In a brand new series by Rhys Ford, MURDER AND MAYHEM introduces former cat burglar Rook Stevens and Detective Dante Montoya who find themselves meeting again after Rook is found standing over a dead woman's body. Despite being in this stressful predicament of a murder charge, there are other things more important to Rook, such as the fact that he is one again face to face with Dante.

Rhys Ford certainly has the plot down in this story. Rife with twists and turns, this book has plenty to keep reading engaged and satisfied. However, I found that the beginning lagged a little bit in terms of pacing. Ford tends to like paying attention to detail, which is a very good thing in certain scenes but I found that they got in the way, especially when the heroes haven't met yet and you want to establish that connect and set up the story first. I feel like the details about Dante's job and the certain procedures associated with that could have been explained later on once the story was fully set up and readers got an idea of what the tone of the story will be.

That being said though, I still very much enjoy Ford's writing. She tends to give her characters very interesting quirks that gives them more personality and makes them endearing. The romance between Rook and Dante starts off as strained but it does become something more friendly later on. It's nice to see a natural, organic progression amidst all the action and suspense that Ford throws in. In this promising start to the series, Rhys Ford is sure to make a scene with MURDER AND MAYHEM.

Book Summary

Dead women tell no tales.

Former cat burglar Rook Stevens stole many a priceless thing in the past, but he’s never been accused of taking a life — until now. It was one thing to find a former associate inside Potter’s Field, his pop culture memorabilia shop, but quite another to stumble across her dead body.

Detective Dante Montoya thought he’d never see Rook Stevens again—not after his former partner falsified evidence to entrap the jewelry thief and Stevens walked off scot- free. So when he tackled a fleeing murder suspect, Dante was shocked to discover the blood-covered man was none other than the thief he’d fought to put in prison and who still makes his blood sing.

Rook is determined to shake loose the murder charge against him, even if it means putting distance between him and the rugged Cuban-Mexican detective who brought him down. If one dead con artist wasn’t bad enough, others soon follow, and as the bodies pile up around Rook’s feet, he's forced to reach out to the last man he’d expect to believe in his innocence— and the only man who’s ever gotten under Rook’s skin.

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