I really enjoyed this collection of mm mystery/romance short stories and novellas, which all benefit from expert narration by Kale Williams and Joel Leslie.

The standout of the collection is Dal MacLean’s A Country For Old Men, an atmospheric and beautifully written second-chance love story set on the isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Joel Leslie obviously did his homework on the Gaelic pronunciations and does a great job with the Scottish accents. The story centres around a deeply closeted police inspector called to investigate a murder involving a centuries old artifact – which brings him face-to-face with the love he left behind five years before.

I read and enjoyed C.S. Poe’s Lights, Camera, Murder a couple of years back when the author published it separately. Hard-boiled PI Rory Byrne is hired to go undercover on the set of a TV show to investigate the theft of a script – but his job is complicated when he begins to fall for the show’s gorgeous and talented star, Marion Roosevelt. The mystery is clever and well-thought out, and the romance is sweet. I think the author had intended this to be the start of a series, but she’s been focused on Memento Mori and Magic & Steam the last few years, so I imagine it’s on the back-burner.

In Meg Perry’s Twelve Seconds a journalist receives a mysterous phone call the night before the next shuttle launch – the shuttle (unmanned) explodes just after take-off, and whoever placed the phone call has disappeared. I enjoyed the mystery and the romance in this one, even if there are a couple of plot holes.

Nicole Kimberling’s Entrée to Murder is a cosy mystery featuring a chef who finds a dead body in the basement of his restaurant, and S.C Wynne’s Reality Bites is, I think, the only mystery I’ve ever read in which the murder victim was mauled by a tiger! In Z.A. Maxfield’s Pepper the Crime Lab, Lonnie’s first night in his new apartment is disturbed by a dog’s constant barking coming from next door – and in the morning it appears her owner was murdered. With one of Lonnie’s knives. With the help of his other neighbour – a handsome ex-cop – Lonnie sets about finding out who tried to frame him.

The final story is Josh Lanyon’s Stranger in the House, in which teacher and aspiring artist Miles Tuesday inherits a mansion in Montreal – but something doesn’t feel right. The thing that does feel right, however, is the presence of his childhood crush, art dealer Laurie Palmer. The mystery isn’t expecially complex, but I liked the main characters and their romance.

I did, however, find myself scratching my head over the L.B Gregg story, Blind Man’s Buff. When I first the group who were going to play some kind of game in an abandoned shopping centre I assumed this was a YA story – then I realised they were thirty-something teachers! Which made no sense to me. And neither did the plot, although I admit I lost interest early on.

It's a good collection on the whole, and the narrators do an excellent job. I've been meaning to listen to it for ages and saw it was available in Audible Plus, so I picked it up. But it's great value for a single credit, so I'll probably get myself a copy when it leaves the Plus catalogue.

Great collection of mysteries from some truly amazing authors! The stories are the perfect length for when you've haven't got time to read an entire book, but you still need to scratch that itch to dig into something new.

This was as with all collections a bit hit or miss but mostly hits. I enjoyed most of the stories and I look forward to picking this up on audio to try the others i didnt like as much again to see if i like them that way.

I must admit this ARC was an odd request choice for me because, frankly, I am not a fan of short stories. I almost always feel as if it’s too much story crammed into too few words, leaving the overall plot and characters feeling under-developed and lacking. However, this collection contains a Josh Lanyon story, and I never pass on those, so I hit the request button and this is what I found.

Some of these stories were 5-stars for me, but the majority were 3-stars or less. The positive of reading a collection of short stories is that I found new authors whom I liked and whom I would definitely read longer volumes from. The downside is the opposite. I found authors who styles and stories I didn’t care for at all, but had to soldier through in order to write a complete review. Here’s my thoughts (briefly) on each Footstep in the Dark.

Entrée to Murder – Nicole Kimberling
I liked the setting, the characters, and the plot, though I did think both MCs needed more development. Big Mac was a bit flat, and there seemed to be another story to the loss of his father that I would have liked to see explored, but given the length, it was overall entertaining, engaging and suspenseful. I enjoyed the close knit community vibe, the nosy old ladies, and the brief insights into a budding relationship.

