ABOUT THIS EPISODEThey say where there’s smoke, there’s fire—but Malcolm and Seong-Jae have a lot of blood and no body in a case where the only witness to a murder may be the killer himself. Yet as they chase down a victim who may or may not exist in a crime that may or may not have happened, it’s the sparks flying between them that threaten to ignite into dangerous flame…and by the time this … flame…and by the time this case is over, their relationship may never be the same. One kiss, one case, one night may change everything…
…and when Malcolm and Seong-Jae come together, someone’s going to get burned.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Baltimore homicide detective Malcolm Khalaji has his own way of doing things: quiet, methodical, logical, effective, not always particularly legal. He’s used to working alone—and the last thing he needs is a new partner ten years his junior.
Especially one like Seong-Jae Yoon.
Icy. Willful. Detached. Stubborn. Seong-Jae is all that and more, impossible to work with and headstrong enough to get them both killed…if they don’t kill each other first. Foxlike and sullen, Seong-Jae’s disdainful beauty conceals a smoldering and ferocious temper, and as he and Malcolm clash the sparks between them build until neither can tell the difference between loathing and desire.
But as bodies pile up at their feet a string of strange, seemingly unrelated murders takes a bizarre turn, leading them deeper and deeper into Baltimore’s criminal underworld. Every death carries a dangerous message, another in a trail of breadcrumbs that can only end in blood.
Malcolm and Seong-Jae must combine their wits against an unseen killer and trace the unsettling murders to their source. Together, they’ll descend the darkest pathways of a twisted mind—and discover just how deep the rabbit hole goes. And if they can’t learn to trust each other?
Neither will make it out alive.
more
…and finally it happened…and it was awesome!
This was my favourite episode to date and not just because it finally happened. The case the men find themselves on was intriguing and really had me on the edge of my seat.
Totally loved this episode <3
Bring on episode 7!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
HOLY SHITTTTTT! I’M DEAD!!!!!
What was that?? This review is just me gushing about Malcolm and Seong Jae!! My favourite book in this series so far!!
Finally!!! Finally! This is the book you’ve been impatiently waiting for! And it is so worth it! I knew they were going to be explosive together!! Chapter 13 killed me!!
Malcolm is so in love. They were so cute in this book. Blushing Seong Jae is GOALS!!
“But for all that my ex-husband is remarkably indirect…he is also remarkably in love with you, Detective Yoon.”
Malcom finally fixed his shit with Gabi. I like her but just not with him. They’ve just grown apart.
The author is so talented. The cases are all so different and so detailed. I love the mystery part so much.
I love this series so much and I’m so glad I came across this gem. It’s like I’m so excited and I just want to share it with everyone else!
In short, THE WAIT IS WORTH IT!!!!
Malcolm let himself go and followed Seong-Jae into the dark, no matter how deep or how far he fell, no matter what depths of destructive, ripping pleasure he sought. Always, always he would follow Seong-Jae. Even if he led Malcolm into ruin.
I’ve enjoyed the Criminal Intentions series as a whole but Episode 6: Where There’s Smoke brought it all together and blew me away. Not only is there a good amount of character development for Seong-Jae and Malcolm individually, but their relationship expanded and fans finally got what we’ve been waiting for…and their sexual chemistry was undeniable. This episode undeniably proves the slow burn build-up between Malcolm and Seong-Jae is so worth the wait.
On top of a fantastic story involving the main characters and their blooming romance, the case Seong-Jae and Malcolm were on was exciting and intense. I loved that the author worked in more character insights as Seong-Jae and Malcolm raced to piece together the information and protect the potential victims. The action scenes and resolution were fantastically done, capturing the wide range of emotions in a way that had me on edge cover to cover. Every time I finish a new episode in the Criminal Intentions series I cannot imagine the next will live up to it, but it just keeps getting better and leaves me eager to see what’s in store for these partners.
I am pleased that the lovers finally touch down in this volume of this incredibly dark and gruesome series. Previous installments have led us to expect a homicide in the first few pages, followed by lushly described undercurrents of sensuality and noir atmosphere. The big surprise here is not that the killers are apprehended by our heroes and their lusts remain unfulfilled. It is that for a change the victims survive and our heroes celebrate by getting together. But the third rail of stalkers from the past continues to hum.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
When I started reading this story, I could not put it down. I read the book in one day.This author is an awesome writer. I can not wait to read more of their books. Keep up the great work. You should definitely read this book.
