It all starts to go wrong at the shooting gallery. Emery Hazard and his boyfriend, John-Henry Somerset, just want to enjoy the day at the Dore County Independence Fair. At the shooting gallery, though, Hazard comes face to face with one of his old bullies: Mikey Grames. Even as a drugged-out wreck, Mikey is a reminder of all the ugliness in Hazard’s past. Worse, Mikey seems to know something … Hazard doesn’t—something about the fresh tension brewing in town.
When the Chief of Police interrupts Hazard’s day at the fair, she has a strange request. She doesn’t want Hazard and Somers to solve a murder. She wants them to prevent one. The future victim? Mayor Sherman Newton—a man who has tried to have Hazard and Somers killed at least once.
Hazard and Somers try to work out the motive of the man threatening Newton, and the trail leads them into a conspiracy of corrupt law enforcement, white supremacists, and local politicians. As Hazard and Somers dig into the case, their search takes them into the past, where secrets have lain buried for twenty years.
Determined to get to the truth, Hazard finds himself racing for answers, but he discovers that sometimes the past isn’t buried very deep. Sometimes, it isn’t dead. Sometimes, it isn’t even past. And almost always, it’s better left alone.
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All right. This book was, without a doubt, one of the most intense pieces of contemporary fiction I’ve read. The gamut of human emotions that Ashe is able to evoke surpasses the typical reader-response to brilliant writing. I’m talking physical reactions that were both startling and even, yes, unwelcoming. Because I can honestly say that I can’t recall the last time a plot, a scene, a moment, a piece of dialogue, made me dry heave. I know that, on the surface, this doesn’t seem like a compliment, but consider the fact that an author was able to twist the English language in such a way that reading his words literally made my stomach check out. That’s impressive storytelling.
Criminal Past brings us full-circle to where this wild, terrifying, heartbreaking, and hopeful adventure has been dragging us. Emery Hazard returned to Wahredua at the start of Pretty Pretty Boys to find out what had happened to his high school boyfriend, Jeff. All he knew was that Jeff had committed suicide and left Hazard alone in a world he wasn’t welcomed in. And since then, he’s grown bigger, smarter, stronger, (and yes) grumpier. He’s met John-Henry Somerset again and, despite the at times insurmountable obstacles they faced, fell in love. With the addition of Somers’s little girl, Evie, the three are a small and happy family and all they wanted to do was enjoy an outing at the Fourth of July fair. And they were—until they cross paths with old high school bully, Mikey Grames.
And before you can say, “Dirtiest City in Missouri” Wahredua is the scene of another mystery. Someone is after the Mayor, Hazard and Somers are on babysitting duty (despite the fact this man has tried to kill them once before), buildings are exploding, FBI agents are being attacked, Hazard has learned that the truth of Jeff’s death isn’t so open and closed, and Mikey? Mikey is out for blood.
This book was the hardest of the six to read. Emotionally and mentally: there was tough content, difficult dialogue, serious heartbreak, and like I mentioned before, gut-churning situations. But this book represented all of the hate, fear, pain, and utter frustration that both Hazard and Somers have been carrying since high school and into adulthood. There’s been so much devastation they’ve lived through that I think I would have been disappointed if the intensity of this book was anything less. Despite how difficult it was to read, there was a sensation that the reader’s soul had been cleansed.
And the final scene of Criminal Past was everything readers have been striving toward. The perfect, simplistic moment of love and self-acceptance. That minute hand hitting 12:01. Of course, I know Union of Swords will wreck me just like the first season, but I’m so deeply committed to this world that Ashe has created that I trust him with my heart and mind entirely. I know that, eventually… eventually, Hazard and Somerset will be safe and happy.
This is a hell of a series, and Ashe is a hell of an author. Full stop.
This was the most intense book in the series. I read it slower than others because the emotional outpouring from both Hazard and Somerset was at times too much. Do not get me wrong I loved it, but I needed a moment to digest it all. The plot twists, the connections and the final resolution of the past hurts was amazingly done. The action and descriptions were so real I could see it all so clearly.
What I really enjoyed about this series was that even after two people confessed their feelings and said I love you, they still had to work so hard to be together and for everything between them to feel right. Both Emery and John are far from perfect. They are full of contradictions and complex emotions yet have simple desires and needs. They are so easy to relate to and see something of ourselves in them – their everyday struggles, moments of fear or anger, bad habits and annoying traits as well as mistakes they make. I liked that despite all of that both men still had each other’s back both at work and at home. This is one of the most realistic fictional couple that I have read.
I liked the case, the humor, the characters and the hard journey the author took them on. I can’t wait to dig into Union of Swords series.
I am totally a Hazard and Somerset junkie!! These books are all sooo good. I love being able to lose myself with these two and what they get up to. This to me was the most intense of the series. It has so much heartache in it, and the amount of hurtful things that are drudged up and found out is just rough. Also, Hazard and Somerset are both put through the ringer both mentally and physically. A lot of players in this one do not make it out, and that is troublesome, but also it is relieving in some respects. I cannot wait to dive into the next series with them. It really is like visiting an old friend picking up these books, and while I would love to devour them one after the other, it is kind of nice to read them slowly/listen to them slowly, as there is a ton that happens and then you are able to recoup a bit before picking up the next. Tristan James is awesome on the audio per usual. He is Hazard and Somerset to the T, and that makes it even better. Thank you Gregory Ashe for writing this amazing series.
Criminal Past is by far the most edge-of-your seat novel yet in the Hazard and Somerset Mystery series! I literarly held my breath for most of the book This sixth novel in the incredibly addictive Hazard and Somerset Mystery series kicks you in the gut in the first few paages…then pulls you headlong on a harrowing, thrilling journey that never lets up until the final page. In two words: Simply awesome. Nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat suspense/thriller, gifted prose, perfect dialog, and an outstanding plot that is the hallmark of the series. Criminal Past stands as the best of the series!!!