Twelve Seconds – Meg Perry
This was a real struggle to get through. I didn’t care at all for the plot. I have zero (possibly even sub-zero) interest in space. I highly doubt there are reporters whose entire careers revolve around reporting space news. How would they ever make enough money to support themselves? Is there even that much space-related news to report on any kind of a regular basis? Though reporter Justin claimed that he filed a story almost daily, I just couldn’t buy that. I also couldn’t stand Justin. I found his timid nature annoying and frustrating, and Greg wasn’t much better. Their initial meeting was too close to insta-lust for me, and I found it very hard to believe that a former homicide detective would be so open about a murder investigation with a total stranger. After two dates, Greg is telling Justin about confidential information in the investigation, which made Greg a completely unrealistic character in my eyes. I ended up skimming until the end. Not my cup of tea.

Reality Bites – S.C. Wynne
A solid story. I enjoyed both the MCs and thought the plot was well put together and held enough mystery and suspense to keep the pages turning. I liked that there wasn’t any insta-love and that Decker actively resisted Jax. I did question why, when trapped in an office with a fire outside the door, wouldn’t a detective use his gun to shoot the lock off the door instead of climbing out an 8-story window? Or why wouldn’t he call his partner, who was also on scene, to come and open the door? For as long as he and Jax waited in that office, there would have been time for either before the fire grew too much. That made zero sense to me. Otherwise, it was a good story.

Blind Man’s Buff – L.B. Gregg
Started out really excited to read this one. A bunch of what I assumed were college kids decide to play Capture the Flag in a creepy, abandoned, decrepit shopping mall, not knowing that it had become the hunting grounds for a serial killer. I thought, wow, this is going to be intense, maybe even nail-biting. But two things quickly killed it for me. One, all of these game-playing, young people aren’t college kids, they are teachers. High school teachers. Um, what? What school has teachers that are super fit and young enough to have paintball wars and do live gaming? I think my youngest high school teacher was mid-50s and had never seen a gym, much less worked out in one. What really killed the story for me was having Tommy as the narrator. He was awful. Pushing thirty but came off as an immature 12-year old. OMG, he blathered on and over-explained and overthought everything! In a moment that should have been loaded with suspense, he managed to have a long-winded inner monologue that killed any kind of tension. The constant assurances that he was well-versed in gaming, or super fit, or familiar with the sounds of actual bullets were so repetitive and annoying. As if gaming gives you any real experience when you’re being hunted by a serial killer. I was so fed up with Tommy that I skimmed most of this one. This story was a great idea that was poorly executed.

A Country for Old Men – Dal Maclean
Beautiful. Such a well-written story with thoroughly developed characters. I liked that Calum was not at all comfortable in his own skin. His extremely religious upraising left him so conflicted over his sexuality that he was ready to commit to a life completely devoid of true love, a lonely desolate self-inflicted eternity of taking care of his aging parents while hiding who he truly was. He saw his future in the tragic story of another gay man whose fate was dictated by religion, public opinion, and the old-fashioned ideals of the island’s people, and yet, he still couldn’t get off the lonely path he’d sentenced himself to. Definitely the best so far in this collection. I will be reading anything I can find by Maclean.

Pepper the Crime Lab – Z.A. Maxfield
I did not like this short story at all. In fact, I thought it was awful and truly struggled to get through it. It couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a crime story or an account of all the men that Lonnie (the name does not fit the character) is attracted to. First, there’s Rick, the hot and cold ex-cop, then Caleb the too-beautiful-to be-real actor then the ex-lawyer who had the personality of a dried coat of paint, then back to Rick. And Lonnie was an idiot. Who stumbles on a murder victim and removes the murder weapon? Has this guy never watched even one episode of one of the 30 CSI shows that are out there? It was so obvious who the murderer was, but this dimwit couldn’t put it together. Um, hello. When your super friendly dog who loves everyone goes ape shit at one person, there is probably a reason! Do yourself a favor and skip this one!

