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The Blood Room
The body of a young lawyer is found in an alley, and the suspicious circumstances of his death arouses Los Angeles PD Detective Desi Nimmo’s interest. As she pursues a complex series of clues of what caused his death, the trail leads her into LA's massive and lucrative porn industry. She must also fend off the rivalry of disgraced Detective Fin McNab, who is desperate to regain his good standing with the brass and will stop at nothing--including throwing colleagues under the bus, snatching their cases and investigating their personal pasts. As she doggedly pursues the case amid McNab’s interference, Desi uncovers a seamy underground business and a cold-case murder but this is a world that doesn’t appreciate people asking questions. As she gets closer to the truth, Desi’s career –and life--hang in the balance.
199 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2018
3 people are currently reading
840 people want to read
About the author
Christina Hoag
58 books174 followersChristina Hoag was a former journalist for the Miami Herald and the Associated Press who's had her laptop searched by Colombian guerrillas and phone tapped in Venezuela, suspected of drug trafficking in Guyana, hid under a car to evade Guatemalan soldiers, an d posed as a nun to get inside a Caracas jail. She's interviewed gang members, bank robbers, gunmen, thieves and thugs in prisons, shantytowns and slums, not to forget billionaires and presidents, some of whom fall into the previous categories. Now she writes about such characters in her fiction.
Her debut novel "Skin of Tattoos," a noir crime novel, was a finalist for the 2017 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Suspense. Her YA thriller "Girl on the Brink" was named Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2016 YA.
She also writes nonfiction, co-authoring Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence (Turner Publishing, 2014), a groundbreaking book on violence intervention used in several universities.
She has had numerous short stories, creative nonfiction essays and poems published in literary journals including Shooter (UK), San Antonio Review, Round Table Literary Journal, Santa Barbara Literary Journal and Lunch Ticket, and won Honorable Mentions for essay and short story in the International Human Rights Arts Festival’s Literary Justice 2020 contest and for essay and novel excerpt in the Soul-Making Keats Writing Competition 2020.
Fluent in Spanish and French, Christina grew up as an expat around the world. She lives in Los Angeles where she has taught creative writing at a maximum-security prison and to at-risk teen girls in South and East Los Angeles. She
A regular speaker at writing conferences and groups, bookstores and libraries, she volunteers as a trained domestic violence support group facilitator and is a public speaker about DV.
Her debut novel "Skin of Tattoos," a noir crime novel, was a finalist for the 2017 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Suspense. Her YA thriller "Girl on the Brink" was named Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2016 YA.
She also writes nonfiction, co-authoring Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence (Turner Publishing, 2014), a groundbreaking book on violence intervention used in several universities.
She has had numerous short stories, creative nonfiction essays and poems published in literary journals including Shooter (UK), San Antonio Review, Round Table Literary Journal, Santa Barbara Literary Journal and Lunch Ticket, and won Honorable Mentions for essay and short story in the International Human Rights Arts Festival’s Literary Justice 2020 contest and for essay and novel excerpt in the Soul-Making Keats Writing Competition 2020.
Fluent in Spanish and French, Christina grew up as an expat around the world. She lives in Los Angeles where she has taught creative writing at a maximum-security prison and to at-risk teen girls in South and East Los Angeles. She
A regular speaker at writing conferences and groups, bookstores and libraries, she volunteers as a trained domestic violence support group facilitator and is a public speaker about DV.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 7, 2022
The Blood Room is a good police procedural with an unusual angle. A little slow in the middle it picks up pace later and with a few twists and turns along the way, some of which I wasn’t expecting made it an interesting read. 3 ½ stars rounded up to 4
I would like to thank the TBC Reviewers Request Group & the author for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review
I would like to thank the TBC Reviewers Request Group & the author for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review
March 24, 2022
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
I loved this audiobook and the dynamics between Desi and Fin as they both try to take the lead on the investigation and find the killer. As they go down the rabbit hole into the dark world of BDSM and some very dark porn films things take an even darker turn and they have to put their differences aside if they want to solve this case
I loved this audiobook and the dynamics between Desi and Fin as they both try to take the lead on the investigation and find the killer. As they go down the rabbit hole into the dark world of BDSM and some very dark porn films things take an even darker turn and they have to put their differences aside if they want to solve this case
May 9, 2022
This is a well written, dark and gritty story. A body found in a LA alley leads to two police detectives into the dark underbelly of BDSM porn. I enjoyed the story from the start, the writing is great, the characters are well described ,they are both damaged and have trust issues. This is my first Christina Hoag book but definitely not my last, she is a really good storyteller. Bianca Pierson gives an excellent performance that brings the characters leaping off the page. I received a complimentary copy from the author and am leaving a voluntary honest review
September 19, 2021
We all know that detective mysteries are a dime a dozen, I’m glad that The Blood Room is actually one of the decent ones.
