Bloodless

Serial Investigations #1

by Rhiannon D'Averc

How do you solve a murder…

… When you’re the prime suspect?

A body cut up into pieces and left in Highgate Wood. It sounds like the most exciting case that private detectives Ram and Will have had to deal with since leaving their FBI training and returning to London.

As each new body is piled up amongst the trees, the stakes get higher – and Serial Investigations London embraces their first real challenge.

But Ram’s lifestyle – staying out all days of the week, drinking too much, and having sex with a different man every night – soon catches up with him when the police realise there’s just one link that connects the bodies.

And it’s him.

Will faces a battle around the clock to prevent his best friend from being put away for life – and while the two of them face their own demons, there’s a secret hanging over their heads that might just bring it all crashing down.

If you’re a fan of BBC’s Luther, Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole, or sharply witty gay men, you’ll love Serial Investigations. Jump into the action from the very beginning with Bloodless, the first book in a series you won’t dare to put down.

Enter the minds of highly-skilled detectives as they take on a serial killer who may just get the upper hand.

Genres: M M Romance, LGBT, Mystery, Contemporary, Addiction, Romance, Queer

298 pages, ebook

First published April 29, 2019

Reviews

[Elena]

DNF at 16%

I’m not rating because I read so little of the book, but I can already tell this isn’t going to work.
The alternating chapters in different POVs might have been a good fit for the story, although I don’t understand the choice to make the chapters in Will’s POV in third person and past tense—with the occasional sentence in present tense, why?—and the ones in Ram’s POV in first person present tense, but the two characters have such similar voices that it makes the alternating POVs useless, you could just switch the names around and you couldn’t tell one from the other.
I can’t talk about the mystery since it’s barely started, but I’m not buying the characterization. They’re supposed to be top ex-cops and ex-something-in-training at the FBI and they’re now private investigators, but the only time they talked to a client they were completely unprofessional and one of them lost his patience and started yelling and insulting the guy. And then Will thought about how he never went to the gym and wouldn’t be able to keep up with Rami, which makes total sense because police forces and the FBI don’t require their agents to be at least somehow physically fit…?
To complete the picture, not only they have red flags in their individual behaviors that would keep them busy in therapy for a few years, they also have such a problematically unhealthy relationship, that I don’t even know where to start.
Does all that sound like too much to pack into a meagre 16%? I agree.

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the writing for this wasn't actually bad, I just have so many issues with the book, least of all the plot holes... so many that the plot resembles swiss cheese.

First and foremost is the POVs. Will's POV is told in past tense and Ram's in present, even though their POVs are happening in the same time frame. Not to mention that Will's chapters will have the chapter number spelled out, while Ram's chapters uses numbers. And both will still indicate which character's POV it is, because I guess the readers aren't intelligent enough to follow the pattern of alternating chapters, with different tenses and the chapter either spelled out or numbered. (Though if the author does think the readers are not smart enough to catch on to that, it would explain a lot of issues with this story.) Also, the reader is addressed a few times. The fact that it happens so infrequently makes it even more jarring than if it happened more frequently.

Speaking of jarring... the way that text messages are formatted, in actual text bubbles, is a bit jarring.

Now, Julius' nickname, Ram, apparently comes from Caramel. Which Will dubbed him as, as he is salty. I don't know if that is supposed to be ironic. Caramel is sweet; sickly sweet even. Salted caramel would be salty, but that's because salt is salty. But, whatever.

Ram likes to finish his bouts at the gym with a run, but apparently going there is "absolutely zero fucking possibility of [him] ever going for a jog". Meanwhile, Will does not work out and that "if he tried to lift any kind of weight" that he would snap... which doesn't make sense when you consider he was top of the class at both the training for the London police and the FBI... which I am pretty sure both would require you to do some kind of physical training and pass a fitness test. Though, the only class I can see these two being the top of would be clown school, as they are in no way believable as this super sharp, capable duo.

How can Ram be so oblivious to a) their financial situation when they have been back in London for a while and haven't been getting any paid gigs and b) that his bff has an eating disorder and is so skinny to the point Alex notes he looks like he has cancer or AIDS. That doesn't sound like Top of the Class material... but then, he is an alcoholic. But it's been 6/7 months since they've moved to London, so Ram should have picked up on something. No matter how much savings you had coming over, I don't think you'd get too far on it in London. Also, do these guys not know what a retainer is?