Lights, Camera, Murder – C.S. Poe
I don’t have much to say about this one. It was okay. A decent story, okay characters. Not something I ever would have read outside of this collection because the plot didn’t appeal to me all that much. Honestly, when the blurb said that Rory Byrne was “someone the elite of New York City can trust to solve their problems…” all I could think of was Ray Donovan. Rory was definitely not Ray, and I never really got a good sense of him. He didn’t really act like someone who had been a P.I. for 20 years. It was still better than Pepper the Crime Lab, though.

Stranger in the House – Josh Lanyon
Footsteps saved the best for last! I love Josh Lanyon’s work, and I liked this story. Miles Tuesday inherits his godmother’s grand home and decides to quit his teaching job, move into the house in Canada, and pursue his dream of becoming an artist. I had to laugh at the naivety of Miles, who thought he was a millionaire because he inherited a house worth $9 million. Um, no. That doesn’t mean you are rich. On a teaching salary, with maintenance and property taxes, you are house poor with a $9 million roof over your head. You aren’t a millionaire until you sell the house! Then again, the silly naivety of Lanyon’s characters is sometimes what makes them so endearing. I liked the plot, the mystery, and the love interest. Would love to have another short story about Miles so we can find out what he decides about the house, where his artist dreams take him, and whether he and Lin have a future together.

This anthology was full of really great stories by talented authors. My favorites were Entree To Murder and Lights, Camera, Murder. I have discovered new authors I will be reading more from and new stories from authors I love that gave me more of the types of mysteries I love.

I really enjoyed this anthology, though some stories stood out, particularly Dal MacLean's and Z.A. Maxfield's. Overall the stories were well-written and intriguing. In many cases I was disappointed when they ended, because I wanted to spend more time with the characters. I will definitely look for more work from many of these authors.

I loved almost every single story on this anthology, and the ones that I didn't love, I liked very much.

So, let's go with each one of them.

Entrée to Murder by Nicole Kimberling
I really liked this one. The mystery is really well done, gripping and very entertaining. The strained relationship between Sam and Drew is the perfect background to all what's going on. Now, regarding the romance, I have only one complaint: after the original description of Big Mac, I couldn't help to picture him as Hoss Cartwright, from Bonanza. Do you remember him? Not the best image for a romance :P

Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry
Oh, I liked both, the mystery and the romance here. And I loved how smart is Justin :) I'm not a great fan of dual POV's, but then, that's me :P And it was a nice introduction to someone who is a new author for me.

Reality Bites by S.C. Wynne
Okay, full disclosure: I LOVE S.C. Wynne's writing. Truly love it. So I went to read this already knowing that I was in for a treat :P And, of course, the story didn't disappoint me. A very well done mystery, an opposites-attract romance with characters I really liked and a fabulous ending. What else could I wish?

Blind Man's Buff by L.B. Gregg
Okay, this reads like a horror movie. c'mon! Beautiful people stranded in a closed-off mall with a serial killer on the loose? Classical! The story is gripping, exciting and full of tension. Believable, as all the people participating in the game is at their peak physically. There is no romance, really. Except is you want to consider this as WORST FIRST DATE EVER. If it were been a date. Which wasn't, no matter what Tommy and Jonah where expecting :P
Really entertaining.

A Country for Old Men by Dal Maclean
Hands down, my favourite story. Beautiful, mournful, permeated with a sense of loss almost until the very end, this is one of these stories that stay with you for a long, long time. The writing is simply gorgeous, poetic and evocative. The description of that town frozen in time is perfect; for moments you forget that this is going on at the present times, until something (a cell phone, a mention to Twitter) reminds you.
Calum's story is... heartbreaking. That he's willing to betray himself to fit in what he thinks is his destiny and his duty...
And those letters! Those letters that Calum is getting in his email and that seems to fit so well whit was going on!. Even the mystery is surrounded by lore and old stories. What can I say? It's wonderful. But then, it's a Dal Maclean's story :)

Pepper the Crime Lab by Z.A. Maxfied
And this one is the one I liked the less. Maybe coming after 'A Country for Old Men' has something to do with it, I don't know...
I really didn't engage with the characters and when one of the MCs is an ex-cop, now bodyguard, you'll expect that he'll be, at the very least, helping to solve the mystery. And yet... the mystery is solved by accident :/
Sorry, but not my cup of tea.