The pace was good and the actual case was interesting, it just lured me in from the first page. It’s interesting to know how law enforcement fealty with BDSM / homicide cases and that it was in fact a bit more “lenient” to a certain extent - and as long as consent was given then everything was perfectly fine. It’s unsettling how fatal violence can be justified and probably tried for a lesser sentence.
Initially, I was not a fan of Desi’s character. It took a while, but she grows on you eventually. Fin was okay, decent guy with a past- this will be revealed towards the end.
The banter and the rivalry made the story more interesting I liked how two very different people worked through their first case together while getting used to the idea that they’re a team and that they actually work well together.
3.75/5 rounded up to 4.
Special thanks to Book Sirens for sending me a digital copy of this book. ✨
The pace was good and the actual case was interesting, it just lured me in from the first page. It’s interesting to know how law enforcement fealty with BDSM / homicide cases and that it was in fact a bit more “lenient” to a certain extent - and as long as consent was given then everything was perfectly fine. It’s unsettling how fatal violence can be justified and probably tried for a lesser sentence.
Initially, I was not a fan of Desi’s character. It took a while, but she grows on you eventually. Fin was okay, decent guy with a past- this will be revealed towards the end.
The banter and the rivalry made the story more interesting I liked how two very different people worked through their first case together while getting used to the idea that they’re a team and that they actually work well together.
3.75/5 rounded up to 4.
Special thanks to Book Sirens for sending me a digital copy of this book. ✨
July 15, 2022
Is there such a thing as a “sordid cozy?”
As I think of it, a “cozy” is the opposite of a noir. The basic premise of noir is that some (or all) of the comforting truths of life have been stripped away. In the mainline of Hemingway’s model for the mode, it’s a certainty that God’s in his heaven and all is well. In the James M. Cain and Ross MacDonald branched, we start to see a culture that’s sick, one that works against bringing people into community. In the Dorothy Hughes/Patricia Highsmith, we begin to experience the dissolution of the implicit contract of honesty between writer and reader. And, as it culminates in James Ellroy, we’re a people trying to forestall our impulse to knife each other in the back.
In a cozy, though – in the Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie line – we have a detective who saves the day. There’s a problem, and then our hero solves it, leaving us with the illusion of safety.
In this often-strong procedural, Hoag lets us see a sordid world of BDSM. Our opening scene reveals a young lawyer who has died outside a nightclub from a septic infection he received from a consensual sex-play branding.
It’s a great situation to introduce us to her heroine – seemingly the central character of a planned series – LAPD detective Desi Nemmo. And Desi is intriguing; she’s a woman in a man’s world, and she’s trying to overcome the fallout of an intra-departmental affair that ended when her lover, trying to avoid destroying his own career and marriage, falsely accused her of sexual harassment.
I want to stress that it’s a situation, though, not a glimpse into a broken world. The BDSM we run into is always “other,” always the obsession of characters who are ill or implicitly perverse.
That may be harsher sounding than I intend. My point is less about Hoag’s ethical judgement of those characters’ proclivities than it is that none of Hoag’s point-of-view characters seem in any way drawn to or shaped by the forbidden sexual preferences we see. As far back as the Continental Op, we see a detective who goes a little “blood simple” when he lets himself kill the way the local gangsters do, and we see a Sam Spade whose kink is preferring to watch than to indulge. And by the time we get to Ellroy – the Shakespeare of LAPD corruption – his characters are sniffing panties more readily than their quarry.