But how does a man who has lost a dramatic amount of weight from an eating disorder happen to have tight-fitting pants and a fitted top just hanging around? Did he happen to have too-tight clothing hanging around for his eventual outing to a gay bar, post weight loss?

When the third victim is found, Ram confesses that he slept with him three nights prior. So, obviously he has to hand himself in, even though he shouldn't even know that a body was discovered, let alone the identity, since Alex has illegally provided him with this info.

It seems vastly inappropriate, for multiple reasons, to discuss an active investigation in a very public restaurant, with the files and photos (including those of the bodies) spread across the table. Especially since they aren't actually a part of the the investigation and the files have been illegally obtained. And then to top it off, they discuss the case with Alex over speakerphone.

When Ram goes to the crime scene of where the second victim was found, he notes that there is no blood and "the conclusion, then, is that the victim was killed off-site, and some while ago. He wasn't a fresh kill." Will speculates that the killer "cuts [the body up a good while after the murder". Yet they both seem shocked when Alex tells them that the first victim was dead for some time before being disposed of.

Alex tells them that one of the two first victims has been identified as James West. Last reported seen a month ago. His death is placed at a week and a half ago. The other body, later identified as Christian Carr, has "been dead a long while. Maybe a month." and that "the body was kept very clean and possibly in a chilled area, but it was well on its way towards total decay. [...] Not much longer and he would have started to, er... liquefy." His body had been cut up recently. Ram says he was glad he found the other one, so that means Christian was body #1, James #2 and Hiro #3.

This was kind of when I started scratching my head at the timeline, for which I had a ridiculous amount of highlights and notes to try and make sense of it.

The first body, Christian, has been dead about a month, but his body only dumped more recently. James, the victim that Ram discovered, had been dead about 1.5 weeks.... this is told to Ram & Will by Alex when they are at the restaurant following the discovery of the 3rd body. After the discovery of the 4th body, found a few days after the 3rd victim, and following Ram's arrest, Will is determined to find evidence to clear him, but wonders "How do you come up with something you have already been looking at for over the course of weeks [...]?" How have you been looking at it for weeks when it's been 1 month since the death of the first victim, but even less time since his body was disposed of? And Ram didn't even inform Will of the investigation the day before he stumbles upon the second victim.... who they are told the day they find out about Hiro, has been dead for about a week and a half.

And Ram notices the photo of Christian at the bar on the night that he disappears has a bartender who quit a few weeks ago, so he figures out that Christian went missing prior to him quitting. How astute of you, Mr. Top of the Class, given you already knew he had been dead a while, estimated at a month.

And are yous seriously telling me that no one noticed that Hiro was circumcised within the past few days? Regardless of whether it was done pre- or post- mortem, I would think it would be pretty obvious for anyone with eyes to tell that it was fresh. And a ME would definitely be able to tell. (Also, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have a tox screen results for Hiro within less than 24 hours of the body being found.) The circumcisions end up being a pretty huge plot point, with the killer keeping the foreskin as his trophy. So, even if those 4 bodies are the only ones the police originally had to work with (and maybe a few of them had already be circumcised), that someone would have noticed a fresh circumcision. Technically, Ram and Will don't even notice it, other than Will pointing out that all 3 victims were circumcised and Ram having his Aha! moment since he was intimately acquainted with Hiro's foreskin just days before.

As to the killer, it was the person I suspected it to be from their first appearance... but when you have your character allude to how strange, odd, another character is, and have them point out that they don't like the vibes and/or actions of that character, it does very little to misdirect.

One of the investigators skin is referred to as "the colour of chocolate". First, in 2019, we should be past using food to describe the skin tone of POC characters. But second, chocolate has many colours (so maybe I shouldn't assume he was a POC; it could have been white chocolate). Are we talking dark chocolate? 60% cocoa, 70% cocoa, 85% cocoa, 100% cocoa? Or milk chocolate? Ruby chocolate (that would be interesting)? White chocolate?

And as for whatever situation cause these two to flee SanFran, it's not really touched on. Guess I'll never know, since there is "absolutely zero fucking possibility" of me continuing with the series.

