uproar. Then again, plenty of alpha heroes are loved despite sounding exactly like the abusive boyfriends they are.

I could have enjoyed the decent murder mystery and an erotic novella squashed together despite a few minor editing quibbles and story details—like how could they afford to take cabs all the time—if the foundation laid in the sixty pages leading up to the first sexual encounter had been better.

Thanks for the rec, Ana, I'm sorry I didn't like it better.