So, there’s the strange mix of this one: it gives us a glimpse of the seedy, sickened underbelly, but it lets that glimpse reflect a different world rather than one that infects us ourselves. It’s well enough done, and it’s a nice step toward the wild side in the cozy vein, but give me truer noir every time.
As I think of it, a “cozy” is the opposite of a noir. The basic premise of noir is that some (or all) of the comforting truths of life have been stripped away. In the mainline of Hemingway’s model for the mode, it’s a certainty that God’s in his heaven and all is well. In the James M. Cain and Ross MacDonald branched, we start to see a culture that’s sick, one that works against bringing people into community. In the Dorothy Hughes/Patricia Highsmith, we begin to experience the dissolution of the implicit contract of honesty between writer and reader. And, as it culminates in James Ellroy, we’re a people trying to forestall our impulse to knife each other in the back.
In a cozy, though – in the Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie line – we have a detective who saves the day. There’s a problem, and then our hero solves it, leaving us with the illusion of safety.
In this often-strong procedural, Hoag lets us see a sordid world of BDSM. Our opening scene reveals a young lawyer who has died outside a nightclub from a septic infection he received from a consensual sex-play branding.
It’s a great situation to introduce us to her heroine – seemingly the central character of a planned series – LAPD detective Desi Nemmo. And Desi is intriguing; she’s a woman in a man’s world, and she’s trying to overcome the fallout of an intra-departmental affair that ended when her lover, trying to avoid destroying his own career and marriage, falsely accused her of sexual harassment.
I want to stress that it’s a situation, though, not a glimpse into a broken world. The BDSM we run into is always “other,” always the obsession of characters who are ill or implicitly perverse.
That may be harsher sounding than I intend. My point is less about Hoag’s ethical judgement of those characters’ proclivities than it is that none of Hoag’s point-of-view characters seem in any way drawn to or shaped by the forbidden sexual preferences we see. As far back as the Continental Op, we see a detective who goes a little “blood simple” when he lets himself kill the way the local gangsters do, and we see a Sam Spade whose kink is preferring to watch than to indulge. And by the time we get to Ellroy – the Shakespeare of LAPD corruption – his characters are sniffing panties more readily than their quarry.
So, there’s the strange mix of this one: it gives us a glimpse of the seedy, sickened underbelly, but it lets that glimpse reflect a different world rather than one that infects us ourselves. It’s well enough done, and it’s a nice step toward the wild side in the cozy vein, but give me truer noir every time.
July 21, 2022
DNF at 30%. I was kind of surprised this was written in the 21st century, it feels like the naive sensibility and dumbed down writing style from the days of pulp fiction.
This is the kind of cop book where the writer describes what the detectives eat for dinner (and yes, it’s some kind of Asian noodle dish she eats while still at the office), presumably because the author hasn’t hit her contractually obligated word count yet.
It’s the kind of uncomplicated, juvenile book where the detective has a mental lie detector and “reads people” and whether she thinks they’re lying is more important than the evidence.
It’s also the kind of book where the writer invokes things like bdsm as evidence of criminality. She clearly has no experience with bdsm and, more importantly, no empathy or respect for people who do. The victim’s parents tell the detective that their son couldn’t possibly be involved with a bdsm club because he volunteered at legal aid. And then the detective judged that to be a legitimate clue.
This is the kind of cop book where the writer describes what the detectives eat for dinner (and yes, it’s some kind of Asian noodle dish she eats while still at the office), presumably because the author hasn’t hit her contractually obligated word count yet.
It’s the kind of uncomplicated, juvenile book where the detective has a mental lie detector and “reads people” and whether she thinks they’re lying is more important than the evidence.
It’s also the kind of book where the writer invokes things like bdsm as evidence of criminality. She clearly has no experience with bdsm and, more importantly, no empathy or respect for people who do. The victim’s parents tell the detective that their son couldn’t possibly be involved with a bdsm club because he volunteered at legal aid. And then the detective judged that to be a legitimate clue.
