Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Frank Jennings is an FBI agent looking for redemption.  Leslie Carlton is an Interpol agent looking for a thief. Attraction flares from the moment they meet on a case searching for a stolen triptych of unique Tiffany windows, but after a single night of stunning passion, Leslie is called back to London to continue his search there.

 

When the case heats up again, Leslie returns to the States—and to Frank—but their investigation is complicated by their tumultuous feelings. Is it possible for two dedicated detectives to pursue each other while they’re tracking down stolen art and the unscrupulous man who steals it?

 

Book Review

The third volume in this series offers more stolen art, two detectives trying to catch the thief, and turbulent passion potentially getting in the way. The story is loosely connected to the first two books, but the crime is contemporary and so is the perpetrator. Combining those elements is a recipe for success, as far as I could see from the blurb, and as soon as I had read the prologue with its shocking revelation that made my jaw drop, I was hooked. The story is as exciting as it sounds – full of action, clever detective sneakiness, an international villain, and a passionate romance that turns into an intense love story while the case of the art thief keeps both men extremely busy.

Frank is an FBI agent at the beginning of his career with the Bureau, has made a professional mistake he’d rather forget but his boss and fellow agents keep reminding him of, and has a steely determination not to seem weak because he is gay. After a cheating ex got to him, he has built emotional walls around himself that he thinks will keep him safe and in the office, Frank is extra-super-macho just to compensate for any potential accusations. As it turns out, Frank’s macho-ness goes deeper than his skin and it gets him in plenty of trouble because it makes him rigid, and a detective hunting thieves needs to be flexible in his approach if he wants to be successful.

Leslie is an extremely handsome Interpol agent from Britain with a great sense of humor and a healthy skepticism for his American colleagues – Frank in particular. He has hunted the “collector” of glass windows and other Tiffany items for a while, and he hopes that cooperation with the FBI will help him finally bring the villain to justice. Leslie is willing to adapt and work with Frank, but he refuses to be bullied or ignored when Frank goes into one of his macho I-need-to-prove-I-am-in-charge moods.

There is much to enjoy in this novel. The case itself is interesting and suspenseful, the contrast between American and British methods and temperaments amusing, and the way Leslie and Frank “battle” their personal differences while having explosively scorching encounters in the bedroom is super-hot. Frank is used to things going his way, but Leslie refuses to go along for the sake of it – until he is backed up against a wall and he fights back. Very entertaining!

If you like stories featuring international thievery and the men who catch the criminals, if you think two headstrong detectives can figure out how to get along no matter what their differences, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read full of twists and turns and emotional upheaval, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. The combination of international crime and passionate romance is an intriguing combination!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook, print and audio
Length	Novel, 200 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	13-February-2012
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle, $19.95 audiobook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/artistic-pursuits-by-andrew-grey-4507-b