Book Review: High Concept by Whitley Gray

Title: High Concept
Author: Whitley Gray
Genre: Romantic Suspense, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: bought
Published: September 10, 2013 by Loose Id

Denver homicide cop and shooting survivor Beck Stryker lives to solve the case that left him with PTSD, chronic pain, and killed his co-investigator four months previous. Now his career hinges on his ability to work with the man who shut down his advances two years ago.

After last parting ways with Beck, psychiatrist-turned-FBI profiler Zach Littman never anticipated seeing the detective again. Being sent to Denver to work on a series of killings that have continued after the only suspect died is bad enough. Discovering the detective in charge is Beck leaves Zach gritting his teeth and girding his loins.

The last thing either of them needs is romantic entanglement with a fellow investigator, but danger is a powerful aphrodisiac. The case heats up, and friction between them ignites a fire neither can ignore, first at work and then in the bedroom. As they zero in on the plot behind the murders, the crosshairs zero in on Beck and Zach.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Good suspense story with an adequate romance.

The Set Up: Homicide detective Beck is struggling with PTSD and a shoulder injury from an investigation that killed his best friend and partner. His quasi-boyfriend and fellow cop didn’t want to support him during recovery as it may “out” him so they broke up. Beck is hurt and lonely when FBI profiler Zach Littman is assigned to work with Beck on his investigation. Beck and Zach don’t want to be attracted to each other but when danger keeps their emotions high, they finally give in and take what they want from each other. But how can a broken down Denver police officer and a Minnesota FBI profiler end up together?

Why I Read this Book: I love MM romance featuring men in uniform—hubba, hubba.

What I Liked: I liked that Zach and Beck were honest with each other and mature with their life issues and needs. Zach is battling his demons from an attack by a serial killer as well as dealing with a recovering addict ex-boyfriend who won’t give up on them. Beck is wrestling with the loss of his cop partner and caring for the man’s widow and two small boys. These are men who acknowledge and accept their lives are messy and they try to meet their obligations with maturity and emotional honesty. I loved this aspect of their personalities which spilled over into their romance. And just like real people, Zach and Beck make mistakes with each other; Beck gets snippy when Zach has to suddenly return to Minnesota to care for his sick ex-boyfriend and Zach tries to force Beck to be “out” at work. Even when the men make mistakes like this they still admit their feelings fairly easily and know they’ve screwed up. I really liked the characters here.

What I Also Liked: This isn’t a mystery plot so much as a suspense plot. Readers will know from the beginning who the killer is that Beck and Zach are chasing but the plot is full of twists and turns to get there. I liked this layered story with plenty of danger for the men. The creepiest part, though, wasn’t the current investigation but the serial killer from Zach’s old case—shivers! He’s not on page very long but I’m a ‘fraidy-cat and was scared!

What I Didn’t Like: I wanted more from Zach and Beck’s romance. Everything seemed to come too easily. They were fighting their sexual attraction only to fall into bed after a near-death experience with no real reflection about that. Their emotional connection seemed to just happen without talking about anything personal, just about the case. Even the big emotional denouement at novel’s end suddenly happens without any tension or intimacy. I felt like the romance was superficial and lacked emotional depth which is a shame since I really liked these characters.

IMO: High Concept has good characters, plot and sex which makes it worth the read, even if the emotional intensity in the romance was missing in my opinion.

J9’s Rating:

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