I would rate this 4.25 stars.
This is the sixth book in the series and they should be read in order. The difficult part in this series is always the murder that takes place in the first chapter written in first person. I found myself procrastinating to read this because, as much as I love this series, sometimes I don’t want to start reading the book because of the murder. I wish I was the type of person who could just start with chapter two, but I can’t. Tisha and Trae are the victims for this episode. Tisha’s mom is on the phone with her when she gets attacked and calls the police even though she has little faith they will help.
It’s been a month and half being partners. Malcolm and Seong-Jae continue to grow closer as the emotionally intimate moments pile up–their job battering at their souls. The shared trauma, sleep deprivation, and forced proximity have bonded them. The emotional connection amplifies the attraction. The UST has been heating up until it’s time to boil over. If you’ve been waiting for them to get together, this is your episode. The love scene is amazing. Of course, with these two I expect the aftermath to be messy. Seong-Jae has been pushing people away for a long time due to Sila, who has been actively involved in cases while they are happening since Seong-Jae transferred. How? I don’t know. Until Seong-Jae shares this with Malcolm, it will be between them without Malcolm understanding it’s even there.
Gabrielle sensing it’s time to step out from between them, moves out. Trust her to strike a departing blow to both herself and Seong-Jae, but Anjulie is there to help her. With Anjulie being aromantic sapphic, I’m not sure where this will go. Gabriel has a job interview for assistant DA, so I expect the politics to amp up. It will be interesting to see her as she interacts with them on the job in future episodes.
The Bishop, Huang, and Garvey/Wellington cases are all still cooking in the background.
One of the things fun in these episodes is the author’s Q and A at the end of each book. If you haven’t been reading those, check them out. At this time, there are seven books left in this season and he envisions three seasons total. He also talks about possible AU (alternative reality) storylines for fun. There is a free Christmas episode on his website that takes place after this story.
They have another case but it may be a strange one. The witness may be the killer. Their feelings are growing for each other. Who is behind it? Will their feelings come out into the open? See what will happen
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
CRIMINAL INTENTIONS Season One, Episode Six: WHERE THERE’S SMOKE by Cole McCade is a great story to read. I loved reading this book it is number six in the series and I loved reading it. I highly recommend this story to everyone I loved it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
YESSSS!!! Just like the previous five books, it is so damn good. Six books in and Malcolm and Seong-Jae finally pass a major milestone in their relationship. These characters still have me hooked and it is not just the MCs, this entire cast of characters are enthralling and now I want to know their stories too. Book seven cannot come soon enough.
P.S. Read the trigger warnings, trigger warnings are your friends.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Oh my freaking goodness…. this was something else…
Oh boy oh boy in this installment there is something different going on.
I never have read an exciting read as this one… it was thrilling. I was sitting on the edge of my chair, hurried through all the sentences because … oh boy… i had goosebumps and a thick throat … would the outcome be as I hoped it would…?
“Serendipity and synchronicity are beautiful things,”
I was almost afraid to read further when Seong-Jae drove Malcolm home…
afraid to be disappointed or maybe…it would be all too much…
Goshh… this author really never disappoint me!
It was the eye of a hurricane. The world crashed around them but in the center… there was where it all happened, there was where the magic lives… it was beyond beautiful.
When I finished it I almost had the urge to stop with this series (not really) because… can it even get better than this?
Impressive and beyond beautiful.
Read it yourself!!
Kindly received an arc from the author
Thank you very much to the author for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I have one thing to say about this book and one thing only: FINALLY.
I think that is probably the sentiment of everyone who has been following this series. FINALLY.
We’re six books into the series and our amazing main characters finally boned. Although it’s only been about a month and a half, maybe two months, for Seong-Jae and Malcolm, for those of us who have been reading Criminal Intentions since the very beginning, it’s been six months. Six long months of sexual tension and slightly threatening but flirtatious banter.
Now we (and the boys) have to deal with the fallout. But that’s for book 7.
