Tag Archives: FBI

Borderline

Book Review of Borderline (Delarosa Secrets, #1), by T.A. Chase

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BorderlineI bought a copy of Borderline, by T. A. Chase.

Description from Goodreads:

Surrounded by secrets, two men search for a serial killer, while trying to keep it from becoming personal.

Mac Guzman is a Texas Ranger and lead detective on a serial killer case rocking the city of Houston. He’s willing to take help from anyone, especially when it comes in the form of the gorgeous FBI profiler, Tanner Wallace. Mixing business with pleasure has never been an option for Mac, but he just might change his mind and seduce Tanner into his bed. 

Tanner Wallace joined the Bureau and became a profiler to catch bad guys. Also, it might have a little to do with making up for the evil caused by his family’s business. When he’s called in to consult on a serial killer case in Houston, Tanner never expects to meet Mac. The handsome Texas Ranger brings to mind hot, sweaty nights wrapped in each other’s arms, yet Tanner knows Mac would walk away if he ever found out who Tanner’s family really is. 

With the threat of another murder hanging over their heads, Tanner and Mac will have to find a way to work past their differences before the killer strikes again.

Review:
Honestly, while this might be a fine book, I found myself bored. It somehow comes across as unengaging, despite involving an FBI profiler, a Texas Ranger and a Drug Kingpin. It almost seems like boredom shouldn’t be possible, but apparently it is.

Everything about this book was just OK. The characters were OK. The plot was OK. The setting is OK. The sex was on the low side of OK. The mystery was OK. The writing was OK (though it could do with a little more editing).

Basically, while nothing was horrible, it wasn’t great either. My biggest complaints were that the scenes from the killer’s point of view were horribly cheesy and stiff. The sex scenes were of the uninspired, stick it in and be done kind, with little foreplay or buildup, and didn’t inspire any of the emotions the book claimed were resulting from it. The fact that Mac would risk letting the perp walk on a technicality by not recusing himself from the investigation seemed unlikely, as did the fact that Tanner would risk so very much by telling Mac about his family. And the writing was occasionally stiff, especially in dialogue where names were used far too often to feel natural.

All in all, an OK read, but nothing I’m going to rave about.

Book Review of Cut & Run, by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

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Cut & RunCut & Run, by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux is one of those books that everyone always seems to be talking about, so I borrowed an ecopy. (Thanks, D.)

Description from Goodreads:
A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He’s cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he’s paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it’s hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again – this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer’s knife.

Review:
I’m afraid I can only spare this book enough energy for a brief review. I enjoyed some bits of it—some of the sarcasm, some of the sex, some of the sweet (if utterly unbelievable) moments, seeing the two men learn to depend on one another, etc. 

But other bits…well, not so much. For one, it drug on and on. At one point I had convinced myself that pages really were being snuck in while I wasn’t looking. For another, I found the characters (Ty especially) inconsistent. Their personalities were unpredictable and ever changing, each feeling disconcertingly childlike at times. The mystery was fairly obvious far before the big reveal. I think they ate, put on their shoes, checked their guns and filled their pockets about a million times. Women are represented as screechy, needy, bitches. The whole ‘they’re total opposites’ was over emphasised and the way Zane’s dependencies and self-destructive tendencies were handled made him feel weak. 

I’d say I’m half and half, loving and hating this book. So, a safe three stars from me. If I came across a free or loaned copy of the sequel I’d read it, but I’ll not be crying if one never crosses my desktop either.