Lights, Camera, Murder by C.S. Poe
Another one of my favourite authors, and another great story. The characters are simply fantastic. And Marion! Oh, Marion is just... perfect! The mystery is really well done and keeps you wondering until the end, so masterly executed! And I love that is Marion, at the end, who saves the day (and Rory's life).
Another fantastic read, and I really, really hope will be seeing more of these two =D

Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon
Josh Lanyon is another favourite (yes, I'm a lucky girl, all of my favourites in one anthology :P), so it will come as no surprise at all that I loved this story, too. The setting is simply perfect: an old house, filled with childhood memories, that suddenly feels less than welcoming; an old crush who (maybe without even noticing) inflicted a life-defining hurt; a dead man at the bottom of a magnificent marble stair, crushed by a huge bronze sculpture; little objects missing...
And I was so wrong about the culprit! *laughs* Another excellent story :)

So, if you, for whatever reason, wasn't sure about going for this anthology, go for it! I can't recommend it more.

You get a lot of bang for the buck with Footsteps in the Dark. Eight decent sized novellas grace this sexy and interesting book all centered around a mystery . Overall an amazing treat that I absolutely enjoyed.

Entree to Murder by Nicole Kimberling: Centers around Drew a chef and Mac a police officer. When Drew's bartender is found dead in the basement of his restaurant, stabbed with one of his own kitchen knives he knows he is being set up! Fast paced and keeps you guessing!

Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry: This tale revolves around a space reporter and a law enforcement agent. This for me was not one of my favorites but I think it was due to theme. Blown up rockets and murder are the core of this story.

Reality bites by S,C. Wynne: A unique mystery revolving around the death of a reality show contestant, A policeman and the producer of the compromised show become romantically involved when murder throw them together. A great story-line and fast read!

Blinds Man Bluff by L.B. Gregg: I had a hard time believing the main character was an adult school teacher and not a teen. A game of capture the flag has some deadly consequences.. I had a hard time finishing this novella.

A Country For Old Men by Dal Maclean: This story was so touching and real. It simply blew me out of the water. Calum a police officer returns to his small and sheltered hometown to be near his parents. As they are getting older he feels responsible to be there for them, A long sought after treasure is the heartbeat behind this riveting mystery/romance. I absolutely loved it!

Pepper the Crime Lab by Z A Maxfield: Lonnie's neighbor is found dead and the murderer is setting him up to take the fall. Atop of everything else his other neighbor convinces him to take the dead man's dog home until they can find a new owner. Rick a former police officer who now works in security falls for Lonnie over dogs and murder. An adorable mystery/romance with a promise of a sexy HEA.

Lights, Camera, Murder by C.S. Poe: A private investigator Rory goes undercover on a movie set to find out who stole a valuable script. While trying to solve this mystery he falls hard for the handsome and sweet leading man.Marion. I could not put the book down and was sorry to see it end.

Stranger in The House by Josh lanyon: OK, I just love Josh ! Having her book complete this novel was a perfect way to finish this eclectic mix of male romances and mysteries. Miles, a kind gentle soul inherits a very expensive home from his godmother. Linly is his Godmother's son and an art dealer extraordinaire. Miles just so happens to have a bit of a crush on Lin. The men connect and their dynamics make them a true match. However strange things are happening! Valuable items seem to be disappearing from Mile's new home and another death happens on the marble staircase where his Godmother passed away. This story was hands down my favorite.

I highly recommend this eclectic mix of stories.. There is a little something for every reader in this wonderful mystery mix.
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Anyone who likes m/m romance and mysteries should give this collection of stories a read.

As with any anthology, every story probably won’t appeal to every reader. This one had a pretty good success rate for me, though. Only one of the stories didn’t grab me, and that was less to do with the skill of the author than the premise not really matching my tastes.

In my opinion, the standout is Dal Maclean’s “A Country for Old Men.” Not only is the mystery more complex than some of the others, but I also loved the second chance romance. But what made it especially good was the main character’s struggle with his sexuality, which he tries to suppress in part because he doesn’t want to upset his religiously conservative parents. That aspect of the story added an extra layer of depth that wasn’t present in the other entries in the anthology.