[Antisocial Recluse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Head scratching

Gaping plot holes and sloppy details. Even if the killer had circumcised victims ante-mortem any medical examiner or cop would have caught it. Pu-leeze. Just absurd details. The hints about the backgrounds and psychological issues for both was the only intrigue. Grammatically well written.

[DLB2572 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a very shaky start for me. I had to put it down and come back to it a few times. It did get better as it went along and I appreciated the mystery.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Mic_Michelle]

KINDLE FREEBIE 7/30/2025

[Karolina Cebula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ram and Will had left their FBI training in the United States and returned to England, where they opened their own detective agency. Unfortunately, they start from scratch, so this means that before they get a reputation, they have to solve some major cases. The one that made the headlines concerning dismembered corpse seems perfect. The problem is that the hunter quickly becomes a game when the police find more corpses and discover that Ram slept with some of the victims.

"Bloodless" is the first volume of "Serial Investigations" by Rhiannon D'Averc. I have to admit that the series positively surprised me, because I expected it to focus more on romance, while "Bloodless" is actually a typical crime story. In other words, the series turned out to be definitely more ambitious and more serious than I initially thought. Thus, it is my discovery of the year. As I've mentioned, the main axis of the story is the investigation which dominates the novel. Our characters are trying to solve the case they are working on with all the elements typical of this type of story, such as studying reports, interviewing witnesses, checking the crime scene, and trying to create a psychological profile of the criminal. There are even problems that involve one of the main characters and immediate danger. We couldn't ask for more. I am very happy I discovered this series.

As for the characters, who in modern crime fiction are one of the most important elements of the novel, they are undoubtedly worth our attention and meet all the conditions of well-constructed, interesting and worthy of their own series detectives. But first things first. Ram matches the most frequently chosen pattern of the main character in modern detective novels almost 100%. He's an alcoholic who drinks to forget, but is obviously able to stop at any time, never sleeps twice with the same guy, is stubborn as a donkey, always has to have the last word. What distinguishes him from other detectives is his sexual orientation and celebrity father. I would like to point out that all this is his advantage, even if he is sometimes extremely annoying. Meanwhile, Will is like a breath of fresh air. He has Asian roots, struggles with eating disorder, is an author of erotic books, thanks to which he and Ram have money to pay the bills and he is the closeted gay. What's more, he is intelligent, sensible, patient, professional, although a little shy. In a word, he's wonderful! And he's a perfect partner for Ram.

Interesting and, in my opinion, well-chosen characters are not the only advantage of "Bloodless", as their relationship is another. Let's start with the fact that Ram and Will are best friends who have known each other for many years and live together in almost perfect harmony, as they have no problem with sharing an apartment or with a certain level of natural, devoid of romantic overtones physical intimacy. What's more, they know their numerous mutual flaws very well and accept them to some extent because they are able to put up with each other. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that their friendship seems to be so deep and accepting that they usually do not talk openly about what makes them the most vulnerable, namely alcoholism and eating disorder. Their close friendship is something good and bad at the same time. Writing about our characters' relationship I must mention the fact that Will has a crush on Ram. I like this turn in their relationship because it gives the author many opportunities to develop the subject, as well as makes Ram and Will's friendship more complicated.

The thing I like the least in "Bloodless" is the mystery surrounding the events that had taken place before action of this volume. In San Francisco, where Will and Ram had previously lived and trained, something very significant and shocking had happened and it not only prompted our boys to leave their life in the US, but also greatly affected their well-being and present life. We know nothing about those events because of which one of the characters drinks himself into a stupor and the other is starving himself. Whatever had happened in San Francisco, it hunts them, they often think back to those events, while we have no idea what's going on. This uncertainty is terrible and downright annoying. What had happened there?! I want to know! I want to know! I want to know!

To sum up, "Bloodless" is a good start of this new crime series with a fine romantic theme. The novel is not perfect, which does not surprise me, because we rarely see detective stories that would be perfect from the first volume. The story is very interesting, suspenseful, and we love the characters with all our heart, even though they irritate us sometimes. Honestly? I love this novel.

