Demoted to the cold case squad after shooting a suspect in the line of duty, Detective Ronan O’Mara knows that his career with the Boston Police Department is hanging by a thread. His first assignment is the case of Michael Frye, a five-year-old boy who has been missing for seven years. With no new leads or witnesses to interview, Ronan has to start from scratch to solve this mystery. When he … sees a handsome local psychic on television, Ronan figures he’s got nothing to lose in enlisting the man’s help to find Michael.
Psychic Tennyson Grimm is riding high after helping South Shore cops find a missing child. He’s even being courted by the Reality Show Network about a program showcasing his abilities. He has no idea that his midday appointment with a customer, who instead turns out to be a police detective, is going to change the course of his life and his career.
With the blessing of the BPD, which badly needs an image make-over, Ronan is allowed to bring Tennyson in to assist with the Frye case. Being thrown together in front of cameras is never easy, but add in an emotional missing person’s investigation, a tight-lipped spirit, and a cop who’s a skeptic, and it definitely puts a strain on both men and their working relationship.
When the child’s body is found, the work to identify his killer begins. As Ronan and Tennyson get closer to solving the case, the initial attraction they feel for one another explodes into a passion neither man can contain.
Will working together to bring Michael’s killer to justice seal their fledgling bond, or will unexpected revelations in the case tear them apart forever?
Dead Speak is Book One of the Cold Case Psychic Series. Book Two, Dead Reckoning, Book Three, Dead Silent, and Book Four, Dead Weight will be available in the coming months.
Please be aware this book deals with the topic of child abuse, specifically, sexual abuse.
Dead Speak is 165 Microsoft Word pages long and 71,936 words.
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This book has led me to more amazing adventures by the two main characters as well as spinoffs that are just as entertaining and riveting.
This was good start for a new series. We meet Ronan, a cop who needs to redeem himself, and Tennyson, a psychic who’s gain fame for finding a missing child. Their relationship starts off rocky but soon becomes steamy and intense. While navigating their new relationship, Ronan and Tennyson work together to solve the unsolved disappearance and murder of a five year old boy. This story has angst, suspense, and psychic powers. The law enforcement procedures and practices aren’t very accurate, but that is easy to ignore once I let myself enjoy the story. I think the best part of this book is the character development of Ronan and Tennyson and watching their relationship bloom.
Narration: I alternated between reading this book and listening to the wonderful Michael Pauley narrate the story. Michael Pauley did a fantastic job narrating, and really brought the characters to life.
Overall Rating: 3.85 Stars. This was close to a 4 Star read for me, but the pacing of the story felt a little off for me. However, I did enjoy the characters and overall had fun reading the book.
*WARNING* intended for mature audiences
I liked the story. The characters. The whole paranormal aspect. If I could change anything, it would be the sex scenes. The sex scenes are WAY to long, one bout of bumping uglies lasts for three pages!
**********Contains Spoilers**********
I’ve recently become aware of Pandora’s work after reading Cabin Fever which I loved. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’d definitely looking forward to reading the next book to see what happens on Ronan & Ten’s vacation. I liked Ronan & Ten’s chemistry/passion but the only slight downside to it was that their relationship was very fast paced since it went from them kissing to using pet names and it seemed like they were in a committed relationship straight away. I’m looking forward to learning more about Ten’s gift and the rest of the psychic crew in the following books. I’d definitely recommend this book, series & author to anyone
A thrilling story. I love Ronan and Ten.
KU. 2.5 ~ It was an OK read. It had a lot of elements I found really fascinating and generally enjoy ~ but it didn’t quite pull together. It was sort of insta-Love which didn’t really work when Ronan was supposedly recently burned in his last relationship. I don’t mind a paranormal element but the “rules” have to make sense and be consistent. Unfortunately there were way too many instances where how his powers worked didn’t match up with previous restrictions. The psychic abilities of Cole & Carter (?) were purely for comic relief and again violated any rules/restrictions by being all knowing simply for a pinch line. The “whodunnit” wasn’t really a surprise in any way.
Doubt I’ll keep on with the series even though it was free via KU. Too many other options.
Just Fantastic!
This was simply superb. The writing was excellent with a tightly woven plot and a great conclusion. I can’t imagine how book two will surpass it but I’m off to check it out!
