It’s day one of Darren Corliss’s career as a detective, and not only has he been assigned a notoriously difficult partner, but the guy might also be a pill-popping dirty cop. Internal Affairs needs proof, and Darren gets to be their eyes and ears whether he wants to or not.Detective Andreas Ruffner doesn’t play by the rules, and he doesn’t play well with others. With bodies piling up and a list … and a list of suspects who are way above his pay grade, the last thing he needs is a wet-behind-the-ears kid for a partner. Or babysitter. Not even if that partner is easy on the eyes.
As Darren gains Andreas’s hard-won trust, they both realize there’s more than just mutual suspicion simmering beneath the surface. But their investigation is heating up as quickly as their relationship, and Darren has no choice but to go along with Andreas’s unorthodox–and borderline unethical–methods. As IA puts the squeeze on Darren to give up the man he’s falling for, he has to wonder–is Andreas the only cop left in this town who isn’t dirty?
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**********Contains Spoilers**********
I really enjoyed this book. Man, Andreas was hard to get close to and Darren had to put up with a lot of sh*t to start with, since Andreas didn’t trust him, as he didn’t know who he could trust, since he was investigating a dr*g ring that the king pin was suspected to be the Mayor, some other government officials, and maybe multiple cops. Darren didn’t take his sh*t and just told him how it was going to go. I liked that you could feel Andreas and Darren’s connection slowly grow throughout the story, while it not just being about them which is cool. I liked that each of them slowly opened up to each other as they grew to trust each other. Andreas told Darren all about being HIV positive, well Darren found out when Andreas was injured but Andreas still told him how he found out he and his ex-girlfriend both have it, and Darren told Andreas about about his brother Asher having early onset dementia, well after Andreas heard his conversation with his mum when Asher went missing. I liked that Darren pretty much had Andreas back from day one, even though he didn’t have all the information. I’m looking forward to reading the next book and to see how their relationship slowly grows each in each book, as both work partners and lovers. I’d recommend this book, series and authors to everyone.
Absolutely wonderful book that ticked all my boxes. I love a story about bringing dirty cops to justice and romance blooming between partners at work, and with offbeat characters and many plot twists, and I was sold.
Andreas Ruffner is a vice detective who has a reputation for being difficult. He does not play well with others, and he knows it. He learned early on that you can’t play by the rules if you want to survive and do your job well. That does not help earn him friends but enemies, that he has plenty. Nasty rumors spread around the precinct and IA is on his tail but he can’t quit now when he is so close to putting away criminals for good. When a new partner is assigned to him AGAIN, he thinks he will run him off as easily as he did the others. What he does not expect is for this new minted detective to be smart, loyal, understanding and very good-looking. He knows that anything between them is impossible, so why is he imagining him naked?
Darren Corliss is a rookie detective. No matter what others say about him and how he got here, he deserves respect for all his hard work. But the glamour of being a detective is dashed quickly when the first order of the day is to lie and report against his own partner to the IA office. Darren is ready to prove himself, and work with Ruffner no matter how rude he is, but what he gets is a lesson in real detective work and a partner that is more than what meets the eye. Apart from trying to keep Andreas from suspension Darren also sees that despite his gruff demeanor Andreas is a reliable and caring person with slightly skewed work ethics that gets stuff done.
I loved how they interacted. The banter between them was well-written and had sarcasm, humor, tenderness, heat and everything in between. I genuinely liked both of them. Darren was like a breath of fresh air, and Andreas tugged at my heart strings. I loved the case, all the hoops they had to jump through and sometimes avoid, the evidence how spiteful cops could be to each other – it was absolutely fantastic, and I enjoyed it immensely! The characters both side and main were imperfect and came to life on the pages. I highly recommend it! Awesome book!
Risky Behavior is well written, with 2 realistic, likable leads. It’s got some action, a little intrigue, and a little steam. I could see it made into a movie with Tom Hardy as Detective Andreas Ruffner and Ryan Gosling as Detective Darren Corliss. Andreas has been assigned a young babysitter to be his new partner. Andreas is anything but pleased, he doesn’t want yet another partner to come in and try to report back about his actions. Darren is everything Andreas is not: young(er), charismatic, enthusiastic and with beautiful puppy dog eyes that Andreas can’t seem to resist.
Andreas is a difficult man to work with, as Darren soon finds out. He’s gruff, cynical, untrusting, and just may be a dirty cop. It’s Darren’s job to find out if he is indeed a dirty cop, and to report his findings to Thibedeau, an IA officer. Andreas came into their partnership fully expecting yet another partner to bail on him within a few days or weeks, as his previous partners had done. But, Darren surprises him, in more ways than one. Soon, they’re working on their case together, one that wreaks of corruption within the city government and the police force. Along the way, Darren becomes more than just his professional partner, they fall into bed together where Darren is surprisingly aggressive and lights Andreas on fire.
But, can Andreas trust Darren with his big, highly personal secret? Can he trust him to truly have his back, to not turn on him and report him to IA? Can he trust him in bed and in their working life?
I really ended up liking Risky Behavior. It’s fast paced for the most part, with two great leads, and a cast of great supporting characters, from their Captain Hamilton, to Darren’s parents and brother, Paula (a fellow cop), and even Andreas’ daughter. It’s not super steamy, as I had been expecting, but the action and interesting case make up for the lack of lots of steam. It’s not particularly romantic, but then I wasn’t expecting it to be. There aren’t any grand romantic gestures or displays of deep feelings, but the feelings are there, roiling around under the surface. I’m really looking forward to more from this world, hopefully more featuring Andreas and Darren.