________________________

Ram i Will przerwali trening FBI w Stanach Zjednoczonych i wrócili do Anglii, gdzie otwierają własne biuro detektywistyczne. Niestety zaczynają od zera, a to oznacza, że zanim zdobędą renomę, będą musieli rozwiązać kilka większych spraw. Ta z pierwszych stron gazet dotycząca rozczłonkowanych zwłok wydaje się idealna. Problem w tym, że łowca szybko staje się zwierzyną, kiedy policja znajduje więcej zwłok i odkrywa, że Ram sypiał z niektórymi z ofiar.

„Bloodless” jest pierwszym tomem „Serial Investigations” autorstwa Rhiannon D'Averc. Muszę przyznać, że seria pozytywnie mnie zaskoczyła, ponieważ spodziewałam się, że będzie skupiać się bardziej na romansie, tymczasem „Bloodless” jest tak naprawdę typowym kryminałem. Inaczej mówiąc, seria okazała się zdecydowanie ambitniejsza i poważniejsza niż początkowo sądziłam. Tym samym, jest moim odkryciem roku. Jak wspomniałam, główną oś fabuły stanowi wątek kryminalny i to on dominuje w powieści. Nasi bohaterowie starają się bowiem rozwiązać sprawę nad którą pracują z zachowaniem wszystkich typowych dla kryminału elementów, jak studiowanie raportów, przesłuchiwanie świadków, sprawdzenie miejsca zbrodni, próba stworzenia profilu psychologicznego. Pojawiają się nawet problemy, w które pakuje się jeden z głównych bohaterów oraz bezpośrednie niebezpieczeństwo. Czy można chcieć czegoś więcej? Ja jestem bardzo zadowolona z odkrycia tej serii.

Co się tyczy bohaterów, którzy we współczesnym kryminale stanowią jeden z najistotniejszych elementów powieści, są oni niewątpliwie warci naszej uwagi i spełniają wszystkie warunki dobrze skonstruowanych, interesujących i godnych własnej serii detektywów. Ale po kolei. Ram niemal w 100% pasuje do najczęściej wybieranego szablonu głównego bohatera współczesnego kryminału. Alkoholik, który pije by zapomnieć, ale naturalnie jest w stanie przestać w każdej chwili, nigdy nie sypia dwa razy z tym samym facetem, jest uparty jak osioł, zawsze musi mieć ostatnie słowo. Tym, co wyróżnia go z tłumu innych detektywów jest jego orientacja seksualna oraz ojciec celebryta. Pragnę zauważyć, że wszystko to stanowi jego zaletę, nawet jeśli czasami jest strasznie irytujący. Tymczasem Will to powiew świeżości. Ma azjatyckie korzenie, zmaga się z zaburzeniami jedzenia, jest autorem erotyków, dzięki którym on i Ram mają za co opłacać rachunki, jest gejem, który nadal siedzi w szafie. Ponadto jest inteligentny, rozsądny, cierpliwy, profesjonalny, chociaż trochę nieśmiały. Jednym słowem, jest wspaniały! I idealnie nadaje się na partnera Rama.

Poza interesującymi i moim zdaniem dobrze dobranymi bohaterami, zaletą „Bloodless” są również ich relacje. Zacznijmy od tego, że Ram i Will są najlepszymi przyjaciółmi, którzy znają się od wielu lat i żyją ze sobą w niemal doskonałej harmonii, ponieważ nie mają problemu ze wspólnym mieszkaniem, czy pewnym poziomem naturalnej, pozbawionej romantycznych podtekstów fizycznej bliskości. Co więcej, znają swoje liczne wzajemne wady bardzo dobrze i w pewnym stopniu akceptują je, ponieważ są w stanie wytrzymać ze sobą nawzajem. Z drugiej jednak strony należy wspomnieć, że ich przyjaźń wydaje się być już tak głęboka i akceptująca, że zazwyczaj nie rozmawiają od serca o tym, co najbardziej ich wyniszcza, a więc o alkoholizmie i zaburzeniach jedzenia. Ich bliska przyjaźń jest więc czymś dobrym i złym jednocześnie. Pisząc o relacjach naszych bohaterów muszę jeszcze wspomnieć o fakcie, iż Will podkochuje się w Ramie. To oblicze ich relacji również bardzo mi się podoba, ponieważ daje autorce wiele możliwości na rozwinięcie tematu, jak również czyni przyjaźń Rama i Willa bardziej skomplikowaną.

