Homicide detective Levi Abrams is barely holding his life together. He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.
Dominic likes his life free of … complications. That means no tangling with cops—especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he can’t let go, despite Levi’s warnings to stay away.
The Seven of Spades is ruthless and always two moves ahead. Worst of all, they’ve taken a dangerously personal interest in Levi and Dominic. Forced to trust each other, the two men race to discover the killer’s identity, revealing hidden truths along the way and sparking a bond neither man expected. But that may not be enough to protect them.
This killer likes to play games, and the deck is not stacked in Levi and Dominic’s favor.
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I’m on book four! Loving the series so far 🙂
After reading the blurb, I couldn’t resist the one-click! I love a good serial killer book, throw in some m/m romance and you’ve really caught my attention. I went into this with one set of expectations and walked away pleasantly surprised that none of those expectations were met. Yep, this one took me by surprise. I expected dark, twisty and a bit depraved. What I got was surprisingly light and even fun, at times.
The focus was on the characters and their interactions, with the serial killer plot playing out on the side and I, surprisingly, really loved reading this story. I am more of a dark and depraved kinda girl but these characters and the smooth easy writing won me over. And, of course, I need to know more. While this didn’t end with a brutal cliffie, it did drive my need for more.
This was my first book by new-to-me author Cordelia Kingsbridge and I enjoyed meeting Dominic and Levi so much that I can’t wait to continue with the series.
There was such a natural and easy flow to the writing that I breezed right through it. I expected it to be much darker based on the blurb about the hunt for a serial killer, but the story was more a cat and mouse game with the vigilante killer, and a huge emphasis on the character interactions and relationships. I was ok with that, I found the characters likable and real and I’m very anxious to see where the author takes us.
No big cliffie…we’re all good for now.
I thought my murder mystery spree was over but no, I think it just got upgraded: now I’m on my “prickly detective tangles with a serial killer” phase and I could not have chosen a better first book. I devoured “Kill Game” in an afternoon and I’m still feeling a bit of a whiplash.
I was hooked from the start: a serial killer is on the loose in Las Vegas and Levi Abrams, a prickly and hot-tempered detective with a not-so-hidden badass streak, is the only one who can stop him. He just has to deal with a meddling and devastatingly charming bounty hunter first.
The story is gripping and thrilling, with a weighty and slightly more serious atmosphere than what I’m used to reading. I know that this is only the start of a five-books-long series but still, I’m not sure what will happen next and I absolutely haven’t the foggiest idea about who Seven of Spades is. And it’s kind of refreshing, and terrifying, to experiece this: I’m usually very good at guessing who the bad guys are.
I think the best part of this book, apart from the very dangerous serial killer and his chilling MO, is the MCs. Levi Abrams is bad-tempered and nervy, always anxious, never relaxed and he’s also a total badass. I loved him and I cannot wait to see more of him, and his past, in the next books. Dominic Russo is charming and lovely and respectful and I have the BIGGEST crush on him. Not only he’s sexy as hell but he’s also not scared to be vulnerable, he’s a bit damaged but he desperately needs someone to take care of him. His relationship with Carlos and Jasmine (and REBEL *swoons*) was the sweetest thing ever. He and Levi have tons of chemistry and some of their scenes made me blush and laugh so hard. They’re lovely together but I fear that their relationship won’t be the easiest.
I’m very tempted to start the second book now but I think I need to savour these slowly.
Best mystery series I have ever read in M/M romance. Swept through the whole series in a week!
Great series!!
Great read. Really enjoyable police procedural/romance. The characters are well developed, the plot believable. I will definitely continue this series.
This. Was. Addictive.
Oh my god, what an amazing start to the series! This was the perfect mix of romance and mystery.
Going into this, I thought this would be another M/M romance where the romance is centered around everything else, but nope! You get an exciting mystery about a serial killer, with a side of romance.
This book follows our two main characters: Levi and Dominic. Levi Abrams, a Jewish homicide detective in Las Vegas, who is struggling with a fatal shooting he was a part of and his crumbling relationship with his boyfriend. Dominic Russo comes from the traditional big Italian family, he’s a bounty hunter, and a recovering gambling addict.
“Everything okay?” Dominic asked.
“Fine. My mother just gets a little…. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Right,” said Dominic. “Because Italian American mothers are famously chill and hands-off.”
They both find themselves tracking down Las Vegas’ new serial killer, the Seven of Spades. Who has taken an interest in both of them, but mostly Levi.
