London.Detective Sergeant James Henderson’s remarkable gut instincts have put him on a three-year fast track to becoming an inspector. But the advancement of his career has come at a cost. Gay, posh and eager to prove himself in the Metropolitan Police, James has allowed himself few chances for romance.But when the murder of barrister Maria Curzon-Whyte lands in his lap, all that changes. His … all that changes. His investigation leads him to a circle of irresistibly charming men. And though he knows better, James finds himself enticed into their company.
Soon his desire for photographer Ben Morgan challenges him to find a way into the other man’s lifestyle of one-night stands and carefree promiscuity. At the same time his single murder case multiplies into a cruel pattern of violence and depravity.
But as the bodies pile up and shocking secrets come to light, James finds both his tumultuous private life and coveted career threatened by a bitter legacy.
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This is the kind of book you’d look for, when wishing that PD James’s Adam Dalgliesh was gay. A solid police procedural mystery, with a handsome, educated, reserved, and honorable Detective Sergeant, whose first steps into life as an out gay man have to fit in around murder investigations.
James Henderson joined the police force in London despite total disapproval from his wealthy father, in search of something meaningful to do with his abilities. James has dedicated himself to his job – so much so that he hasn’t made any time for a personal life. He’s just reached the point where he needs more than the tiny flat he’s been camping out in, and a narrow life with nothing but work colleagues in it.
When investigation into a murder case takes him to a nice flat, with a room conveniently for rent, he’s tempted. When it turns out the flat owner and a neighbor are both attractive gay men, he’s even more taken with the idea. Luckily, they are cleared enough of suspicion to let James feel all right about applying for the extra room. He moves in, and begins falling hard for his landlord and flatmate, Ben.
The murder case turns into two murders, which may or may not be related. The investigation drags on, through false leads and twists, and maybe another linked death. But while his professional life is frustrating and murky, James thinks he finally has a shot at a real personal life with Ben. Unfortunately, Ben has different ideas about what is going on between them, and what a gay man’s life should look like.
James is headed for a collision of his dreams, his ideals, his job, and his newfound friends. And when he finally sees where the pieces belong, nothing may be exactly what he envisioned.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well done, the murder mystery was nicely twisty and filled with red herrings, and James is a very appealing main character. There was perhaps an overload of coincidences by the end, in tweaking the plot around through multiple surprise twists. But it was such a fun ride, with enough satisfying emotional depth, that I was happy to go along with it. There was a very nice balance of plot and character development, with just enough appropriately relevant sex scenes, to create a satisfying whole. Recommended for all fans of police-procedural mystery romance.
Riveting psychological thriller from a truly original voice in gay mystery.
First of an outstanding series.
So I am going to review this in two parts, one on the mystery/crime aspect and then I will do the relationship aspect. So, the mystery of this story was amazing. I absolutely loved it. I had no idea what was coming, and it was so great to delve into it, and find out what was happening and how everything was uncovered. I am like a lot of others who felt deeply for the killer. I did not see it coming, and I truly mourned them. They were a wonderful character and I adored them so much. So with that I so appreciate Dal and how he wrote this. How you can love a killer so much, and evoke so much emotion from the reader is what I love about reading. So, props to that and the narration that Gary Furlong gave was absolutely flawless.
Now, onto the relationship portion. Well, I seriously could not get my head around Ben, like I just do not understand him still. James was such a meek character, and I do not believe that is how Dal wanted him portrayed, but at every turn he did not stand up for himself. I was happy when he finally did stand up for himself both times, but still he decided he would bend to fit the mold of how Ben thought his life should be, and I just hated that. I also hated how late the redemption portion came, and I still just did not get it. Like I get it that James loved Ben, but then for Ben to say he loved him in the end, it just didn’t make sense. Also, the double standard that Ben gave James was sooo frustrating, like it is okay to have an open relationship, as long as Ben is the only one that is open…nope, just no.
So, overall, I loved the mystery, I loved literally all the side characters, I thought they all had so much depth. Especially Steggie was such a great character, and all the coppers. I did not much care for some of Ben’s friends, namely, Olly or Ned, but it did make sense for Ben to keep their company. This does end with a HFN, but it is not very believable to me. I just want so much more for James and Steggie and Ben seems to get everything…but of course he did lose a lot too…ugh, I just did not like Ben…
Bitter Legacy is compulsively readable. There is a case to solve, and full accounting of the process, including several wayward clues that keep everyone guessing until the end. Then there are characters, themselves, who are interesting and have a story of their own, related to the case. This is my favourite soft of mystery, even if it means the characters’ stories are resolved along with the case, because there is a feeling of completion at the end that you can only otherwise get from romance. Oh, and this has that, too.
The romance was actually the most difficult aspect of this book for me. It hurt. I physically felt Jamie’s pain at times. I had a hard time accepting the happy for now ending, but justified it in much the same way Jamie did: love can overlook a lot of faults, especially when we think we’re getting what we want/need. Also, if Ben isn’t to be a bitter, twisted, and lonely old man, someone has to take a chance on him.