Tym, co najmniej podoba mi się w „Bloodless” jest tajemnica otaczająca wydarzenia sprzed tego tomu. W San Francisco, gdzie wcześniej mieszkali i odbywali szkolenie Will i Ram, wydarzyło się coś bardzo istotnego i wstrząsającego, co nie tylko nakłoniło naszych bohaterów do porzucenia życia jakie wiedli w Stanach, ale też w znacznym stopniu wpłynęło na ich samopoczucie oraz życie. To właśnie te wydarzenia, o których nic nie wiemy są powodem dla którego jeden z nich pije na umór, a drugi się głodzi. To, co stało się w San Francisco nie daje im spokoju, często wracają myślami do tamtych wydarzeń, tymczasem my nie mamy pojęcia, co co chodzi. Ta niepewność jest okropna i wręcz irytująca. Co tam się stało?! Chcę wiedzieć! Chcę wiedzieć! Chcę wiedzieć!

Podsumowując, „Bloodless” to dobry początek serii kryminalnej z delikatnym wątkiem romantycznym. Powieść nie jest idealna, co wcale mnie nie dziwi, gdyż rzadko trafiamy na kryminały, które już od pierwszego tomu byłyby perfekcyjne. Przedstawiona historia jest bardzo interesująca, trzyma w napięciu, zaś bohaterów kochamy całym sercem, mimo że czasami nas irytują. Szczerze? Kocham tę powieść.

[robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller

This book is a mystery thriller with a pseudo romance. I hope it heats up more in the sequel! I liked the main characters, humor mixed with angst over unresolved previous issues as well as their current situation and investigation. Good writing, realistic.

[Leslie A Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhiannon D’Averc is a 'new to me' author that I found in the GRR group on Facebook. I’m awful when it comes to starting books by new novelists because I have favorite authors which I tend to compare others to. I know it’s an awful thing to admit doing but as it turns out, it’s the truth. So, after reading the blurb, I had no idea what to expect when I jumped into Bloodless. I knew the general plot and where it took place in the world, aside from that I went into it blind.

First, let me just say that I almost gave this series a miss based on the fact it takes place in London. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a book snob. I’m from America and have found sometimes I have a hard time getting into books that use colloquial terms I’m not familiar with. I’ve noticed a lot of books set in the UK have slang, terminology, or phrases that give me pause, which can pull me out of a good read. I’m happy to say that this series didn’t do that for me. I’m not sure if that’s due to me living in the north of Ireland for eight years or if the author just did a good job of writing those sorts of things into her work. Either way, I was able to read it without being thrown from the story.

The two main characters for this book were a little hit and miss for me. There were moments when Ram and Will came across as the sharp-minded men you’d expect them to be with their training. Then, others made me furrow my brows with consternation due to the naivety coming from the pair. These men were supposed to be top of their class in both their MET training and their training with the FBI, yet I found myself asking how that was possible. Yes, characters need to be flawed. Yes, they need to come across as real. But when the character’s profile calls for a sharp intelligence that isn’t coming across, it’s a bit of a letdown.

Both Will and Ram are incredibly flawed individuals who are relatable if the reader has experience with alcoholism and/or eating disorders. I found these flaws distracting more than character building. It would have been better, in my opinion, if one had an awful issue flaw while the other was a little more put together. Instead, I spent most of my time worrying about what was going to happen to both MC healthwise rather than how they were going to solve these gruesome murders. Another thing I found annoying was the fact that Will was in so much denial about the fact that he was gay. He didn’t even admit it to himself or his best friend who, as luck would have it, happened to be gay as well. I understand being closeted. Perhaps I can’t identify with how Will feels because I’m not a closeted gay man. Who knows? I just found that a little unbelievable. One thing I did like was the humor peeking through here and there. I always enjoy a character that can make jokes to lighten a serious situation as long as they don’t come across as overly childish and the banter between Will and Ram was good.

