Old flames can leave a nasty burn.It¿s been six months since plumber Tom Paretski was hit by a shocking revelation about his family, and he¿s been avoiding dealing with it ever since. His lover, PI Phil Morrison, wants Tom to dig deeper into his history and try to develop his psychic talent for finding things, but Tom¿s not nearly so keen. Just as he decides to bite the bullet, though, worse … bullet, though, worse problems crawl out of the woodwork.
Young Devil¿s Dyke barmaid Marianne has an ex, Grant Carey, who won¿t accept that things are over between them, and he¿s ruthless in dealing with anyone who gets in his way. When Carey threatens an old friend of theirs, Phil and Tom step in to help¿but that makes them targets themselves.
What with his uncertainty about Phil¿s motives, Tom¿s family doing their best to drive a wedge between them, and the uncovering of an ugly incident in Phil¿s past, Tom¿s not sure who he can trust¿and the body he finds in the pub cellar isn¿t the only thing that stinks.
Publisher’s note: This is lightly edited reprint of a previously published novel.
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Heat Trap has the snark and banter I loved in the first two books. It also is told from Tom’s point of view complete with his inner ramblings. However, this book is a little more and deals with the emotional fallout that resulted from what Tom learns in book 2.
Unlike the previous title in The Plumber’s Mate series, Heat Trap is not as humorous. The secrets that came out thanks to his dearly departed Auntie Lol, have serious repercussions on Tom’s life that he’s not quite wanting to deal with. Mainly, the truth about his parents, or more likely his mom’s dark secret. Oopsie!
If you were curious about the Devil’s Dyke and Harry, you’re about to get your questions answered. Barmaid Marianne’s ex shows up and it is really easy to hate the jerk. His name is Grant Carey (WTH!) and is quite the slimy guy who just won’t accept things are over between them. Don’t get in his way because this guy has real sneaky ways of getting revenge. That is until he turns up dead in the Dyke’s basement. And there is your murder/mystery in this book. Who killed the slimy guy and ummm…does anybody really care, because I sure don’t.
In the meantime, it’s time for wedding bells to be rung. No not Tom and Phil’s, more like Gary and Darren and all the wedding plans to go with it. Gary is such a diva, but you have to love him for it. The newlyweds aren’t the only ones with good news. Seems Dave’s swimmers have done their job and there’s soon to be a bouncing baby Southgate junior. WTG Dave!
Good thing someone has good things happening for them because the plumber and his mate seem to have quite a bit of friction between them. Doubts, secrets, and suspicions drive an unhealthy wedge between my two favorite guys. And then…and then… Happy birthday Tom! Phil comes through with his surprises. Those melt you heart surprises that have you sighing and give you a WHAT?! cliffy that has me tossing my Kindle. Bring on the next book because I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I received this book from The JeepDiva with the express purpose of an honest review. The opinions, contents, and rating of this review are solely mine
Stars – 4.5
I love this series, these characters, and this book. Plumber Tom Paretski and his ability to find things are back in Heat Trap, book 3 in J.L. Merrow’s The Plumber’s Mate Mysteries. Although, this time around, Tom probably wishes his gift hadn’t returned when it leads him to a not-so-fresh corpse in the cellar of his favorite pub. With boyfriend and P.I. Phil Morrison on the case, Tom tries his best to keep pub owner Harry and her newest barmaid out of the clink, but he’s got a lot to deal with without corpses. He’s still done nothing about the huge secret he found out six months prior, which is putting a real strain on his relationship with his parents, his family and friends are pressuring him to stop dating his former bully, and being attacked and possibly left for dead isn’t helping either.
I loved where Tom and Phil’s relationship is at in this book. Nothing is certain with those two, and it seems like everyone they’ve ever met wants to keep them from being together. Of course, they don’t help themselves with their lack of communication and honesty, but I like how their relationship is rocky and uncertain, and they are both at fault for that. Phil is too tight-mouthed and needs to be more forthcoming about his past, and Tom is too quick to anger and blame. In the end, differences get sorted, Phil does something absolutely lovely for Tom, and I may have had to wiped some, erm, sweat from my eyes.
The ending is one of those scenes that makes you feel all glowy and warm and itching for the fourth book, which gets published by Riptide Publishing in April. I can’t wait!
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