April 8, 2022
A realistic mystery that’s not too angsty
5 stars overall, 5 stars story, 4 stars narration
This is a compelling, solidly written police procedural that is realistic without having too much drama or angst. I am very pleased with the writing, including the pacing, the dialogue, and the character development. Detective Desi Nimmo in the West Hollywood branch of the LAPD gets a new partner, Fin McNab, on the same morning that she gets a new case. A well-dressed man was found dead in an alley. The two detectives are both slightly jaded and dealing with some past hiccups in their careers. They each have competing agendas to personally get the credit for solving the case, but it did not make the story stressful to me. There was minimal arguing between the two detectives. I quickly got hooked on this great mystery and finished it in a few days.
The facts of the case involve BDSM, weird injuries, and the porn industry, but the descriptions are not too graphic or involved. This novel is not for kids, but it is rather light considering the subject matter. The detectives followed the usual procedure to solve the case, and it was very entertaining for me to try to solve it before they did. The writing was very smart, and this 5.5-hour novella was the perfect length and very satisfying. I hope that the author Christina Hoag makes it into a series instead of a standalone because I want more cases with Detective Desi Nimmo. This was my first time reading anything by Christina Hoag, and I was very pleased with this really good mystery.
The narrator Bianca Pierson gave a solid performance. I thought that her voice was pleasant. She was very good at differentiating all the character voices except for a couple minor characters who only appeared for a few minutes. She was very good at pacing and emoting. Her comic timing could have been a little better, and there were a few mispronounced words early in the book. Overall, I liked the performance.
I requested and received a free audiocode from the author, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
5 stars overall, 5 stars story, 4 stars narration
This is a compelling, solidly written police procedural that is realistic without having too much drama or angst. I am very pleased with the writing, including the pacing, the dialogue, and the character development. Detective Desi Nimmo in the West Hollywood branch of the LAPD gets a new partner, Fin McNab, on the same morning that she gets a new case. A well-dressed man was found dead in an alley. The two detectives are both slightly jaded and dealing with some past hiccups in their careers. They each have competing agendas to personally get the credit for solving the case, but it did not make the story stressful to me. There was minimal arguing between the two detectives. I quickly got hooked on this great mystery and finished it in a few days.
The facts of the case involve BDSM, weird injuries, and the porn industry, but the descriptions are not too graphic or involved. This novel is not for kids, but it is rather light considering the subject matter. The detectives followed the usual procedure to solve the case, and it was very entertaining for me to try to solve it before they did. The writing was very smart, and this 5.5-hour novella was the perfect length and very satisfying. I hope that the author Christina Hoag makes it into a series instead of a standalone because I want more cases with Detective Desi Nimmo. This was my first time reading anything by Christina Hoag, and I was very pleased with this really good mystery.
The narrator Bianca Pierson gave a solid performance. I thought that her voice was pleasant. She was very good at differentiating all the character voices except for a couple minor characters who only appeared for a few minutes. She was very good at pacing and emoting. Her comic timing could have been a little better, and there were a few mispronounced words early in the book. Overall, I liked the performance.
I requested and received a free audiocode from the author, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
October 13, 2021
Had to think on my rating for this one. I am leaning to a 3.5. The story was good and overall I enjoyed the story.
November 1, 2021
“This job would chew you up and spit your out. She couldn’t save the world.” These are the thoughts of a Hollywood police detective. Not Joe Friday (of “Dragnet”) nor most other valiant crime fighters of the small and silver screen. They belong to West Hollywood Detective Desi Nimmo: A woman whose cynicism is as thick as “the marine layer” and threatens her ability to solve a high-profile homicide that could finally put her sputtering career back on track in author Christina Hoag’s hard-edged police procedural “The Blood Room.”
Despite its contemporary cover and big screen-styled billing, “The Blood Room” is more like a 70’s, Joseph Wambaugh police procedural with hardboiled elements from the 30’s and 40’s baked into its gritty portrayal of LAPD Detective Desi Nimmo. Desi has been banished from her beloved Hollywood Police Department digs to the understaffed, “low activity … West Latte” Station, due largely to her poor anger management. When a well-off, upstart attorney is murdered in peculiar fashion, though, Desi thinks finding his killer will get her back on the other side of the Tinsel Town tracks. Standing in the way, however, is her new partner, smarmy Fin McNab, who wants out of the West Hollywood PD as desperately as Desi.