Other favorites:

• Josh Lanyon’s “A Stranger in the House” actually made me appreciate an instalove scenario,
• S.C. Wynne’s “Reality Bites” made death by tiger actually sound plausible, and
• Z.A. Maxfield’s “Pepper the Crime Lab” is a little on the quirky side, but that’s what made it memorable for me.

All in all, this collection left me wanting to try out the authors’ full-length works, so I consider it a success.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Love it! All of the stories were fabulous! It’s a lot of fun getting to read different authors at the same time. A lot of my favorite ones were here. Looking forward to another one.

Overall rating: 3 stars. Most of the stories here were just okay, although there were some fantastic standout ones. Individual reviews of the stories follow.

Entrée to Murder - 4 stars
Solid and somewhat twisty plot, and great side characters. The romance was good but I thought there could have been just a little more chemistry and tension, but maybe that's just because I was low key wanting it to be an enemies to lovers trope."

Twelve Seconds - 1 star.
I found the mystery to be obvious and lacklustre, mostly because of the very small pool of suspects, none of which we really interacted with in the narrative. This is my ultimate murder mystery peeve, as it means the reader has little to no investment in the culprit. Is it randomer #1 or randomer #2? Who cares!

Reality Bites - 5 stars.
I loved this one! Fantastic chemistry between the two leads, and there was some excellent suspense and plot twists.

Blind Man's Buff - 1 star.
This was an interesting concept that could have had a lot of potential, but the execution was poor. The MC was a judgemental, unlikable asshole, and everyone was quite frankly extremely stupid. Why would you not carry a phone with you in case of emergency, especially when you're playing a game with a relatively high risk of injury? Smfh.

A Country for Old Men - 5 stars.
A masterpiece, and definitely my favourite in this collection. Bloody brilliant writing, multi-faceted characters, and a fantastic mystery.

Pepper the Crime Lab - 3 stars.
Enjoyable but unremarkable. I liked the overall vibe of the mystery, but there were some weird dynamics between the MC and the love interest that felt like artificially manufactured conflict for the sake of it.

Lights, Camera, Murder - 4 stars.
I liked the idea of there being two mysteries, of which the murder was the second, and I also loved the interactions between the MC and the love interest. I did think it was a bit predictable, but still good.

Stranger in the House - 2 stars.
Both the mystery and the romance seemed thin on the ground, as if both plot and character development hadn't really been thought out properly.

I'm always a bit leery of anthologies since I'm not a fan of stories under 30 pages, but I couldn't pass up an m/m mystery anthology. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was a collection of novellas not a short story anthology. I won't review each story individually because they were all exceptional. Nothing stands out as being much higher or lower quality than the others. They are all matched at a really good level. A must read for fans of the m/m mystery genre!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

As with any anthology, I definitely liked some stories better than others. My favorite was Dal MacLean of course.

All in all, the MAJORITY of the book was great and well worth the read!

A great variety of m/m romantic mysteries and suspense stories. Unsurprisingly, my two favorite stories in this anthology were by Dal Maclean and Josh Lanyon. Their mysteries were sharp and kept me on my toes, and their heroes were charmingly flawed and relatable.

I had high hopes for this anthology when I saw two of the names attached to it (Dal Maclean and Josh Lanyon), and Footsteps in the Dark more than met my expectations, although in the end, all but one of my favorite stories were penned by new-to-me authors (yay!).  None of the eight stories are particularly scary or horrifying; instead, they’re uniformly clever and compelling - featuring an intriguing cast of principal characters (heroes and villains), disparate plots, and settings that transport the reader around the globe.  It’s always challenging to review an anthology and this one is better than most.  I’ve limited my comments to my favorite stories in the collection (and then graded them in order of preference), but reader - this is a strong assortment of stories you will be hard pressed to put down, and Footsteps in the Dark is more proof that m/m romantic suspense writers are crafting the best stories in romancelandia these days.

Blind Man’s Bluff by L. B. Gregg

Grade: A                    Sensuality: Kisses

The set-up of this novella - a group of adventurous high school teachers/friends meet-up for a game of Capture the Flag inside a long abandoned shopping mall - didn’t initially grab me, but after the first few pages, told from the extremely sarcastic and self-deprecating PoV of Tommy (not Thomas) Cline, I was hooked.