Just when you think you have seen it all, you get a phone call in the middle of the night and realize that there is so much more out there. Ronan is confronted with something from his childhood that he never saw coming and Ten is wondering how it is, this even was never mentioned before. But with the help of their family, Ten and Ronan are working to find out what happened to Tommy in the 25 years since he was kidnapped and how deep this goes.
There are so many incredible points in this book that you must read to find out. Then there is a twist that will leave you smiling 🙂
Mixed feeling about this book. This is my first book by this author and I felt the writing style was a bit off. This gave super insta love feels but it seems the timeline is two months.
Their whole romance went too fast and I didn’t like the whole “you’re mine” thing the first time they have sex. The mystery part was not half bad but you can sort of guess the killer half way through.
Ronan and Ten did have their moments but I just think them getting together so fast was a tad unbelievable (Ha, in a story of psychics)
I don’t know if it was the writing or something else but I just couldn’t get close to the characters. Couldn’t feel the connection. It could be just me and in that case I hope others do enjoy reading it.
5 stars
Heat Level: 4
Narration: 5 (Love Michael!!)
Wow, just wow! Thrilling, twisted, magical and lust filled!
What an intense ride. This book has great twists and turns and a very challenging case is broken wide open. This book addresses a warped mind, that is just grossly disturbed, even more so when brought to justice. Although I guessed the ‘killer’ really early on, how the case was concluded was still interesting and thrilling.
I love Ten and Ronan!! They have great chemistry and their connection is funny, sassy, entertaining and so much more!! They move towards feelings organically and it is such a pleasure to read. They have so much passion and love; it’s funny, cheeky and just plain awesome! Although they have to survive a rather disturbing case throughout this story and such a challenging time, they survive and while they are a little broken, thankfully the book ends with a happy for now ending. I look forward to seeing what will happen next with them and their next cases!
Great writing from Pandora. I love Ten and Ronan and look forward to so many more adventures!!!
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I love MM, and I love paranormal. I have recently found this series as well as the spin-offs and I’m hooked.
Ronan finds himself freshly out of rehab and demoted to Cold Cases. His flashy, cruel ex still works in homicide in the same precinct making it difficult for Ronan to find solace or relief after their very messy divorce and his subsequent messy mistake while on the job. When his current case stumps him a possible solution comes from a couple unlikely sources. A television program is interviewing a psychic and his nasty ex suggests seeking that psychic’s assistance. With nothing left to lose, except his job, he makes the trek out to meet the man. What follows is a dramatic, intense roller coaster ride that could end in a new, happier future for both men…or their demise.
Well, it’s a start. From all the bellowing and yelling to the inappropriate TPO issues, there were quite a few things that just didn’t sit well for me. That being said, I can see a little of where things are going and I’m pretty sure this series will improve as it continues.
I liked Ronan. His blustering, aggressiveness, over-sharing, reactionary personality wasn’t the best, no, but I could see his potential as a man. I’d like to have seen his light, the one that Tennyson sees and finds so appealing, more developed. We see glimpses of his heart and tenacity regarding justice in bright flashes but I would have hoped for something a bit more consistent. For a detective he is surprisingly lax in his adherence to procedure and secrecy. His personal life is a mess and he has a long, long road to healing his mind and soul before he can become the man he’s truly meant to be. I’m actually glad this is an ongoing series because if his complete evolution both individually and as a partner to Ten is contained in these pages, I would be sorely disappointed. There’s a long way yet to go before he can love himself and destroy the demons riding him. I also hope to see a lot less yelling and explosiveness with his temper.
Tennyson was a bit more difficult for me to like at first. He grew on me but I still have a few reservations regarding his sharing of sensitive information, eagerness to seek out and accept television appearances, and lack of upfront honesty with his gift, feelings, and expectations regarding both. I’m hoping for more of that and to see him develop more dimensions as a character as the series progresses.