This sounds like another cop buddies tale but isn’t. First, “The Blood Room” lacks constant shoot’em-up excitement but makes up for it by focusing on Desi and Fin’s reasons for racing to solve a BDSM-driven case. It’s noted that sadomasochism (a.k.a. BDSM or the attraction to being whipped, chained, and humiliated) can be a borderline offense; thus, not fully investigated, especially when it’s exploited by the surrounding porn industry. Once a victim of it is determined to be an upper-class lawyer, however, it’s a ticket out of the West Station ennui, for Desi and Fin, instead of a reason to seek justice and protect the community.
What further elevates “The Blood Room” above the cop buddy banal is that Desi and Fin aren’t likeable. Their paranoid reactions to each other’s methods and motives are more of a classic noir theme: Depictions of losers’ desperation or distribution of dreamy metaphors and dark witticisms to cope (think Philip Marlowe). In fact, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe voice is channeled effectively throughout “The Blood Room” (e.g., “the tightness that [Desi] wore like armor” and “the bright coin of the sun…”). A favorite example of this is the following:
FIN: “What’s the deal with people getting their [pleasure] with whips and chains?”
DESI: “Beats me.”
FIN: “Whoa. She’s on a roll with the jokes today.”
While Desi and Fin don’t like each other, they appear to both “Love L.A.,” with apologies to the 80's rock anthem, but just not the part they’re assigned. Desi particularly likes to surf, as therapy; and Fin paints the scenic landscape, as a hobby. Like Marlowe, they describe the L.A. scene thoroughly.
Author Hoag captures some aspects of Raymond Chandler’s labyrinthine plot structure too. When asked who killed one of his many characters in the classic “The Big Sleep,” Chandler is claimed to have forgotten. Similarly, because of its strong leading characters, the whodunit aspect of “The Blood Room” becomes an afterthought. The investigators’ tragic flaws tend to be their own worst enemies, not the diversionary tactics of the many suspects. Thus, it’s more compelling to find out who benefits from solving the murder: Desi or Fin? Not the victim’s family or the community, as many normally expect.
Furthermore, sadomasochism doesn’t have nearly the jaw-dropping impact today; it’s common knowledge and not the story’s strongest selling point. What’s riveting is how Desi and Fin cleverly use its connection to the murder as a steppingstone to better climes and manipulate each other along the way. In this regard, it feels author Hoag (a former journalist) is revealing the still shocking and unflattering side of law enforcement: That it isn’t always “to protect and serve the community” but is sometimes used to promote self-interests.
On the other hand, to those who are oblivious to BDSM or drawn to it, the mystery will prove to be more enlightening or entertaining than a couple of cops quibbling over their career concerns. Because it can be argued that conniving cops are old news too, though probably still more attention-grabbing (since upholding the law is historically viewed as the more ethical calling).
Overall, “The Blood Room” is definitely worth reading. It’s a brisk character study with lots of drama and dark humor, punctuated by moments of traditional suspense. Though modern, it draws from both classic police procedurals and hardboiled detective models. And perhaps not cinematic, the one-upmanship of its main characters is entertaining and a backstage pass to the self-serving side of police work.
Despite its contemporary cover and big screen-styled billing, “The Blood Room” is more like a 70’s, Joseph Wambaugh police procedural with hardboiled elements from the 30’s and 40’s baked into its gritty portrayal of LAPD Detective Desi Nimmo. Desi has been banished from her beloved Hollywood Police Department digs to the understaffed, “low activity … West Latte” Station, due largely to her poor anger management. When a well-off, upstart attorney is murdered in peculiar fashion, though, Desi thinks finding his killer will get her back on the other side of the Tinsel Town tracks. Standing in the way, however, is her new partner, smarmy Fin McNab, who wants out of the West Hollywood PD as desperately as Desi.