I won’t say too much about the plot because I want everyone fully immersed in the mystery. But this is a continuing series, with a bit of a cliffhanger. Thankfully, all the books have been released though! I will say there is some blood and gore in this book, nothing too extreme but I need to make sure everyone knows that.
I really enjoyed this. The author kept me on my toes and made my stomach twist with the mystery and villain. The plot was engaging and fast-paced. I loved the relationship between Levi and Dominic. It’s a bit of a slow-burn since Levi is dating someone else at the beginning of the book. But their chemistry was scorching and some hints of an enemies-to-lovers trope.
“This isn’t how it happens, you and me… Not like this.”
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Holy crap this series!! I was hooked from book one. Excellent character development with all kinds of characters flaws that made the main men feel even more real. Intricate, woven plot lines and a story that kept you guessing from page one.
Wow. Just wow!!
I couldn’t put this book down. It’s been on my TBR pile for a while but I just got around to it now. I’m glad i read it now after the release of 5th book because I think I would have gone crazy otherwise.
Read only if you’re prepared to be addicted!!! Levi and Dominic have sizzling hot chemistry and the sex is off the charts! The suspense kept me on edge the whole time. This is one of my favourite books of all time and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. I can already feel that this just the beginning of an amazing series. Levi and Dominic are really great together. They are taking it quite slow and I’m looking forward to their evolving relationship.
Can’t wait to read the next book! Recommended to everyone who loves mystery and romance!!
This is an awesome beginning for this series. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. After reading some reviews of my fellow GR friends I was slightly hesitant but was pleasantly surprised at how the book turned out. It was different for me in a sense that this book felt like a prequel to Levi and Dominic’s relationship. It focused on their past and what made them them and what brought them to this point in life.
Dominic was a complete surprise for me from the beginning. When I first read about him I thought to myself: “Well, this is the stereotypical male posturing and showing your feelings makes you weak kind of stuff”. But Dominic is just so good, just a decent human being with certain principles and lines he does not cross. I really liked him and how during entire book more and more of his qualities were revealed. Mama raised a good boy here, that’s for sure. His addiction made him more human because without it he was almost a saint – thanks for that, him being too good would have ruined it for me.
Levi is a different ball game. First couple of times I really see him as too uptight and too controlled. But he is a gem hidden under the layers of control and guilt. One thing that I could not understand about him was his relationship with his boyfriend Stanton. He was such a cold fish, so meh. Both of them seem so stiff and unbending and we all know that somebody has to bend in a relationship – both physically and metaphorically, that it would have never worked for them. The way Stanton is manipulating and controlling the circumstances and everything in Levi’s life – so subtly from the car service he uses to the suits he wears, even the fact that he is applying for law school for him just shows to me that he never loved real Levi – he just bided his time to mold Levi into the man he wanted. Under the guise of worrying about Levi in danger everyday because of his job I think there was a lot resentment for all the missed and cancelled dates, all the plans gone wrong. The whole relationship was not a good one for Levi and I am glad he left. He needed to see that Stanton is all wrong for him and let Dominic in.
The murder mystery was a mix of brilliant genius and a little crazy. With so many things that could possibly go wrong the killer took many chances and the way it all ended only added questions and whetted my appetite. The idea of a vigilante has been explored many times in movies and I still don’t know if it’s justified or not. It’s hard to tell. Sometimes system fails the man and it’s hard to let go. But these murders are not personal revenge but a lot more theatrical and a work of a very meticulous madman. I wonder who they are. I hope the second book has the answer.
I loved all the secondary characters – their families, Martine and her husband, Carlos and Jasmine – it’s true what they say: “A man is known by the company he keeps”. So it just shows that Dominic and Levi are really good guys and, hmm, Stanton wasn’t shown in a company of any friends at all, I am just saying is all. A very good read, well paced with police work and personal relationship in a balance. I highly recommend it!
I didn’t have any expectations when I started reading these series but oh man, I loved this book so much. It was something really different from what I am used to reading.
We have a homicide detective named Levi who’s committed to his job and who’s failing in his current relationship with a multimillionaire Stanton.
Levi meets the big bounty hunter Dominic through work. Dominic is charming, really good at his job, a great fighter, but so is Levi. When they stumble into a fight on a crime scene one saves another’s life and that stirs Dominic’s curiosity on Levi. Lately they find themselves tangled in a serial killer’s game and that is the beginning of a friendship and maybe someday something more.
From the storyline to every place and each character’s description, I loved it all. There were details but not too intrusive and the story was focused on different aspects like work, homicides, relationships. I cannot wait to read what happens next.