3.5 STARS


Detective Peter Tao is investigating some gruesome murders. So far, two men have had their throats cut and then other parts of their bodies have been cut off.

He and his partner, Detective Jamey Nolan. These two have been working together for several years and like nothing better than getting justice for the victims.

Jamey is married; he and his wife are having marital troubles. Seems like Jamey has had a few one nighters with other women and his wife is so angry, she has left to stay with her sister for awhile. When he confesses his problems to Tao, Tao has a lot to say. And none of it good. Tao had a boyfriend a while back who turned out to be married with children. His rule is people don't cheat on their spouses ...period.

Investigating these murders without any leads leaves them both determined to find the killer. The only thing connecting these dead men is that they both were members of a website that introduces cheaters to each other. The website was hacked and everyone's personal information was released to the general public.

The killer takes a personal swipe at Tao as he touches someone close to him. Game on!

The beginning of the book was well-written with lots of suspense. I loved how the partners related to each other. I also enjoyed how they went about solving the crimes. The middle of the book slowed way down .. it had more to do with a man Tao meets and wants to be with, rather than the crime. The last third was terrific. Again, the characters are credible .. the expectation is compelling. All in all a good read.

Many thanks to the author / Stone Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this suspenseful book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

2.5 stars- The twists kept me reading

I’ve been reading a lot of investigative and mystery based m/m romance lately, so Hacked Up sounded right up my alley. I’d definitely consider this novel primarily a law enforcement/ crime solving novel that includes a bit of a romance on the side. While the murder scene and initial chapter captured my interest, I struggled to stay engaged throughout the book. I try not to compare novels against one another, but when you read a lot of a specific trope it’s inevitable. In comparison to the other books I’ve recently read, Hacked Up fell flat.

The story immediately launches into the investigation, revealing elements of the main character’s personality and history along the way. Hacked Up concentrates on Peter Tao and is exclusively told from his point of view. Detective Tao and his partner quickly determine they’re dealing with a serial killer and I eagerly jumped on board, hoping for a fast paced police procedural story that delivered some twists. The twists were decidedly my favorite aspect of the book. Even when I figured out one component of the crimes, new evidence arose that led down a different path. I enjoyed the premise of the murder spree. It was a different spin and gave a believable link between victims.

The other details simply never came together to hook me. The pacing felt disjointed, the writing didn’t flow smoothly, and I struggled with Detective Tao. Although I liked Peter for the most part, his interactions with secondary characters left me conflicted. I was never convinced he was the gruff, confident police detective originally presented and his character never developed enough to explain the discrepancies. I hoped the romance would help in that respect, but it never fully took off. I wanted to be drawn into the story, but I found myself a bit disinterested overall. I wanted suspense and intrigue, but the emotion was never palpable. So despite having a good murder mystery and unforeseen twists, the execution of Hacked Up left me wanting.

I loved this book. I recommend this book for mystery novels

Well...It seems it is a fine line between a crime thriller and a romance.

I think I expected more of a romantic suspense with this one, maybe even a police procedural with a touch of romance.

I guess, in a way, I did get all of those things, it just didn't work.

At least it didn't for me.

The police work was shoddy and unprofessional. And the romance, well, that was a tad ridiculous.

The primary focus of this book was cheating. The crimes were about cheating and what there was of a romance was not because of cheating. So much cheating, cheating, cheating. And Peter's dislike of said cheating, well, as far as I am concerned, he was awfully unpredictable with his actions because of it. Mostly, if it worked for him he was ok with it, if it didn't, he wasn't. His anger was not consistent.

I did enjoy the beginning of this book. It was a nice set up. The crime was freaking brutal. I could get down with where this was going but then I feel like Peter changed completely as a character and I came to dislike him. He was all over the place and at most times his actions and behaviors did not make any sense.

His Partner, his parents, his ex, his new "love", his policework. He should have been having a nervous breakdown with how judgy his was and then how judgy he wasn't.

This just didn't work for me and honesty, I didn't care.

As a HUGE fan of police procedurals to say I was excited about getting one of the M/M variety would be an understatement, but this just fell flat.

So much didn't make sense and so much didn't get answered.

I love Ethan's books and was excited when I was approved for this one. I quickly fell into reading it and was really getting into it, but something, and I don't know what, pulled me from the story. I'm not sure if it just wasn't clicking with me. It wasn't the cheating, cause let's face it without the cheating there'd be no case. I liked the characters and the plot. Maybe it was the ending. It was rather hurried, I think. This definitely won't hold me back from reading more of Mr. Stone's books anytime in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

4 Stars

This story is told in the first person.

Detective Peter Tao is called to the scene of a man who was murdered evidently by breaking his neck. He is also missing his genitalia. The post mortem shows that he was stabbed in the neck, severing his spinal cord. In four nights, three men are found this way. The only clue left at the scenes is a red hair.

One man appears to have escaped.

Peter is on the case, interviewing witness and spouses. Some are easier to find than others. He makes a startling discovery that connects all the victims.

Peter is a remarkable and likeable character. He has a sense of humor and is able to laugh at himself. He is friendly and outgoing and likes to be interviewing people rather than staying at his desk. He is well written.

In fact the book is well written – minus a few misspellings – and well plotted. It is exciting and fast moving. Along with the suspense there are a few unexpected twists and turns. This is a great mystery/thriller for fans of the genre.

I want to thank Netgalley, Ethan Stone and Stone Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.

3.5 Stars

Meet Seattle PD Detective Bae Peter Tao and the string of gruesome male castration stiffs. At first he obviously didn't think a serial killer roaming Seattle at night, chopping off penises. Until the body count rapidly rose and hit too close to home and he had to race against time to catch the killer.

This is a fast-faced story with a reserved but quite likeable main character. Peter kept his homosexuality from his parents though his senior detective partner was aware of it. I liked the easy rapport he had with his partner; though I did think there's too many snickering happened in and outside the job. While sometimes the lighthearted air help boosting up the pages, other time they just annoyed me no end.

Told from Peter's POV, it gave voice to his musing; the dilemma, grief, and strain involved in solving the murders. I could do with less of "unlike shown in television and movies" expressions he loved to throw in while relating procedures, and more of him being more quick-thinking and not making wrong decisions. But in a way, this display of ordinary quality (of making mistakes) lent believable factor to the story; the development to the investigation that would blow the precinct in more ways than one.

That said, I didn't particularly like the dramatic ending. Not only that I felt the cunning and willy villains made rookie-like mistake, Peter too was unusually careless. Having focusing more on the case (and less on the romantic side of the story) this rather throw me a bit.

As an intro to Ethan Stone's books - yes, this is the first time for me reading this author's works - this is not a bad one though. I can see myself looking for more of his books to read.


Advanced copy of this book is kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I chose this book out of curiosity,a different type of detective. Tao is an interesting guy, facets of intelligence, compassion, passion and not a little arrogance. He is a talented and rising star in his department, even if he is a bit of a disappointment to his parent's wishes for professional success.

A particularly nasty killer gets a little too close to home attacking victims most viciously. A number of suspects appear and are exempted, frustrating everyone. Tao is an honorable guy and holds off giving in to his true love until the case is solved. His resolve is pretty impressive......

Ultimately the bad guy is exposed and and the loose ends tied up. This is a cute book, violence and betrays notwithstanding. There is a sweetness underlying the murder mystery that makes this read a little bit more like a love story than detective story.