Tommy has been best friends with Jonah Theroux for years, and after witnessing Jonah masterfully break-up a school fight, he suddenly realizes he’s attracted to him, too.  Hoping to sneak away once the game gets underway, Tommy’s surprised and thrilled when it turns out Jonah had a similar plan.  The teams split up and Jonah grabs Tommy’s hand and kisses him, whispering about how long he’s waited for Tommy to wake up and realize they’re meant to be together.  They trade kisses and finally separate to join their team mate, but just as Tommy turns to follow Jonah, a trussed and blindfolded body drops on top of him.

Gregg, a new-to-me author, hits the gas pedal after the body drops and never backs off until the very end.  Tommy and Jonah - and their newest team member, a surly teenager who escaped his captor by flinging himself off the second floor - face off against a homicidal maniac who knows the abandoned mall like the back of his hand.  The pace is frantic as they fight off a smug, crazy killer and search for an escape, all the while hoping for help from their missing (possibly dead) friends.  Exciting, heart pounding, and romantic, I couldn’t put this story down.  Blind Man’s Bluff is my surprise favorite novella in the anthology.

Pepper the Crime Lab by Z. A. Maxfield

Grade: A                    Sensuality: Kisses

After a bout of pneumonia and near fatal allergic reaction to the medication he took to treat it, chef/restaurant owner Lonnie Boudreaux needs a fresh start.   But his first night in his new apartment gets off to a rough start when he’s kept awake by a neighbor’s barking dog.  Failing to get the manager to do something about the noise, he meets another frustrated neighbor in the hall – and when the barking abruptly changes to crying, they enter the unlocked apartment and discover the dog with a lampshade cord wrapped around its neck, and a dead body in the master bedroom.  Lonny, shocked by the sight of so much blood and a familiar knife in the man's chest, unthinkingly pulls it out.  Oops.  His actions make Lonnie the primary suspect in the murder, as his handsome - possibly a cop? - neighbor Enrique “Rick” Garcia makes abundantly clear after he calls police to the crime scene.  Lonnie knows he isn’t a murderer and he sets out to find out who is.

Lonny is a stereotypical workaholic restaurant owner.  He’s never been good at relationships or taking care of himself, but hopes the forced sabbatical and his goal of pet ownership will help him find balance.  He didn’t expect to become a murder suspect or to meet an enigmatic and beautiful stranger from his past.  But that’s what he gets.. .along with Pepper, the barking (now ownerless) labrador.  This tiny gem of a novella tracks two parallel storylines - Lonny’s search for a killer (and possible dog poisoner) and his personal journey from loner workaholic to loving partner and dog owner.  He’s a quirky, horny, loveable mess who finds happiness where he least expects it, and Rick is the gentle and fierce protector (with a heart of gold) who tries diligently to keep him out of harm's way.  I guessed who the villain was early on - but it didn’t stop me from loving every single thing about this story or this pair (and Pepper too!).

A Country for Old Men by Dal Maclean

Grade: A-                    Sensuality: Warm

After nearly a decade away, Inspector Calum Macleod has returned to his parents’ remote and isolated home in the Western Isles of Scotland, determined to repress his sexual desires and fulfill his destiny - marrying a local girl, giving his parents grandchildren - and spending the remainder of his years tucked away in this quiet corner of the world.  But when a neighbor is brutally murdered and evidence at the scene suggests the murder might be linked to a valuable family heirloom, Calum follows the clues... straight to Adam Patterson, the man he’s spent years trying (and failing) to forget.

Atmospheric and sombre, ACFOM is tonally the darkest story in the anthology.  Calum is a remote and damaged hero who grows on you as the story progresses, but his deep sadness at the bleak future he imagines for himself is powerfully affecting.  Even after the author introduces Adam (clearly his soul mate), it isn’t clear there is a happily ever in the offing for this pair.  Adam is aloof and distant, Calum is overwhelmed by the intensity of his feelings being near him again, and it’s an awkward and painful reunion.  Maclean loves imperfect characters, unreliable narrators, and genuine emotional conflict and this one has all-of-the-above in spades.  I wanted happiness for Calum... but wasn’t sure he wanted it for himself.