This sounds like another cop buddies tale but isn’t. First, “The Blood Room” lacks constant shoot’em-up excitement but makes up for it by focusing on Desi and Fin’s reasons for racing to solve a BDSM-driven case. It’s noted that sadomasochism (a.k.a. BDSM or the attraction to being whipped, chained, and humiliated) can be a borderline offense; thus, not fully investigated, especially when it’s exploited by the surrounding porn industry. Once a victim of it is determined to be an upper-class lawyer, however, it’s a ticket out of the West Station ennui, for Desi and Fin, instead of a reason to seek justice and protect the community.
What further elevates “The Blood Room” above the cop buddy banal is that Desi and Fin aren’t likeable. Their paranoid reactions to each other’s methods and motives are more of a classic noir theme: Depictions of losers’ desperation or distribution of dreamy metaphors and dark witticisms to cope (think Philip Marlowe). In fact, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe voice is channeled effectively throughout “The Blood Room” (e.g., “the tightness that [Desi] wore like armor” and “the bright coin of the sun…”). A favorite example of this is the following:
FIN: “What’s the deal with people getting their [pleasure] with whips and chains?”
DESI: “Beats me.”
FIN: “Whoa. She’s on a roll with the jokes today.”
While Desi and Fin don’t like each other, they appear to both “Love L.A.,” with apologies to the 80's rock anthem, but just not the part they’re assigned. Desi particularly likes to surf, as therapy; and Fin paints the scenic landscape, as a hobby. Like Marlowe, they describe the L.A. scene thoroughly.
Author Hoag captures some aspects of Raymond Chandler’s labyrinthine plot structure too. When asked who killed one of his many characters in the classic “The Big Sleep,” Chandler is claimed to have forgotten. Similarly, because of its strong leading characters, the whodunit aspect of “The Blood Room” becomes an afterthought. The investigators’ tragic flaws tend to be their own worst enemies, not the diversionary tactics of the many suspects. Thus, it’s more compelling to find out who benefits from solving the murder: Desi or Fin? Not the victim’s family or the community, as many normally expect.
Furthermore, sadomasochism doesn’t have nearly the jaw-dropping impact today; it’s common knowledge and not the story’s strongest selling point. What’s riveting is how Desi and Fin cleverly use its connection to the murder as a steppingstone to better climes and manipulate each other along the way. In this regard, it feels author Hoag (a former journalist) is revealing the still shocking and unflattering side of law enforcement: That it isn’t always “to protect and serve the community” but is sometimes used to promote self-interests.
On the other hand, to those who are oblivious to BDSM or drawn to it, the mystery will prove to be more enlightening or entertaining than a couple of cops quibbling over their career concerns. Because it can be argued that conniving cops are old news too, though probably still more attention-grabbing (since upholding the law is historically viewed as the more ethical calling).
Overall, “The Blood Room” is definitely worth reading. It’s a brisk character study with lots of drama and dark humor, punctuated by moments of traditional suspense. Though modern, it draws from both classic police procedurals and hardboiled detective models. And perhaps not cinematic, the one-upmanship of its main characters is entertaining and a backstage pass to the self-serving side of police work.
July 16, 2022
Audible Audiobooks: very flat narration, weak story
April 13, 2022
Cop thrillers are my thing and this one did not disappoint.
There is plenty in this story to keep the reader engaged between the new partnership issues, the internal battles of each detective, and the background of the crimes they are working to solve. The twists and turns make sure that you have to listen with a close ear (always a good thing in an audiobook)
Character development is on point, enough to help the reader get into the character's head but not so much that you are buried in detail.
The narration I well done and carries you through the book smoothly. This one left me hoping for a series around these two detectives!!!
There is plenty in this story to keep the reader engaged between the new partnership issues, the internal battles of each detective, and the background of the crimes they are working to solve. The twists and turns make sure that you have to listen with a close ear (always a good thing in an audiobook)
Character development is on point, enough to help the reader get into the character's head but not so much that you are buried in detail.
The narration I well done and carries you through the book smoothly. This one left me hoping for a series around these two detectives!!!
April 21, 2022
Great book that I couldn't put down. Finished in one weekend!
