Genre/Tags: Policing, Gay Romance, 

Author: Nicky James

Story Rating: 5 Stars

Narrator: Nick J Russo

Narrator Rating: 5 Stars

Length: 12 hours and 44 minutes

Audiobook Buy Links: Audible

Missing children are reappearing, and the ties to a 30-year-old cold case can’t be ignored.

Detective Quaid Valor has too much on his plate. Between his shaky, brand-new relationship with reformed office playboy Detective Aslan Doyle, his sister’s case going from cold to hot overnight, his father insisting on being involved, and his boss breathing down his neck, Quaid is on edge.

The stress of the case is impacting Quaid’s whole life. He isn’t eating or sleeping, and every time he and Aslan are together, he is overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy which threaten to ruin the one good thing he has. Aslan’s patience seems unending until something happens to turn his life upside down too.

Can their relationship survive the personal and professional pressures they’re facing, or will it crash and burn?

Between media rumors and unstable connections, Quaid and his team need to hustle and piece together a complicated case before more children fall victim to their unknown serial kidnapper. Maybe once everything is solved, Aslan and Quaid will have time to work on their rocky relationship and find stable ground once again.

*Unstable Connections is the third book in the Valor and Doyle Mystery Series. It is a same-couple series that should be read in order. Although each book has a self-contained mystery with no cliffhangers, the romance is over-arching and progressive throughout the series.

Review:

Even though the book cover above and rating are for book #3, Unstable Connections, this review briefly discusses the first three Valor and Doyle (audio)books – Temporary Partner, Elusive Relations, and Unstable Connections.

I haven’t read Nicky James for a while but I wanted a murder/mystery and I know James can write, then the real clincher was Nick J Russo as the series narrator. Honestly, Russo is the most amazing narrator and often creates more intensity, humour, or emotional range to a story than reading it alone. So, Russo is a big part of why I started this series, and definitely a big part of why I’m now completely invested in it. James does a really good job of writing these characters, and the psychology behind each character is pretty damn good. The mystery or murder/mystery elements certainly keep me on my toes. 

Unless something majorly pisses me off, I’ll listen to the rest of the series and review them on here like this as well. I’m absolutely enjoying the missing persons or murder cases, and the romance. I’m deeply invested in the MCs. I liked Aslan from the get-go. I have a soft spot for Quaid because he’s been through the wringer in terms of his Family of Origin. His sister, Juniper, went missing three decades ago as a six-year-old and Quaid’s father, Ambrose Valor, joined the Missing Persons Unit because of it. Ambrose is now retired and Quaid followed in his father’s footsteps in search of what happened to his sister. Quaid very much wants to give his father closure, whatever that looks like. There’s no real moving on while this case is left unsolved. However, there’s another missing person’s case to look into in this book. A baby. That’s the focus here, as well as Quaid having a selfish, cheating partner, and that Aslan is a single, flirty playboy. But, you know, the series title is Valor and Doyle, it’s not rocket science to know what’s going to happen with them but it’s all the other stuff in between that makes it so enjoyable.  

Aslan Doyle is a Homicide detective and for reasons I may have overlooked, MPU and Homicide do not get along. Like, there is a deep dislike between the two divisions. Apparently there was a prequel and maybe that explained it… or maybe I slept through that bit.

In book #1, Quaid has a boyfriend, Jack, who fools around on him. A lot. As established, Quaid comes from a household where’s there’s been a disappearance of a child, the mind goes to the worst places, and those families often break down at a higher rate than usual. His mum left after Juniper disappeared, so he’s been raised by a cop father who’s rigid and not tender. Jack and his behaviour fits as a partner for Quaid and also why Quaid stays. There is a crossover between Homicide and the MPU in this instalment and Quaid and Aslan are put together… which leads to them being closer. Aslan loves the grumpy scowl that Quaid gets on his face pretty quickly. He likes to remind him, ‘there it is,’ when Quaid gets surly face. Others see ‘leave me the fuck alone,’ but Aslan sees behind Quaid’s demeanour. He knows he’s insecure and hurting. Its hard to live in the shadow of a sister, trying to ease his father (in particular) by finding out what happened at a parade over thirty years ago when Juniper went missing. Also the effects of dealing with a perennially cheating boyfriend. This story was 4 stars with Russo’s narration at 5.

In book #2, there’s murder and grievous bodily harm. Jack being the recipient of said GBH, and while Homicide work this case, Quaid has insight. So, Aslan and Quaid are back together, baby! Getting closer. Connections slotting into place more. The race is on to find out who killed the boy in Jack’s bed and why. Also why Jack was beaten within a inch of his life. This is a really solid murder/mystery book with plenty going on, including a well paced investigation, Juniper’s hold on Quaid, Ambrose’s disapproval, Jack’s emotional tendrils destabilising Quaid, how he’s jealous very easily, and his father doesn’t make him feel especially worthy. I liked the developing romance between Aslan and Quaid. I felt for Aslan as something major has occurred. Even though the case in this book is wrapped up, although I do wonder what’s happened to Jack, it ends with a couple of missing children found in a local park over the space of a few months, the last one with Juniper’s backpack. Ding, ding, ding! You know what’s up next. This story gets 5 stars for both writing and narration. 

Unstable Connections brings a full blown investigation into the children that had been found at the latter part of the last book, meaning Juniper’s story is up to the plate. There’s a past indiscretion of Aslan’s affecting him in the most profound way professionally, he’s a recovering alcoholic, and Quaid’s in a spiral around the Juniper development. Aslan has to help unofficially on this case. The way his father treated Quaid toward the beginning of the story really pissed me the hell off. The way he behaves in general, really. I have compassion for him but I do not like him and the way he treats Quaid. The tabloids get their noses stuck well and truly into the Valor’s life too, with tabloids glomming onto circulating rumours. Aslan has to deal with parasites wanting to get to Quaid. They kick up paternity issues because there seems to be a link to paternity and other children who have disappeared, why not Juniper and Quaid?  Clearly this is something that creates a lot of hurt feelings. There are multiple suspects, some close to home, some not, and I thought this case lived up to what it needed to be. 

Quaid is also dealing with ongoing jealousy, post Jack, I wish he’d get some therapy. Despite his own problem re: work, Aslan totally supports Quaid and reassures him regularly. Aslan nails boyfriend material in this book. Quaid made me a little pissy because he needed to just take a moment and ask Aslan how he was doing, just a check in, because Aslan is there for him. He does get a clue but the missing children/Juniper’s case is understandably a huge deal. He’d love to know for his dad and for himself. If it’s at all possible he’d like to get justice for his sister. It’s not easy with Juniper seeming so close now after thirty years but also feeling so far away. I felt more for Quaid than I did his dad, and that shouldn’t really be the case. Because of the subject matter there is quite a degree of emotion in this book. The romance is also moving along nicely. Like all the books so far, the title is really well suited to the story. This is also 5 stars for the writing and the narration. 

Overview:

Thus far I find this series all kinds of addictive. The MCs are really interesting – love them – the investigations and the romance are well balanced, plenty of police work with some sex, and a lot of romantic moments interspersed that help make everything in the Valor and Doyle series a cut above. It’s pretty important to read the books in order to get the overall vibe and overarching plots of this series.

I’ll be back with further reviews once I’ve listened to them. I’m now on audiobook 4, Inevitable Disclosure, sounds ominous.