From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Kill Game (Seven of Spades, #1)

Cordelia Kingsbridge,

Barbara Cinelli (Translator)

Start date: March 1, 2019

Finish date: March 31, 2019

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Discussion leader: Jordan Lombard

Why we're reading this: This will be our March 2019 read!
[close] This will be our March 2019 read!

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What Members Thought

May 31, 2018 Ije the Devourer of Books rated it really liked it

This is a really great start to this thriller/detective series. Levi Abrams is a detective who is struggling with the aftermath of a shooting that he was involved in. Levi is also struggling with his boyfriend of three years because his boyfriend, Stanton, wants them to get married and Stanton wants Levi to give up his job. Levi does not want to be a 'kept man'. He knows his job is dangerous but it is who he is and he enjoys being a detective. Nevertheless the strain between him and Stanton is t This is a really great start to this thriller/detective series. Levi Abrams is a detective who is struggling with the aftermath of a shooting that he was involved in. Levi is also struggling with his boyfriend of three years because his boyfriend, Stanton, wants them to get married and Stanton wants Levi to give up his job. Levi does not want to be a 'kept man'. He knows his job is dangerous but it is who he is and he enjoys being a detective. Nevertheless the strain between him and Stanton is taking its toll on him.

Dominic Russo is a charming bounty hunter. Dominic thrives on chasing down bad guys and gals, and he also thrives on on serving hot guys drinks because he has an additional job as a bartender. All this is very different to his previous career as a ranger. Dominic also has struggles of his own because he is a compulsive gambler but he is aware of it. Dominic attends support groups and he has his family to support him.

Both men are thrown together when a serial killer starts murdering people in Las Vegas. The Seven of Spades killer wreaks out a terrifying and warped justice to people who have somehow escaped justice or who have perverted the legal system. At each scene of the crime the 7 leaves his calling card, a seven of spades. Levi is caught up in the investigation and Dominic gets involved when he finds one of the crime scenes. Both men are suddenly in the sights of this psychopathic killer and each other, and the tension rackets up on all sides. Dominic and Levi end up working together in order to track this killer down.

I was a bit wary about starting this series because it's obviously going to be a long series with one key murderer, however I must admit that I am very curious about how the author is going to sustain the suspense and tension. I do have high hopes because this first book was very gripping. I really enjoyed the way the author developed the characters in this first story, especially Levi and Dominic. Both men are kind of flawed heroes because they have real issues that they are grappling with. Levi is grappling with his relationship and the fallout from the fatal shooting, and Dominic is grappling with his gambling addiction. Dominican and and Levi are thrown together and the two men have a lot of tension between them. Of course this tension eventually combusts and it is fireworks galore!

The mystery is thrilling with lots of tension, twists and turns, and of course the big question. Who is the seven of spades killer and why is he/she murdering these people. How are they doing these murders and how will they be caught?

I think with this first book we are off to an excellent start and it will be interesting to see how the story progresses. I think the two main characters provide a very rich and deep foundation for the story because they each have their own issues that need to be unpicked in the course of the storytelling and there's also a lot of unresolved sexual tension between the two men. There are also some excellent supporting characters as well. So there's definitely enough in this first story to keep me reading the next few books and I do hope the author manages to keep the pressure and attention and the mystery going to the very end. For the first book in the series this is absolutely an excellent start.

Copy provided by Riptide Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ...more

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Jan 22, 2018 Jaymie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Kill Game is the ultimate whodunnit, keeping me guessing the entire time.

Kill Game
5 Stars!

Kill Game is the ultimate whodunnit, keeping me guessing the entire time.

Be warned, although I wouldn’t consider this a traditional cliffhanger, the story is not complete by the end of book 1. This is one of those series that gives us just enough closure to feel comfortable with the ending but still crave book two to see if the mysterious killer will finally be revealed. Generally I’m not a fan of reading Kill Game is the ultimate whodunnit, keeping me guessing the entire time.

Kill Game
5 Stars!

Kill Game is the ultimate whodunnit, keeping me guessing the entire time.

Be warned, although I wouldn’t consider this a traditional cliffhanger, the story is not complete by the end of book 1. This is one of those series that gives us just enough closure to feel comfortable with the ending but still crave book two to see if the mysterious killer will finally be revealed. Generally I’m not a fan of reading this type of series until all books have been published and I can binge read them. However I can’t even pretend I didn’t love Kill Game. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great mystery story.

Las Vegas Detective Levi Abrams is one of those characters that really makes you think. He’s a great Detective, completely dedicated to his job and to justice. He’s a good guy but many find him a tad abrasive and unapproachable. I personally found his prickly personality more endearing than anything and I really enjoyed the fact that his character just seemed so real. Between his past that offered us insight to his vulnerability and the whys behind his guarded nature and his current relationship with his billionaire boyfriend, we really got to see all the different sides of him.

Bounty hunter/Bail Enforcement Officer Dominic was easy to fall in love with. He was a winning combination of strong, dangerous and sexy yet also funny, sweet and easygoing. He wasn’t the typical almost exaggerated Alpha powerhouse bordering on superhuman so many authors like to create. He was very realistic with faults and fears that made him so much more interesting.

The two men had wonderful chemistry and I adored them together. They just fit one another from the beginning. I loved how the author was sensitive to the fact that Levi was with Stanton and so the relationship between Levi and Dominic moved a slow place and really only became something when Levi and Stanton broke up. I liked Stanton, even if he wasn’t a good fit for Levi and I didn’t want to see Levi and Dominic become sleepy by carrying on an elicit relationship.

As for the actual plot, “Well Done!” I love the fact that this was truly a mystery. The book didn’t put the story on the back burner while we read about Dominic and Levi. The hunt for the serial killer was always at the forefront and was carefully done as to not give anything away before it was necessary for us to know.
The writing was great and the pacing of the story was well done. This is definitely a series I have become instantly in awe of.

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Dec 03, 2018 Janice rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This would have been 5 stars if not for the narrator's inability to put some emotion into the emotional scenes. Instead, he sounded like he was reading from an instruction manual for a vacuum cleaner. imo. The story was great though. I'm just going to read the next in the series... ...more

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May 17, 2018 Grace rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mm-smut, mm-romance, mm-mystery, mm-law-enforcement-military

I so, so enjoyed this! 4.5 rounded up.

The writing was great, the characters were captivating, and the plot/mystery was suitably intriguing. I thought the author did a great job of balancing the relationship development with the plot pacing as well, which can be hard to do! I loved both the main characters, and thought their chemistry and dynamic was fabulous, as was their development/interactions outside of their relationship.

I appreciated the wide range of representation, though I agree with a ...more

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Oct 28, 2018 Allison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, re-reads, audio, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2025

4.5 stars.

I noticed some weaknesses, mainly in the police work, in the reread, but I still love it!

I loved this! The romance is secondary in that Levi is still with his boyfriend at the beginning of the book and he and Dominic don't get together until that relationship ends later in the book. The end of that and the immediate move to a relationship with Dominic is probably my only complaint about the book. Levi reads like a complicated, intelligent, and thoughtful character and that doesn't com ...more

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Nov 08, 2019 Dana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m

I had this book on my wishlist a long time and kept holding off on buying it. Luckily I won a code from the publisher and I decided it was time to listen to this book. It was awesome to win a code and listen, though now I have I'm invested in this story and I know I'm gonna have to buy the rest. It was a win win situation I think for me and the publisher. The mystery that takes place in this book is intense and exciting. I have my suspicions but they were not answered in this book because we kno ...more

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