Review: A Hard Call by Max Walker
SYNOPSIS:
Zane Holden hasn’t had the easiest go of things. His childhood was rough and adulthood hasn’t been a walk in the park either. The only good thing in his life would be Stonewall Investigations, an investigative company he found to work primarily with the LGBTQ community. Things were ok and Zane was finally healing from a personal tragedy but the reemergence of a serial killer turns his world upside down.
Lorenzo De Luca is a cocky defense attorney dripping in Italian charm. He’s well known as one of the best lawyers in New York City, a title he worked hard to achieve. When he picks up a difficult case, he finds that he needs extra help. This leads him to Stonewall, where he meets Zane for the first time and instantly feels himself falling for the mysterious and stone-cut detective.
The two men have their own hangups to work through, but both men are having a hard time denying the connection between them, even though they’re trying.
When fate insists on pushing them together, Zane and Enzo give in and start exploring their feelings. They’ll need to balance their budding relationship with the stress of Enzo’s case, which takes them both on a twisting journey toward the truth, all while a bigger threat looms on the horizon.
REVIEW:
This is not a book I would normally pick up, but I saw Max Walker on the Apollycon 2022 author list and decided to give his work a go. I was immediately sucked into the mysteries in this story. I enjoyed the realness and transparency with Zane and Enzo but the endless questions of who done it are what truly had me turning the pages.
First there is the romance; while Zane is in absolute denial about the sizzling chemistry between him and Enzo, Enzo has no such qualms. Enzo relentlessly pursues Zane until neither can deny their mutual attraction. I liked how mature this relationship was, there wasn’t petty jealous or drama, it was both men unloading their baggage and asking for support. It felt like how a real relationship would go, and while Zane definitely hasn’t had an easy life, Enzo also has some trauma from a past relationship. I adored how both men communicated, they had the raw and vulnerable moments just as much as they had the steamy ones.
Then there are the two mysteries surrounding the story. The case that brought Zane and Enzo together which is solved in this book; and a larger ongoing case of a serial killer (known as the Unicorn) that I believe will play out throughout the series. The serial killer disappeared for three years and is now back and sending Zane and his team on the hunt again. I am really intrigued by this case and I was pleasantly surprised by how all these things played out. The ending was stupidly cute and leads me to wanting to pick up the next book to see how things go.
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