BarbsBooks

♡♥5 Stars - KAPOW!♥♡
A "Live Your Life, Buy The Book" Review

A few years (and a few hundred books) ago I got a pm from a friend asking if I had read any m/m books. I hadn’t. Did I want to? Yeah, why not! The rest, as they say, is history…. Faye has gone on to pimp many more great reads to me, but “Amongst The Living” PsyCop Book #1 was the first. I went on to inhale the entire series within a couple of weeks, as well as all the wonderful novellas that complete what is an amazing series. That was an incredibly high entry level to the genre, and I have gone on to read many more great m/m books – but this series remains at the forefront for me, and Victor Baynes remains one of my favourite characters. If you ask any of my friends who my favourite fictional character is – I would put money on them knowing the answer…. Jacob Marks. So yeah, when I got the chance to read an arc of the latest PsyCop book – serious squeeeing and snazz hands ensued!!! I was beyond excited!!! And I tell you what – I was not disappointed – “Spook Squad” is, in my opinion, the best of the whole series. It was incredible!

It picks up about 2 months from where “GhosTV” wound up. Jacob is now working for FPMP and Lisa is living with him and Vic. Vic and Zig are still partners and have just come off a particularly brutal case. Con Dreyfuss needs Vic to sort out the small matter of his office being haunted, so while Zig is out of town Vic spends quite a bit of time at FPMP earning a crust… or a red, as the case may be. Vic discovers what case Jacob is working on, sadly solving it seems a long way off – he just can’t get a lead on it, can Vic and Lisa with her si-no help? Vic in the meantime has his own work problems… Richie included. Yes, Einstein has been buddied up with Vic as they attempt to “dehaunt” Con’s office. I was of the same mindset as Vic with regards Richie – I felt sorry for him, then he pissed “us” off, and I felt guilty, so I felt sorry for him. And so the circle began again. There is also the matter of who killed Roger Burke. The GhosTVs still feature in this book which I loved! Love is also in the air – Lisa has a mysterious new beau; an old flame of Crash’s is back – and this has Crash thinking “relationship” and telling Vic that he is good boyfriend material, and Con may be moving onto wife number ?? :-) Throw in the fact that a PsyCop went missing at FPMP previously, and you can see how much is going on in this book! So without spoiling… that’s all you got on plot from me! You will have to read the book to fill in the blanks.

The series is now on book 7 – that’s a whole lotta books! For a long running series to really work and still be fresh the characters need to evolve, to grow – and Vic certainly does that in this book. He is still the unsure, awkward Vic that we love so much – but he has grown, I am loathe to say grown up – but in a way he has. His love and need to protect his friends and loved ones is huge! I loved seeing him looking out for Lisa – even sanctioning her on how short to cut her hair LOL! We also see some really sweet moments between Vic and Crash, I honestly would give anything for a full spin off novel featuring Crash. Yes. I have been known to beg for this once or twice before – but I think there is a lot more to Crash, and I would love to read it!!

For some reason Vic’s drug dependency really hit me hard in this book :-( His job, plus the hours he puts in at FPMP - having to visit the lab, chasing down repeaters, looking for Dr. Chance’s ghost as well as visiting the cell Roger Burke was held in at the MCC have him really desperate. But I think maybe he has hit his rock bottom, and can maybe try coping some other way. He also really struggled with his job, his role as a PsyCop, and what he can truly achieve on the force with psyche evidence given, often not being enough to get a conviction. I got the feeling though that this reevaluation of everything leads to him valuing himself more.

Jacob is, as always, a rock. Unshakable. And the bond between these two guys gets stronger and stronger *cough, cough* read the book *cough, cough* These books are never high in the smexy count – but what you do get is scorching. Which is why it got the full chili load!! There may only be one actual sex scene in the whole book, but the connection between Vic and Jacob almost transcends written page space – their ability to communicate without words, the intensity of Jacob’s visual communication – well, it leaves Vic and me weak at the knees. :-)

“I saw him as the Cro-Magnon Red Energy Super-Stiff with one of my subtle bodies, and with another, as Jacob, just Jacob, the man I loved with all my heart, and trusted with my life.”

Jordan is, and always will be, an auto buy for me. Her writing is just wonderful – be it imagery that creeps you right out, like non-physical entities that had me chewing my fingernails, and the description of the Visible Man; or her dry humour that has you grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat :-D … it just works! She is able to transport you into whatever world she has created. For those that haven’t read this series - are you crazy?? Seriously though – if you are new to Jordan and her work then check out her site – she has the most amazing package deals for books! And I didn’t even mention the cover – which is awesome! As per usual! This lady is such a talented artist – in everything she does! I honestly cannot shout it out loud enough…. This Book.. Go. Buy It. You will LOVE it !! ♥