ABOUT THIS EPISODE“He pushed me.”Three words turn a suspected suicide into an unsettling murder, pointing to a killer whose methods and motives threaten to expose buried memories of Seong-Jae’s past. Yet neither Malcolm nor Seong-Jae are ready for the shadowed secrets that could shatter their tenuous new relationship, when a haunting presence seems to stalk them around every corner, watching … stalk them around every corner, watching their smallest move, baiting them and flirting just out of reach. Is it the killer, always staying one step ahead?
Or a green-eyed ghost, luring both Malcolm and Seong-Jae toward the point of no return?
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.
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Boyfriends. They are boyfriends!!! Squeeeeee!!!!!!
This book is full of emotions and feelings. Malcom and Seong Jae are adorable. All those books are so worth it. I love that they communicate to each other instead of going the ‘let’s pretend it never happened’ route. It’s makes me so happy how cute they are together and how happy Malcolm is when Seong Jae is grumbling at him.
As if, if he simply gave Seong-Jae the bursting emotions that welled inside him with every kiss, every touch, they might somehow compel Seong-Jae to stay forever, a spell of warmth and sweetness and reverence.He gave all of that and more into the joining and breaking, sighing and stroking, caressing and biting of their lips, leaning harder and harder into Seong-Jae’s lithe body, into the heat of him, the strength of him, the scarred beautiful broken perfection of him.
And stay, he asked with every touch of his lips.
Just…stay.
We know a lot more about Seong Jae’s past and I’m so glad he opened up to Malcolm. And the way the say each other’s names just about kills me!
Sila is the creepiest fucker I’ve ever come across. That ending gave me chills!
And am I the only one curious about Anjulie and Gabrielle? Seven books in, and I know I’m never getting out of this!
After all the big steps forward and reveals in the previous episode, I figured Episode 7: Cult of Personality would be a little quieter as the author moved pieces into place and prepared for the next big surge in Seong-Jae and Malcolm’s story. That was true to a degree but the moments between Malcolm and Seong-Jae were amazing and special, especially considering the past and I really loved how their relationship continued to evolve. The case in Cult of Personality, though interesting, wasn’t quite as gripping as some of their past ones, but once again I enjoyed the way these two work together professionally, which is even better now that they are together romantically as well. Add the little foreshadows and plot points suggesting future conflicts, and I’m every eager to dive into the next episode.
The thread from the past that holds all these volumes together, green and blue, comes to the surface of the tale in this volume. It tries to cut through the blooming relationship of our two heroes like a wire through cheese but it can’t. Meanwhile there’s a killer with a cult and a God complex to winkle out, when their teenage target is fished out of the cold, cold river.
This case landed on them mere hours after the last one, so they are running themselves ragged, both physically and emotionally. Seong-jae is having flashbacks, their boss thinks they smell, and if they didn’t have each other to lean on it would all be too much. But they do, so it gets handled.
Cole McCade writes so vividly we find ourselves living his characters’ lives. Meanwhile his own life is what he wove these characters from, hence their verisimilitude. And he didn’t have to tell us that, but he does, which feels like a great honor.
Ohhhh myyyy ghaawd… there are just a few authors who can put feelings and gestures on paper and this author is one of them…
I was grinning, blushing, snorting and a lot more… my chest did strange things… I hope I’ll survive this series…
“You are so, so gay.”
Both Malcolm as Seong-Jae are highly desirable… again… my heart…
“It is possible for me to simply desire you for the sake of desiring you”
Finally we can see them easy around each other… relaxed… well more Malcolm, I don’t know if Seong-Jae ever will relax…
Beside all their intensity there is a crime… and it’s quite horrible… ugly in its deepest ugliness.
I shuddered and shiver by its wrongness. Read it and be amazed!!
I was spellbound by Malcolm and Seong-Jae. Their intensity is overwhelming.
“Seong-Jae was Malcolm’s…and Malcolm was Seong-Jae’s” – If this ever stops…
Amazingly written intriguing and intense story. Every move was so visually put down I saw it all.
Kindly received an arc from the author
Three words changed it from a suspected suicide to murder. They will investigate but secrets of one of them will come out and how will they affect them? Will they solve the crime? What are the secrets? See how they get on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
CRIMINAL INTENTIONS Season One, Episode Seven: CULT OF PERSONALITY by Cole McCade is a great story that I read. This is book number seven in this series and I enjoyed it very much. I recommend this story to everyone who wants to read a great story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Another tenses episode in the saga of Malcolm and Seong-Jae. I seriously cannot get enough of this series and the complex push-pull relationship these amazing characters. Now the wait for Episode 8 begins.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love these serials!
Once again Mal and Seong-Jae are looking for a murderer and it’s a convoluted plot that keeps us on our toes.
But we also get more sexy times and it was so well written and flowed off the page.
Seong-Jae’s past is a thread that has been woven through the whole series and we get to see pieces peel away bit by bit.
Sade’s storyline is also revealed one layer at a time
This is definitely an intricate and well plotted series and I can’t wait for more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This series gets better and better with every book.
I thought my heart would explode with Where There’s Fire, but Cult of Personality went so much harder – and by that, I mean cuter.
Spoilers:
After Malcolm and Seong-Jae slept with each other at the end of the previous book, I thought this book would have them ignoring one another and pretending that the night they spent together didn’t happen.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to be wrong.
Not only do Malcolm and Seong-Jae talk about their complicated relationship, but Malcolm refers to Seong-Jae as his ‘boyfriend’. I think Cole McCade killed half of his readership with that scene.
End of spoilers.
Reading these two men getting closer to one another and opening up about things they’d never told anyone else before was so touching. Seong-Jae reveals something from his past to Malcolm, and that entire scene is portrayed with so much respect – although I would expect nothing less from McCade.
The case Seong-Jae and Malcolm work on was just as disturbing as promised. There’s just something so unsettling about cults and cult-mentality to me, but mix that in with toxic masculinity, and you’ve got something truly horrifying. McCade is probably one of the only authors I trust to write such disgusting criminals because you 100% know they’re going to get their comeuppance. These criminals are never glorified, and McCade makes it very obvious that he’s aware of the surrounding social and cultural issues in reality, through Malcolm and Seong-Jae.
Cult of Personality was an incredible book to an already stellar series. I am dying for the next book. Is it Feb 10 yet?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book is crazy good! I didn’t want it to end! Seong-Jae and Malcolm are together, and it’s so intense and passionate between them but also sweet and adorable. Seong-Jae finally opens up about some of his past, the moment is so touching and the support Malcolm gives him makes me love him even more. There are now casual touches, spontaneous kisses and the sense of belonging and intimacy. They are funny and cute then sexy and hot and it is such a rush to finally see them together – like coming home! Awesome!
This time the case has a mental impact on Seong-Jae, and we get a glimpse into the dark secret he keeps, and frankly speaking it is fascinating to get just a peek. It keeps me guessing and involved with the characters and the story. The amount of depravity people are ready to inflict on others for the sake of their beliefs is astounding. But the best part in the investigation is how Malcolm and Seong-Jae work together, how in tune they are. No matter the case they will dig out the truth using their mind, intuition and experience to uncover the worst of humanity deeds.
This book is sweet, smart and sensual. It leaves you satisfied while still guessing. So worth the wait and now I am hungry for more! #MalcolmSeong-JaeTeam