As for the drama, holy bleep, there’s a lot of it. I felt like it came from so many, too many, sources. We’ve got the “relationship” drama, the villain they can’t seem to get any solid leads about, the pedophilia, sexually abused children, the homosexual acceptance issues, alcoholism, rehab, AA, the jealous/interfering/psychically dark/a-hole/cheating/self-hating ex, suicide-by-cop, police procedural issues, the victim’s parents and their drama, the psychic gift and all the explanations that are not given either in a timely manner or in a way that is helpful…it’s just a bombardment of crazy and difficult things being thrown at the reader right from the start. A bit (or a truckload) of streamlining was needed because none of those things was given enough attention to be satisfactory.
For the potential alone with both the series’ direction and the characters, I actually enjoyed reading this story. I see the issues, for they are many and glaring, but I’m persuaded to give the whole thing a chance because there are so many interesting ways this could be improved. Despite all those problems I’m still drawn in to the crazy and I want to see where this goes.
How have I missed this series and this author?
The upside is there are already lots of books to catch up with.
I love ESP in books and there is so much in here, Ten is super sensitive, I like that he doesn’t need bells and whistles to talk to the spirits he sees.Ronan has a long way to go before he truly deserves Ten( in my opinion) not entirely his fault, but still healing to do.
The secondary characters are also a mixed bag of fabulous.
Reading this first book reminded me of the very first In Death ( JD Robb)book I read, in as much as I was hooked and convinced it could run and run!
Book 2 here I come.
3.5 stars- Dead Speak and the entire Cold Case Psychic series caught my eye a few times, but when the audiobook released with a narrator I’ve listened to and enjoyed before, I decided to hesitate no longer. Overall, this was a good story with solid characters and an interesting enough case to hook me for more.
I have a soft spot for law enforcement romances and romantic suspense books and also love a good mystery or forensic crime novel. However, because I’ve read a lot within these tropes, I’m a bit picky. For me, Dead Speak fell a bit on the cutsey side of the genre. The case itself was a solid idea, but there really was no mystery as to the perpetrator, just how it all would work out. For the most part, I liked that aspect of it and there were a few surprises along the way, but the action scenes never had my pulse racing or frantically listening for the big reveal or apprehension. Instead, a lot of the police investigative work, and even some of the psychic aspects, felt a bit convenient and almost trite (e.g. repeatedly referencing TV police procedural dramas). That said, I did like Tennyson and Ronan as a couple and partnership. Their personalities conflicted just enough to promise some good banter and an interesting working relationship; and despite the insta-love romance, the pair made a cute couple. I wish we could have seen more of that emotional chemistry develop between these two in Dead Speak, but I’m hopeful that will be explored more in the subsequent books. I was also pretty confused regarding Ronan’s ex-husband. That connection and relationship really never made sense, and much like some of the psychic aspects, it was glazed over rather than explored adequately, making it hard to really accept and embrace.
In the end, I was back and forth about my feelings on Dead Speak. I liked it, but had some issues with it, and yet I’m definitely considering revisiting the series.
*Reviewed audiobook for LesCourt Author Services*
its amazing
I always enjoy a good romantic mystery involving a psychic, and this is a great one! Tennyson and his friends (who have become his family) are sweet and funny and kind. They are psychics and significant others of psychics, and they want to do all they can to help people.
Ronan is a Boston detective who is still reeling from an unexpected divorce, forced time in rehab for alcoholism, and being moved from homicide to cold cases after killing a man in self defense. Ronan is gruff and rude, but his heart is good. He may not like working cold cases, but he is determined to do his best for the victims and their families.
When these two men come together as work partners, then later as lovers, they are wonderful. Tennyson gives Ronan peaceful moments and a sense that maybe his failed relationship wasn’t all his fault. Ronan makes Ten feel like no one has before. He is attentive and loving, something Ten isn’t used to in a lover. As they work with the ghost of little Michael, who is heartbreaking, frustrating, and adorable, the men grow closer and closer to each other.
This story has moments of sadness, terror, humor, and especially love. Tennyson and Ronan both have devastation in their pasts, and each is the way to healing and happiness for the other. The friends they each have are wonderful, and I enjoyed their interactions with the heroes. Ronan’s ex-husband Josh is so horrible that the reader can’t imagine how he was ever able to even fake being good enough for our detective. It was nice to see Ronan quickly realizing that for himself.
I think this book is wonderful, and I’m thrilled that it’s the first in a planned series. I can’t wait for the next one, and I fully expect this series to become one I want to read multiple times. I am happy to recommend this book to others.