March 31, 2022
This is a listen that you can listen to in a session and despite the story line is not too graphic. The narrator does a fantastic job on bringing the characters to live.
I am off to investigate more by the author and the narrator fully recommend adding this to your library.
I am off to investigate more by the author and the narrator fully recommend adding this to your library.
April 23, 2022
Police crime drama
I enjoyed this story as an audiobook. It had enough twists and turns to keep the reader's attention.
Narrator had an engaging voice.
I enjoyed this story as an audiobook. It had enough twists and turns to keep the reader's attention.
Narrator had an engaging voice.
November 14, 2021
A pacy, engaging read.
A young, well-dressed man is found dead in an alley beside a coffee shop in West LA. As police detective Desi Nimmo works the scene Fin McNab, a recent transfer, shows up and starts muscling in on the investigation. In fact, both detectives are transplants, having been on the wrong end of some tough breaks. Fin, especially, wants back as quickly as possible and needs a “good” case to achieve this. He thinks this case is the one, and uses any means to wrestle the lead role from Desi. As the investigation continues they struggle to trust each other, making progress despite their just about functioning working relationship. The dead man was an apparently willing particpant in the legally grey area of BDSM but as Desi and Finn discover, not everyone is so willing, and more lives are at risk.
This story grabs you right from page one and keeps the reveals, and twists coming at a tidy pace. The characters and situations are well drawn, the dialogue and tense relationship between the two leads was believable, and the plot was refreshingly different. I especially liked Desi, a smart, independent and highly capable woman, giving and taking no quarter in a tough line of work; I would happily read more books with her in.
Strongly recommended.
I received an ARC of this book for free through BookSirens. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.
A young, well-dressed man is found dead in an alley beside a coffee shop in West LA. As police detective Desi Nimmo works the scene Fin McNab, a recent transfer, shows up and starts muscling in on the investigation. In fact, both detectives are transplants, having been on the wrong end of some tough breaks. Fin, especially, wants back as quickly as possible and needs a “good” case to achieve this. He thinks this case is the one, and uses any means to wrestle the lead role from Desi. As the investigation continues they struggle to trust each other, making progress despite their just about functioning working relationship. The dead man was an apparently willing particpant in the legally grey area of BDSM but as Desi and Finn discover, not everyone is so willing, and more lives are at risk.
This story grabs you right from page one and keeps the reveals, and twists coming at a tidy pace. The characters and situations are well drawn, the dialogue and tense relationship between the two leads was believable, and the plot was refreshingly different. I especially liked Desi, a smart, independent and highly capable woman, giving and taking no quarter in a tough line of work; I would happily read more books with her in.
Strongly recommended.
I received an ARC of this book for free through BookSirens. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.
November 8, 2018
A sharply written detective investigation set in Los Angeles, Angel’s Lust features a pair of detectives competing against one another to solve the murder of a young man. The body’s burns and wounds lead the detectives into the dark underbelly of LA’s S&M scene and some seedy characters, which from what I’ve heard about Los Angeles sounds pretty plausible! The story is pacey and drew me in from the get go. I enjoyed the plot and the case as it unfurled, but like all great detective fiction the quality of the writing really shone through with the characterisation and especially the detectives, Verity Thrett and Fin McNabb who are both are well drawn and quickly established as relatable and sympathetic, if flawed characters. I hope to see more of these two in future stories. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
April 4, 2022
Interesting story, which I did find a bit slow to start with but if you stick with it, it can be engaging and well orated. Story of a body found in an ally way near a coffee shop with all the hallmarks of a homeless person but when detectives look into him it soon became clear all is not what it seems, and that said the same about the two detectives allocated this crime. Desi and Finbar or Fin have their differences but both hope they have each other's back as the crime seems to take on BDSM and some seedy places.
It was well narrated by Christina Hoag, and perhaps reading the written word might be an advantage. as well as listening.
It was well narrated by Christina Hoag, and perhaps reading the written word might be an advantage. as well as listening.
