Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

Books full of banter and humor rarely does it for me, but Alice Winters makes me laugh sometimes. These books are a little more gritty and violent than many of their other books, but still has that Winters charm and humor. The premise is great. Homicide detective who kills bad guys and doesn’t give two shits about anyone other than his detective partner, Gabriel. God help those who threaten Gabriel. Liam will burn down the world to keep him safe, and he’ll be a sarcastic — yet hilarious — asshole to everyone else while doing it.

There’s plenty of murder mystery goodness, interactions with Gabriel’s ‘angel’ cat who tears Liam to shreds on the daily, hilarious — reluctant — attempted friendships with coworkers, and much more. If you enjoy suspense but on the lighter side with plenty of funny moments, this book is fab. I assume there will be more books with these guys, but you can read the first two without issue. There are no cliffhangers in either book.

I was a bit disappointed with how unserious the first book was, but I was more prepared for the Alice Winters-ness of it all this time.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Established couple
Law enforcement
Murder mystery
Killer MC
Vigilante killer MC
Under-the-desk blowie
Coworkers

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Mention of child abuse (SCs)
Graphic murder details
Gun violence
Mention of death of parents (past)
On-page murder
Graphic violence
Physical fight between MC and SC
On-page child abuse (between SCs)
Explicit sexual content
Unintentional self harm during panic
Bad guy stalking teenager — vague references to planned abuse
In the past, on page: murder, underage drinking, almost drugging of SC
Mentions of sexual assaults related to criminal case (past)
Mentions of drug use — side characters

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Romantic suspense
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 32 and 38
Series: Series
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 395
Happy ending: Yes


“Would kindness toward others hurt you physically?” “Mentally for sure, and we all know how important mental health is.”

“Gabriel? I think there’s an issue. The issue is that the door is locked, and I’m outside of it. Do you see my issue?” “Oh, my bad. I thought you were going home.” “I would never. I’d live in your closet if you permitted it.” “And you wonder why I locked the door,” I say.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel, and I can tell Liam’s starting to draw back. He thinks he’s said something that’s upset me. The man is so goddamn confident until it comes to me, and then it’s like a simple look or word from me can make him crash. It’s probably not healthy, but I don’t know what the fuck to do about it.

“Liam, it’s okay to show care for people in other ways,” he says. “Just because you don’t hurt when others do doesn’t mean you don’t care.”