Unlike the other stories in this anthology, the whodunnit in ACFOM is impossible to guess, and although I liked how all the disparate plot threads come together, it was a bit overwhelming and a tad too neat.  There’s a lot to unpack in this gem of a novella and readers unfamiliar with Maclean might be concerned it’s too much.  It isn’t.

Pro tip: Save yourself some frustration and read the bonus Scottish Gaelic glossary before you start reading the novella.

Reality Bites by S. C. Wynne

Grade: A-                   Sensuality: Warm

Opposites attract when Detective Cabot Decker is asked to investigate the possible murder of one of the contestants in a reality TV show.  Cabot isn’t convinced it’s murder - after all, the man was mauled and eaten by a panther after agreeing to spend the night locked in the animal’s cage.  Even after he meets the show’s anxious and concerned (handsome) producer, Jax Thornburn, he isn’t convinced the case is anything more than an animal behaving like an animal should, but watching tape of the night the contestant was killed changes his mind.  And when someone tries to run the producer off the road and then sets his office on fire, Caleb’s investigation takes on a new urgency.  Can he find the killer before Jax becomes a victim?




Reality Bites is a terrific title for this clever novella, especially since reality turns out to be a many layered thing.  Is the show reality?  Nope.  And Caleb’s assumptions - about the case, about Jax, about himself - aren’t reality either.  Caleb can’t help but be protective of Jax, and even though he’s attracted to him, he tries hard to resist Jax’s obvious interest.  But his efforts are wasted since Caleb likes Jax and wants to keep him safe, and Jax - who’s made a career out of taking chances - wants a wary Caleb to take a chance on him.  These two have great chemistry despite their differences, and I enjoyed the developing dynamic between them as much as the investigation into the murder that brings them together.  I had my guesses about the villain - and I was partially right - but the climatic ending was still somewhat of a surprise.  Reality Bites is a clever, exciting and sexy novella, and S. C. Wynne is another author I’ll be spending more time with in the very near future.

The other novellas in the collection are:

Entree to Murder by Nicole Kimberling.  Grade: B

Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry. Grade: B

Lights, Camera, Murder by C. S. Poe. Grade: C+

Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon. Grade: C+

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3.5* Some good finds in this antho, but not all tales are equal, unfortunately.

Entree to Murder - Nicole Kimberling - 3.5*. This was a good intro to this author, and though the tale had some editing and proofing issues, it was really well done and with the (needed) red herrings being crafty enough that the author had me suspecting several characters. I had a smile on my face from the minute that teenage Lionel and his exploding kimchee (the only thing I did guess correctly, when there was mention of a basement, a bang, a fishy fermented smell, and Lionel's mixed Korean ancestry), and though Big Mac (terrible nickname!) wasn't initially made out to sound like lead material, I warmed to him and his quiet, placid way, which was a direct contrast to Drew's take-action-and-endanger-himself manner. I did enjoy the tale, didn't see the outcome coming, and would have rated this 4* had the leads gotten anywhere near to an epilogue of sorts, and had there been a bit of a round up of the various characters that were introduced and who'd ended up integral to the tale. I think the author missed a trick there, especially with Evelyn and Julie, the elderly married lesbians. With the latter, she bigged them up, made them interesting and important and then they faded into the distance. This tale felt like it needed another couple of chapters and it might even have made it to a 5* read with the right balance and ending for all of the characters.... Added after - this is apparently a tale introducing a new series by this author, which I will be reading, in the hopes that I see more of these characters I've been introduced to.

Twelve Seconds - Meg Perry - 4* Decent whodunnit with a proper storyline that brought the leads together, and a couple of really decent guys heading towards 40 who met, liked and respected each other and wanted to pursue something. I liked that they both had investigative brains and that one, Greg, was pretty body-perfect due to the demands of his job, and was the opposite to the other, Justin, whose job helped him get to - in his eyes - a starting-to-get-body-imperfect stage, and yet both loved the look of the other. I liked how Greg assured Justin that if he wanted to get fit, Greg totally supported that, as long as he was doing it for himself and not for Greg. And, as a cat lover, I loved how Justin's ginger toms, Elton and Bernie (brothers) took to Greg, because cats are the finest judges of character, lol! The tale ends with the leads in a good place, without any unnecessary words about feelings and/or a future, but with a firm understanding that they're a couple and with visions of a together-for-the-long-term future.

