Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Self Published 

Genre:  Gay Romance

Tags: PNR, Murder/Mystery, Cop, Necromancer

Length: 348 Pages

Reviewer: Kazza

Purchase At: amazon

Blurb:

Quickest way to catch a killer? Bring the victim back and ask who did it. Only, nothing’s that easy.

When the bodies of young gay men start piling up in London, DCI Ben Weaver would do anything to bring the massacre to an end. Well, almost anything. He didn’t have the powers-that-be recruiting a necromancer on his bingo card. Or who that necromancer would turn out to be.

Griffin doesn’t want to work for CID, but then he has little interest in most things these days unless it involves getting drunk. Especially if it brings Ben back into his life. Ben might be his fated mate, but Griffin refuses to dance to fate’s tune. Not when guilt still gnaws away at him.

Stopping Satanic Romeo from claiming any more victims requires teamwork. But as they try to navigate their feelings and work out the killer’s endgame, he might already have them in his sights.

Who’s hunting who?

Dropping Like Flies is book 2 in the Paranormal Problems trilogy but can be read as a standalone. It features a necromancer bond stronger than most, a killer with a liking for fingers and not in a good way, and two men far better together than they are apart.

Content warning for murder, violence and suicide.

Review:

I’ve read both books so far in the Paranormal Problems series and both deliver a different vibe. Book #1, Deader Than Dead, is more sweet? Gentler? than Dropping Like Flies. In the first book John, the first necromancer out of the blocks, was waiting to meet his human fated mate. He knew he’d find him. And meet they do, on the job, in the most unusual of circumstances. Both fall immediately – fated mates – so love at first sight.  

This time it’s fated mates who had previously met, previously dated, previously lived and breathed together, then something happened that made necromancer Griffin go into Flight Protector, distancing completely from his mate, drinking copiously to numb his emotions, and generally torturing both himself and DCI Ben Weaver in the process. Now they have to work together. I felt sorry for Ben because he couldn’t understand why Griffin had pushed him away like he did three years prior. Because Griffin is the one with the necromancer bond yet he broke them up. It was interesting that even though they were apart they could taste things the other ate or drank. They knew if the other was having sex, or close to having sex.

“Did you have a good time the other night? What was his name?”
“I’m not doing this,” Ben said between gritted teeth. “Any of it.”

 There wasn’t much murdering mayhem in Deader than Dead but there is here. You’re in the head of a victim in the prologue. A serial killer is stalking the gay community in London, racking up a few dead bodies before the police decide to liaise with the PPB to have a necromancer do his thing. The concept is they raise the dead for a while after death to then allow the police to interview them for clues. It’s definitely something of a unique skillset. Usually, though, Griffin doesn’t bring back murder victims. That’s a hard one to deal with. But they both hope it will give them an edge. Unfortunately, the killer continues adding to the body count in the most bloody way, frustrating Ben and Griffin. And when I say bloody, I do mean it. I felt for the victims even though they’re fictitious. I also felt for Dougie. Not saying anymore about that. 

In amongst all of this mayhem, there is a romance ping-ponging around for a while. Big emotions. At first the heavy-drinking Griffin was not easy to like. I had a struggle with him 

I slammed my hand down on the bar, the bartender pausing his conversation to shoot me a wary look. “I need the bottle,” I demanded, a slight slur in my voice. “And I need it now.”
“Well,” he said as he reached for it and brought it over, “seeing as you asked so nicely.”

Thank goodness Griffin came good. Once he got his shit together I really enjoyed the romance between this pair. They felt like the fated mates we read about in PNR romance all the time. It’s always intriguing when and author puts their stamp on things, I’m probably more of a traditionalist around fated mates, but it adds another dimension. Anyway, once together, they had such good chemistry. There was no grudge holding or miscommunication. I did ping the murderer well before the end but it made no difference to the emotions I felt, they were up and down – I felt for the victims and their families, I was cheering for Ben and Griffin personally and professionally. I wanted them to catch the horrible killer. I wanted them happy.  

Combined romance and murder/mystery is a favourite of mine and this was a good one. The solving of the case alongside the romance worked well. There is a supernatural undertone about the killing and just the fact that there is a necromancer doing his thing is solid paranormal or urban fantasy writing. Then there’s the policing aspects. Day did a good job of eliciting feelings not only about the romance but also about the murders.

I also want to add that the sex was never too much, fitting within a romance/murder-mystery book really well. Also, the sex was hot.

We got to see a little bit of John and Bellamy, from book #1, and that was nice. Cade, the PPB boss, is also around and about, pulling some strings like usual. Calisto, the more quiet necromancer at the Bureau, is up next with Asher, Cade’s EXTREMELY mysterious PA.

Overall:

While you absolutely don’t have to have read Deader then Dead to enjoy Dropping Like Flies, it does have an overarching “bad guy.” I’m hoping that builds in the next book, The Big Adios.

I’m very much enjoying this series. I’m happy to have found something that has me looking forward to the next book. 4 Stars!