The plot itself was engaging. Though, I found myself bothered by a few plot points. My first complaint is about the circumcisions performed post mortem. As soon as I read about that tidbit of information I stopped reading, looked at my husband, and fell into a ten-minute rant about the absurdity of that little ‘clue’ which was missed by the medical examiner and officers who saw the body. When you’re dead, your body doesn’t heal. It especially doesn’t heal from a circumcision within three days of death. Hiro’s foreskin being removed would have been obvious to anyone not completely oblivious. I’m usually not a harsh critic, but this was a screaming indicator there wasn’t much thought about this little clue that nobody but Ram seemed to notice. Another thing I found difficult to accept was Alex and his lack of professionalism. He’s a DI who had no qualms with letting Ram and Will jump into the investigation when it had only just begun. It was as if he didn’t have enough faith in the police force to even try solving it themselves. Maybe I’m nitpicking.

I will admit that the secret hanging over their heads was intriguing. It and the expected development of an intimate relationship between Will and Ram kept me interested until the end. Then I was let down on both fronts. There was no relationship between the two except for friendship. It was clear that Will had feelings for Ram, but Ram was too busy getting his rocks off to even notice his friend was gay, let alone into him. The only reason I’m complaining about the lack of relationship is that GoodReads has this book listed as an M/M romance when it is a pseudo-romance at best. There are hints of something to come later on in the series perhaps, but you’ll not find anything overly romantic here. This is more of a suspense/mystery/thriller. Oh, and that secret hanging over their heads? You don’t find out what it is in the end. You get vague hints about something happening in San Francisco which both MCs feel guilty about and that’s it. I was so disappointed there wasn’t more information.

Overall, I’ve given this book three stars based solely on the fact I wanted to read it all the way through to get answers. Without the gripping need to get them, I would have given this a two-star rating at most. It kept me interested. I needed to know ‘who done it’ and I really wanted to know what the aforementioned secret was. I wasn’t in love with the characters. There were plot points that frustrated me. But, in the end, I did finish the book without totally disliking it. I’m hoping that the next book in the series will be better and that we will see the progression of a relationship with the MCs.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong start

New to me author. Series looks to be off to a great start. There were a couple grammatical errors near the book's beginning, but thankfully there were few others. Looking forward to reading more about Will and Ram.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as mysteries, this is one heck of one, and I’m intrigued for sure by this series. My only issue, is I don’t like Ram. I know why he’s doing what he’s doing, but sometimes he goes way too far with Will with his comments, and I don’t like it. They both went through the same thing and it’s not been easy for either of them. You’d think they’d band together more, but it only seems to hurt.
Will and Ram (Julius) basically ran back home to London, after an event in California happened. It’s not fully clear as to what yet, because neither is dealing with it. Will is not eating and becoming…...ghostly, almost. And Ram is drinking heavily at all hours of the day and screwing anything that moves. But they catch 2 cases to work, and it all starts to turn south, when one of those cases has made Ram the lead suspect. Because he was one of the last people to see these men alive. After their one night stand. Will is doing all he can to clear Ram’s name and finish this case. But after they find out who it is, things don’t turn out as easy as they thought it would. And one of them may not make it out alive.
This is one heck of a murder mystery. There’s so much involved as well. With their pasts, that we don’t know much about yet, to the PTSD they are both trying to cope with. Now add the murder investigation and things are cropping up that they are trying to avoid. So it’s so much going on, but it’s a good busy. It’s not too much, you know. It’s just enough everywhere to keep you on your toes and make you want to constantly keep reading. And believe me, I did. I love Will’s mind. And how it works. And when Ram is sober, they actually are a good team. But what shatters me about these two, is that for best friends, they are hiding an awful lot from each other. There are so many secrets on Will’s side and Ram is just basically floating in the wind. Whatever happened to them, it’s obvious it was traumatic. But instead of dealing with it, they are taking it out on each other. So that complicates things a bit as they are trying to solve this case. But what stinks even more, is that it took something drastic again, to get them to be somewhat normal with each other again. And I hate that for them. It’s obvious they care for each other so much and they work so well together. They had it figured out long before the police did. And because of Ram’s flings, he even knew info that the police didn’t.
So I’m anxious to see how these next books are going to go. If the secrets are finally going to come out, if they work on what is traumatizing them, and if they get more work for what they did. I hope it works out for these guys. And I hope Ram gets help. Soon.

http://lovebytesreviews.com/

[Shari Sakurai · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

When private detective duo Will and Ram return from America to set up Serial Investigations London, they quickly find themselves involved in a murder investigation, just not in the way that they expected. Ram’s out of control lifestyle of drinking and one-night stands places him firmly in the frame for the murders and it is up to Will to prove his innocence before it’s too late. However Will has his own demons and both of them are still struggling with what happened to cause them to leave their FBI training in America behind.