December 12, 2021
There are plenty of crime thrillers and this one is no different except for the writing style and the sexual nature of the crime. A well-written, fast-paced mystery I loved the dialogue between the cops, almost like I was right there listening in on their conversations. Twists and turns got me wondering who the killer was and as a true crime novel, it kept me guessing until the end. I had never read a novel that tapped into the sexual nature of what some individuals enjoy and it gave me a bird's eye view of something that is currently happening (I have no doubt) in an underground world that I would never even dream of encountering. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 18, 2018
A well written, fast-paced mystery that explores the seamy underbelly of Los Angeles’s moneyed elite. Detective Verity Thrett is called to investigate a suspicious death of a young lawyer. His death turns out to be a result of his rough BDSM lifestyle. Thrett, much to her chagrin, is assigned Detective Fin McNab to help her out. McNab, however, is looking to make the case his own to further his career. That sub-plotline of rivalry supplements the main mystery well as the detectives investigate a trail that leads to a cold case murder. Both plotlines come together in a gripping climax. Fans of a good detective story will love this Angel’s Lust. Looking forward to the next installment.
December 26, 2018
Christina Hoag, a daring and bold journalist, has created a gem of a novel. She keeps you thrilled and gripped till the last word with her skilfully portrayed characters, riveting situations, and well-structured scenes which speak volumes about her writing craft. ‘Angel’s Lust’ has all the potential to be one of the best- selling novels in present times. If you are looking for something really different and enthralling, your search ends here. I would love to read every book written by this author.
October 21, 2021
The Blood Room is a new murder mystery by Christina Hoag. The story opens with LA police detective and a well dressed dead man. He had been tied up, branded and burned and, he was walking around with his wounds until he died. This was a kinky sex-beat me with a whip-homicide. This is a different story that delves into a dark sex scene. I felt that Christina Hoag paced the story well and she builds the climax with skilled writing and perfect intensity. I thought that this mystery was very good. I received an arc for free and an leaving my review voluntarily.
November 25, 2018
I enjoyed this read. The author didn’t feel the need to buy into the typical tropes of crime fiction, the whole “main characters solve the mystery and fall in love” thing that so many writers do. It was well written, engaging, and fast-paced. My only wish is that the climax had been a bit longer. Fans of crime fiction will enjoy this one!
February 12, 2022
Desi Nimmo is not really enjoying her job. The new transfer might be out to get her and there's a death tied to the bdsm world. Secrets upon secrets are revealed in this police procedural. I liked Desi but I couldn't really get a sense of Fin, I didn't much like him. The various characters came to life and I would definitely read more featuring Desi's character.
February 21, 2022
A enjoyable police thriller a few loose ends for me especially the possibility of bent coppers and what there role was in previous crimes, but good strong leads and I feel like their relationship could progress into something further. A solid 4 stars for me, fast past, not too much jargon used and an interesting storyline including BDSM
September 30, 2021
This is an excellent read on how an investigation begins, follows the evidence and hynches along and demonstrates how it can be sabotaged. Characters are conflicted and well drawn. Female detective is as smart as they come. I'm a fan. I recommend this
February 13, 2022
This is a fast-paced, well-written, mystery thriller that has characters who are all too fallible and human which makes it all that more enjoyable to read. I would love to see a series created featuring Detective Nimmo. I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.
February 15, 2022
The blood room by Christina Hoag.
The body of a young lawyer is found in an alley, and the suspicious circumstances of his death arouses Los Angeles PD Detective Desi Nimmo’s interest.
Really enjoyable read. I liked Desi and Finn. 4*.
The body of a young lawyer is found in an alley, and the suspicious circumstances of his death arouses Los Angeles PD Detective Desi Nimmo’s interest.
Really enjoyable read. I liked Desi and Finn. 4*.
February 26, 2022
This was an interesting book. A little slow at time, but gradually picked up the pace. A book with a few twists and turns, an overall enjoyable read.
Many thanks to TBC and the author for allowing me to review the book
Many thanks to TBC and the author for allowing me to review the book
September 27, 2021
Excellent! Twin themes of two detectives with conflicting agendas and a murder mystery involving BDSM.
I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 16, 2022
Enjoyable read! Well written! You do find yourself having a hard time sitting it down once you start!
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