Reality Bites - SC Wynne - 3* Started off with a sort-of-shocking death but the tale went on for too long (got to the point where I skimmed a little, especially during the sex scene), had too many characters even from the start, a lot of which whom featured in the detective's questioning and investigation, but afterwards faded into the background, and then towards the end of the tale, a few more became prominent and got too much page-time for non-main characters, so it wasn't hard to work out who was complicit with who. I can't say that I liked the leads or felt like I got to know them, so this was just about OK for me. TBH, I was more concerned for the tiger's life than the those of the humans in this tale. Sorry.

Blind Man's Bluff - LB Gregg - 3* This one I had to skim read, as it was too young a tale for me. Gamers in some kind of live action gaming that they dreamed up and did each week. The place sounded disgusting and dangerous and it was all too confusing for me to visualise, but maybe if you're into that, it might work for you?

A Country For Old Men - Dal Maclean - DNF at one chapter in. Can anyone explain a 'mincing dog' to me? I can't fathom it out, and the tale was a non-starter for me. The description of Calum, a cop and yet totally under his parents' thumbs and towing their lines, made him not worthy of a lead in a novel, and as Brit, I struggled with the language in this, as the tale is set in Scotland and a lot of (?) Gaelic was used. Sorry.

Pepper The Crime Lab - ZA Maxfield - 3* Not a bad tale, but it was peppered, pardon the pun, with too many characters who muddied the waters. It would have been better as a slightly shorter, to-the-point tale, and I'd have loved to see Pepper the Lab come home to someone who loved her and wanted her, which I didn't quite get the impression Lonnie was ready to offer. And, I'd have liked to see justice for some of the people wronged by the deceased, as well as finding out what happened to the b'stard poisoning the neighbourhood mutts. Unfortunately, though, the co-lead Rick was kind of neither here nor there. I never got a feel for him, never really made out how much of him was truth or obfuscation, but the saving grace was that he adored his dog, and I think that the way in which people behave towards animals and how they treat them, redeems them. Sometimes.

Lights, Camera, Murder - CS Poe - 4* A film set story, where there's ambition, jealousy, resentment, secrets, unspoken codes, lines of hierarchy that aren't meant to be crossed, factions and all the little things that don't make it to celluloid. A decent tale with a PI who's actually a PI thinking on his feet with his big head, refreshingly, instead of with his little head, and an actor who wants to make a stand for queer people. I liked the leads, the tale, the insight into the nastier side of Hollywood and thought that these leads would end up in a relationship that lasted beyond the case and beyond filming.

Stranger In The House - Josh Lanyon - 3* This tale was too long-winded for me. An American - Miles - inheriting a mansion in Canada, instead of the sons of the deceased, made me think the tale would be full of fighting and angst and ill feeling. Instead, the younger son and co-lead of the tale, Linley, didn't make an appearance til quite late, and at that point, I'd begun to wonder if the tale would be about Miles and the older brother, in a May to December relationship. Nothing much happened in the tale and I was pretty bored, tbh, until about 10 page-turns from the end, when the tale suddenly woke up and things started happening. The rest of the book was certainly unexpected and interesting, but I couldn't really see a spark between the leads, despite talk of their pasts, and I couldn't see them as a couple. In fact, I found the reveals of the last 10 pages more interesting than anything in the tale so far. Unfortunately, it was a pretty bland tale for the most, with the balance not quite right - why big up an older brother when it turns into nothing? I was surprised, as this antho really didn't save the best for last.

Editing was better in some of the tales than in others, and I wondered if the authors had used their own proofers/editors, which, surprisingly, wasn't the case. Not all tales had the same polish, and some had more typos than others. Still, for the number of tales and the quality and price, this was a worthwhile buy.

Copy courtesy of Josh Lanyon/JustJoshing Publishing Inc and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.