I was really excited to begin reading the first book in this series and Bloodless did not disappoint. I enjoyed trying to decipher the clues to the murder mystery alongside the two protagonists and piece it together with them as the novel progressed. The characters of Will and Ram were really great. They complemented each other perfectly and you could really sense the chemistry between the two of them. They also had their flaws, as all great characters do, but these were not unlikeable ones and I found myself really relating to them. The romance between them is going to develop gradually, which I really like as it feels like a natural progression between the two of them rather than hurried or forced in anyway.

I cannot wait to read book two and see where their investigations take them next.

[Ida Umphers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually the review of the first five books in this series that I read in a bundle, and this is a series that grabbed me and held on. I honestly figured even if this was a great series I'd be ready to quit after five books, but no way! I've loved all the mysteries from serial killers and their copycats, missing persons, killers focused on social media, locked room puzzles and more classics but the real draw is our two characters Ram and Will. I have to see them through to the end. We start with massive amounts of Unresolved Sexual Tension so thick you can cut it with a knife and that is definitely not helped by Ram's destructive drinking and Will's inability to leave then our author puts them in a one bed trope, a kiss, a first time and even this doesn't resolve the tension things only get worse until there is a break. On to the rest of these stories so I can see these two figure out who's playing them and pulling their strings and let me watch them do it. Reminds me a bit of some of Gregory Ashe's complicated men and if you like those I think you'll like these.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will and Ram (Julius) have returned to London and started their own detective agency. It’s mostly a failure. Will is starving himself and Ram is blackout drunk almost everyday and sleeping his way through most of the gay population. Will is doing all he can to keep Ram from going off the rails but not having a lot of luck. They stumble onto a serial killer and Ram becomes a suspect.

This was an odd book for me. The main characters weren’t really easy to have sympathy for. Their issues were serious but neither really seemed to care. The mystery part of the story was ok but not riveting. Ram doesn’t know Will is gay so they didn’t share that commonality. There’s some “big” secret from their near past that has them both tied up in knots.

I try to keep an open mind with the first book in a series so I’m hoping I will like the next one better.

Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.

[PaperMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for over a year. Having never read anything by the author before - I was a little hesitant at first but have been pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this murder procedural. The two MCs are definitely flawed with substance addiction, eating disorder and hinted PTSD of some kind from their shared and as yet unrevealed recent past together but likeable enough for me to want to find out what's coming up next for them in this series. In fact there are aspects of their relationship dynamic that reminds me of Malcolm and Seong-Jae from the Criminal Intentions books.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the hunt for the serial killer, there were interesting ideas which made it a fairly fascinating investigation. Will and Julius both have huge mental health problems which have not been helped in any way. I'm really hoping that there will be improvements later in the series as their lack of healthy coping skills are incredibly painful to read. Both obviously have no support and are pretty incapable of helping each other.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a good mystery... it kept me curious to know what was coming next.. it was interesting and fast paced.. there is so much that we dont know yet... so much unexplained and i cant wait until we can understand it a bit better.. it was really good though and i cant wait for the next one.

[Tinka023 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had a few problems but the biggest one for me was I hated the characters. Absolutely HATED them. Couldn't stand them. How did theses two with their glaring psychological issues become such "great" investigators?? I just can't with this book.

[Brandi Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

Bloodless is a page-turning book. I continually want to know what is going to happen next for Ram and Will.

[MOZELLE PRUITT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery, serial killer stories are one of my favs but disliked both the mc's. Both continued within the book with unhealthy lifestyles with no improvement by the end of the story.

[Fancy]

enjoyed the London setting, very readable. pov changes were jarring, some plot holes. lost tension towards the end. 12 books in the series?!

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burn who dunit

Great read, little slow going at first and I was lost in the beginning as there was no context but it ramped up to a spectacular finish!