Where There’s Smoke was a fantastic addition to an already amazing series. From the ages of 14-16, I read crime novels almost exclusively, so coming back to this genre was like a breath of fresh air. That probably sounds weird, but I love mysteries and murder and following along with the evidence the police find, desperately trying to solve the crime before the main character. So I have so much fun with the crime storylines in each Criminal Intentions book, but the plot in Where There’s Smoke was truly awesome.
Malcolm and Seong-Jae are searching for two missing Black teens, but when one of them shows up covered in blood, the men worry they’re searching for a dead body. Of course I don’t want to spoil the plot for anyone, but I really liked how McCade handles the storyline. A massive issue in quite a big portion of novels is the death of a person of colour or a queer person, to the point that this has actually become a trope like “Bury Your Gays”. It’s become a massive issue because so often when a character from an unrepresented minority is killed off, white/straight characters become the focus of the story. This kind of tradition is rooted in homophobia and racism and so many authors need to consider the issues if they decide to kill off a marginalised character. But I never had to worry with McCade – he’s one of the writers that I trust when it comes to this issue. Hopefully I didn’t spoil anything, but I know a lot of readers will go into the book worrying about the outcome.
Let’s talk about how beautiful I find Seong-Jae and Malcom’s buddy romantic relationship, because hoo boy, it’s amazing. Seong-Jae has become so trusting with Malcolm which is so touching because my boy hasn’t been able to trust anyone since Sila. Not that we know anything about Sila yet – although I have my theories. And seeing Malcolm being able to trust Seong-Jae just as much in turn? *kissing fingertips* Plus, for the readers who want to know, McCade remains my favourite author when it comes to sex scenes. To know more, see: Over and Over Again. Just saying.
Can I also just say how much it physically hurts my heart reading Malcolm being so into Seong-Jae? It makes me want to cry because he’s in so deep and it’s lovely and sweet. I want Malcolm to get the happy ending he deserves.
In regard to the secondary characters, I love Sade and I want to know their past so badly. Sade and Malcolm’s small fight in this book was so painful, because the two have this kind of pseudo father/child or older brother/younger sibling relationship. But also I feel like Malcolm needs to be wary of Sade because they’ve kept so much from him – probably for good reason – but a lot of that has to do with Baltimore’s biggest drug lord, Jason Huang. Who I low-key have a crush on. Anyway.
I still don’t completely like Gabrielle, although she grows on me every book. I feel a lot like Seong-Jae, to be honest, quite dubious of her. I definitely liked her much more in this novel, particularly because of her relationship with Anjulie, but she also just rubs me the wrong way? Not because she was a hurdle that Malcolm and Seong-Jae had to get over – I’ve never been the type of reader who would hate a female character because she “gets in the way” of a “ship” – but she comes across as a little two-dimensional, whereas a lot of the other characters feel a little more real to me.
I’m very excited for the next book in this series! McCade recently tweeted what we can expect from the remaining books and I’m both very exicted and very nervous. But I also know this series is fast becoming a favourite.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book blew my mind. I have been waiting for it and knew it would be fantabulous. And it WAS! I loved it. I love Malcolm and Seong-Jae as work partners. They fit so well, they understand each other even when no words are spoken. It’s just amazeballs. This book has a very good balance of investigative work and personal relationships. Multiple POVs give it even bigger emotional punch and ramp up the intensity of the story.
After Malcolm finally makes his decision to move forward with his life many things start falling into place. He gets even closer to Seong-Jae, both of them taking comfort from each other when their new case not only has a very short time frame but when there is a chance they will be able to save a life. When the level of heat and need between them reaches epic proportions they still seem to hesitate. But it all comes to a wonderful finale. The surprise that the author drops in the end is so unexpected but oh so good.
I like Mr McCade’s writing style. It’s beautiful and very passionate just like his men. The moment when Malcolm and Seong-Jae come together is incomparable. I was hanging on each and every word, it was stunning, consuming and so s*e*x*y. He KNOWS how to right sensual and emotional scenes like no one else. I already need more of Malcolm and Seong-Jae and will impatiently wait for the next episode. Highly anticipated book that I highly recommend!