Book One in the Turning Point Series.Matthew Elliot is one of LA’s best detectives. He’s been labeled the golden boy of the Fab Four: a team of four detectives who’ve closed down drug-rings all over the city. He’s smart, tough and exceptionally good at his job. He’s also a closeted gay man.Enter Kira Takeo Franco, the new boxing coach at the gym. Matthew can’t deny his immediate attraction to the … immediate attraction to the man his fellow cops know as Frankie. But in allowing himself to fall in love with a man known to his colleagues, Matthew risks outing them both.
Matt and Kira work to keep their relationship and private lives hidden from Matt’s very public life, fearing it would be detrimental to their careers. But it’s not the other cops who Matthew should be worried about finding out his deepest, darkest secret… it’s the bad guys.
**Third Edition – has new cover and has been re-edited, though no new content has been added.
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Very one dimensional, one sided
She’s done it again, a brilliant start to a series.
Trial and tribulations of a closeted police officer, lusting over a personal trainer.
A drug dealer looking for revenge.
Sean has done a lovely job with the narration, a joy to listen to. Would highly recommend.
I freaking loved this book. It ticked all my boxes. It was the perfect balance between suspense, sweetness and steam. I loved Kira. He was just what Matt needed – understanding, strong and loyal. And Matt, well, was so used to being alone, that it took him a while to see just what he would be gaining by falling in love with Kira – family and freedom to be himself.
Oh, this book was like a breath of fresh air! So intense, so full of feelings, and the men themselves were just so adorably sweet together! Awww! I enjoyed it so much. The last part of the book kept me on the edge of my seat. Everything just exploded – danger, fear, anger – awesome! I was glued to my Kindle, people! I didn’t expect that!
I liked the dynamics between the Fab Four – Matt and his three colleagues. Their camaraderie and subsequent acceptance of Matt was a welcome change. There was not much angst here, just minor personal worries that Matt overcame rather quickly. One thing that I lamented over all through the book, was that the story was told in single POV (Matt’s), and I so wanted to know how Kira saw the world and what he thought of Matt. Oh well, one can’t have everything. Otherwise, I loved this book to bits.
Another sweet N.R. Walker couple to fall in love with!
This was a little different than all her other books I’ve read- a bit more action and suspense, due to Matt’s career as a police detective. I enjoyed that aspect of the story- kept me on the edge of my seat there towards the end!
But as always with her books, it’s the connection between her couples that is really the heart of the story. And it was no different with Matt and Kira. Add in the fact that neither one is really out of the closet when it comes to friends and co-workers, and the vulnerability she brings so beautifully to her characters realy shone through.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Angela –
To begin, I have to say that I freaking loved that BOTH men were in the closet. I’m not sure that I’ve ever read a m/m romance in which both men were in the closet; maybe a ménage romance, but I have yet to think of one in the past week as I’ve listened to Point of No Return several times. Even though Matt seems to lose sight of the fact that Kira is also in the closet – likely due to his past failed relationships where his partner was forced back into the closet with him – he is not the only one with something to lose if their relationship is discovered by their co-workers. The other part of Matt’s being in the closet that I thought was an interesting angle to the story was WHY he was in the closet. He wasn’t concerned that his partner or close colleagues were homophobic, but rather that his being gay would define him rather than his record. It certainly made me think and I could definitely see this as being a valid concern, especially in his career.
As for the story itself, Walker packs one heck of a punch in Point of No Return – actually, quite literally when it comes to Matt and Kira’s meet cute. The opening scene was quite effective in showing the reader the kind of man and detective Matt is all while providing the needed background information for the romantic suspense threads of the story, without it feeling like an info dump. Because the story is told from Matt’s point of view, we get to see just how hard his physical attraction to Kira hits him (no pun intended), but we have to wait a bit to learn that the attraction is mutual. Walker does a great job of balancing the secret romance with Matt’s demands as a detective, capturing the disappointment and frustration that comes with dating a person whose job requires them to be on-call for emergencies. While I figured out the twist relatively early, I credit that with being a reader of romantic suspense and psych student, and not a detective who’s watching his CI deteriorate to the point that his information is questionable. But even knowing the twist didn’t prepare me for the direction the story went, and I found myself caught up in all of the detectives’ distress when the bad guy made his move. I won’t go into what happened because potential readers or listeners deserve to take that rollercoaster ride with no warnings, but I absolutely loved how it played out – both professionally and personally for Matt and Kira.
Now for the narration. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying Sean Crisden’s narrative performances before, but he was perfect in Point of No Return. The voice he uses for Matt is ALL COP. By that I mean, there was no doubt in my mind that I was listening to an overworked but determined detective trying to find his way through the muddy waters of a complicated case all while walking a personal relationship tightrope. Crisden made me feel Matt’s emotions – his frustration, his confusion, his need, his anticipation, his happiness, his fear, his stark terror, his relief, his I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude, and his love. And Crisden does a great drunk Matt voice that I found myself grinning at because Detective Matthew Elliot is an amusing drunk. I got sucked down the rabbit hole with this audiobook and went back for repeated trips as I found myself queueing it up several times this past week. I thoroughly enjoyed Point of No Return and hope that book two, Breaking Point, will be available on audio soon as I want more of Matt’s story.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Point of No Return (Turning Point #1) by N.R. Walker, narrated by Sean Crisden to listen to and review.
Had to buy the rest of the series
Absolutely could not put it down!