Reviewed by JustJen
Title: Psychopaths & Sinners
Author: Jack L. Pyke
Series: Don’t #5
Heroes: Gray/Jan/Jack/Martin, Raif/Ash
Genre: MM Thriller
Length: 93,000 words
Publisher: Enspire Publishing
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: “Because us? Psychopaths and sinners… we don’t need fixing, Gray.”
Three bodies, three mutilations, each one with something… unusual inserted into the wounds. The deaths are enough to leave Ash Thomas scrambling around to find someone to trust as the murders hit so close to home and heart.
For Gray Raoul, MI5 director of G-Branch, the deaths offer something else, a fall back into a familiar life where culling serial killers cater to his own darker mindset. But the farther Gray moves away from home, the more he realises serial killer games in the field are nothing compared to who he has locked up back at home. Sometimes walking the fine line between psychopaths and live-in lovers is a far darker game.
For Ash, that might just mean he’s on his own now, facing a killer who has a deadly fascination for pretty young men and dancing Holly Blue butterflies over their skin.
Review: This story has been a long time coming. Be prepared for it to continue in a slightly different direction. To start with, it follows the events that take place in Ash, which you really should read in order to keep up with everything that’s happened and which pertains to this story. Have no fear though, because Gray, Jan and Jack/Martin are still very much a part of this series. Further, if you haven’t yet read the initial Don’t books, you are really going to miss out on the makeup of these unbelievably complex characters and what they’ve been through and continue to deal with at this point.
It’s difficult to really discuss much of this story without giving too much away. There is so much going on with a serial killer, Gray and his culler activities, all while he continues to try to patch up the cracked pieces of his relationship with Jan and Jack/Martin (more Martin, as we still don’t quite have Jack back). It isn’t the best timing for Gray to be called away, but nothing ever seems to go very easy for Gray in any form.
We get to know a few other players in this segment, namely more of Ash and Raif, and we learn more about Chase and the butterfly killer. Of course, those threads are interesting and masterfully twisted as well. However, it is the original threesome that always has my heart, and as things are still so unsettled where they are concerned, I remained on the edge of my seat with them as well. It is hard to imagine there is still much left to learn about these guys, but even after all this time and all they have been through, there are so many details to soak up.
Throughout this story, I have felt my feelings change one way or another where certain characters are concerned, not knowing their true intentions, thinking we have learned them only to be thrown off once again. Gray and Jack/Martin have to be some of the most intricate and complex characters I’ve ever fallen in love with, and it is fascinating to see their interactions, both good and bad. They have such a history and various things they do make me sigh and think “that was such a Gray reaction” or how little sayings/nicknames hold such strong meanings and really just give me the warm and fuzzies about it all. And just because Jan has been nicknamed the “soft lad,” he is truly anything but. He proves that more than once and though he faces a few setbacks of his own, he has a lot of backbone underneath his sweet outer shell.
Needless to say, I’m a huge fan. From the very first words in this series, I was hooked like a highly addictive drug, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over or get enough of it. Jack’s ability to weave a detailed, crafty unbelievably interesting story every time puts her at the top of my all-time fave list. You have to like your stories a bit on the darker side – psychological thrillers with a side of MM, BDSM and so much more. But, if that is your cuppa, I can’t recommend this series and/or author enough. I won’t ever forget any of these characters and already can’t wait for the grand finale that’s on the horizon.
Overall Impression: I loved it!
*I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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