Victor Bayne has survived demons, ghosts and repeaters. But can he survive a murder house?Few people would willingly spend the night in a murder house, but Victor Bayne is up for the challenge. He’ll do whatever it takes to get a look at his permanent record, including going undercover in a townhouse where a recent death took place. Why not? There was no foul play involved, and as a psychic … involved, and as a psychic medium, he’d know if a ghost was creeping up on him. The whole “murder house” claim is just a product of a kid’s overactive imagination, and he’s confident he has the situation under control.
Until he gets a load of the smell.
Turns out, undercover work is a lot tougher than it looks. Vic misses Jacob something fierce. The subject of his assignment is a real piece of work. His partner has definitely got something to hide…and then the investigation takes a truly bizarre turn.
What happens if the murder house reveals itself to be more than just a schoolyard rumor?
PsyCop is an ongoing series filled with supernatural action and delightfully awkward humor—with a steady undercurrent of gay romance. It’s best read in order, so if you’re new to the series, start with PsyCop #1, Among the Living…and prepare for a hauntingly good read.
more
So, when I first began reading Mme. Jordan, who was introduced to me by bestie, I didn’t even dream of having a blog or being a reviewer so I didn’t get to review her work but I’m finally going through the last set of tales bestie sent me a while back and finally, I can gush about one of my fav book boyfriend couples. I love them both so I’m keeping them, even though one pushes me to the brink of violence more than the other. Please bear with me as the gushing ensues. This is part 10 so a lot has happened to my darlings. They met, started dating, fought spirits and Vic’s issues to stay together, and even moved in together. They’ve both left the police force and gone with the FPMP. They’ve been through each other’s hell and back literally and the fact that they’re still standing is nothing short of a miracle born of sheer willpower, usually from Jacob’s side. If you haven’t been reading the others so far, darling, get cracking! On to the review. Vic is starting a new assignment and is about to be fast-tracked through training for it. Of course, Jacob and I don’t like it but Vic needs to do this if he’s going to figure out his past, a subject that led them through Camp Hell and Ghost TV (don’t know these tales? Ha! Read it!) As usual, Vic is going into the situation under-informed because he thought training meant non-active duty so he could get on with other things. But here’s a crash course on Vic – A. He’s always underprepared for everything he does, including falling in love with Jacob. B. He overthinks everything which makes him my twin and makes me so protective of him. C. He’s a fucking powerful psychic who will come out tops in any battle with any spirit or spiritual forces. D. He’ll be a mess when he’s done and need Jacob to put him back together again. A part Jacob now has a Ph.D. in, so don’t underestimate either of my boyfriends. Otherwise, we will have a duel at dawn, crossing swords the old fashioned way. But please, can I smack Vic hard with feeling? His blatant disregard for preparation will give me a heart attack. It also hurt to see an older character become such a different version of himself that he was unrecognizable but when his truth came out, I understood and pitied him so much I ached for him. Now, even though I know Vic loves Jacob like crazy, it’s often Jacob who’s slobbering all over him. But this tale gave me a chance to really see how much Vic relies on, needs, and loves Jacob. It was like his love for Jacob was shown in stark relief with nothing to blur it out. There were just so many ‘he needs a Jacob dose’ moments that I became impatient for his assignment to end already. Just one night and I was ready for us to go home to Jacob. Oh lawdess, we’re both so screwed. It’s always hard for me to read about characters with eating disorders. Having particularly iffy appetite myself which I wish was more stable, I always wonder how much a person needs to dislike what food does to them to have an eating disorder. And Bly definitely has a major one. He’s known from older tales in this series but I think he was happier then than now. I’m giving Teri some serious side-eye at this point even though Hale is the one in the crosshairs and lawdess save me, but I couldn’t handle a neighbor like Teri. Just mind your business and keep your business to yourself. Finally, we just might get a dose of Jacob and all I could do was scream ”Jacooooob” in my head and now I need a hug because Vic just mentioned the things that make me long for a real, long-term relationship. Knowing that you move well together, the familiarity of smell and taste, settling into bed, you know. The mundane things. This Teri woman is an apt example of the reason I’m working towards building my house in the middle of nowhere. I simply can’t stand neighbors like her. She’s so pesky that I’m beginning to really suspect her. I mean she’s so open and unguarded she’s got to be evil, right? If Vic doesn’t stop longing for Jacob or finish his job soon, I’m going to take over and show him how it’s done because we need to go home to Jacob. The target is proving more elusive than the Loch Ness monster and it’s getting irritating. Yes, Vic always does this to me. Makes me irritated and strangely itchy as I watch his notorious fumbling. For someone who likes things clear-cut, Vic is an almost masochistic pleasure. Now, I’m convinced that the target is playing a game of cat and mouse with Vic that could end up troublesome because it wouldn’t be Vic if he hasn’t stumbled across something that would make us more paranoid than we already are. Mme. Jordan must have been cackling to herself as she teases us with Jacob again and again until even I am too sick with longing to drop the tale, and I’m just existing till we get home to the cannery. But finally, we catch a break even though it was horrific, closer than expected and so JCP spooky that I couldn’t help smiling as I read it. Then, I suddenly got so irritated because I couldn’t wait one more moment, knowing that Jacob was ever closer. Finally, Vic is back where he belongs and I can finally rest knowing my boys are perfectly fine. And if Vic’s realization was the gift Mme. Jordan gave us, then we accept most graciously.
Verdict? A keeper to remind us that home is more than brick and even the people but most importantly, it is where the heart chooses.
Despite this particular book being a little different from all the previous novels in the series, I enjoyed it nonetheless. In his bid to know more about his past Vic decides to take the plunge and become a field agent. But with higher clearance come the things he didn’t anticipate – long hours, uncertainty and employing acting skills he didn’t know he possessed. In this story Victor starts to truly appreciate his life with Jacob and all the little things he took for granted.
I was always curious about agent Bly, and here we finally get his story. It’s unexpected but very plausible considering his abilities. I really liked him as a person and was glad that he and Vic got close enough to consider each other friends. The undercover gig they were on was not suspenseful but more mysterious and unorthodox. The story centered on Vic finally figuring himself out as undercover agent and how to mesh that part of his professional life with his life with Jacob and knowing that he might actually be cut out for it after all.
I enjoyed Vic’s special brand of humor, his inadvertent ability to help people and, of course, all the psychic moments the story had. The reunion between Jacob and Vic was as sweet and passionate as I imagined it would be. Another wonderful chapter in the life of medium extraordinaire Victor Bayne!
Victor Bayne is back! And an undercover agent? Oh yeah. Bayne and all his snarky, ghost catching, psychic, glory-is going undercover as a hipster writer of esoteric articles. Jordan Castillo Price has put this Victor through it all. But his past is such a mystery to him that he is volunteers for field duty to see if that can get him access to his own redacted service record files. This story has so many soon-to-be-classic Victor moments and quips to add to his already amazing repertoire. My favorite part of this book is that I got to see a romantic side of Victor that I suspected was there but never had proof that it existed. Who knew it would take an octogenarian with delusions of grandeur, a dead animal trainer, and pretending to be married to a fellow agent to see that side makes its presence known? This is the tenth book in the Psy-Cop series. I usually lose interest in long series like this. Instead, I am hoping that Price continues to be inspired by Victor Bayne for a long time to come.