Elle Keaton
Audiobook: Bait and Switch, Subtle Deceptions book 2
Audiobook: Bait and Switch, Subtle Deceptions book 2
5.0 / 5.0
(4) 4 total reviews
Couldn't load pickup availability
Audiobook: Narrated by Christian Leatherman
Gabriel Karne is back.
The plan?
Lie low on Heartstone Island and wait for the dumpster fire that is his past life to burn itself out. So far, so good. Until it isn't.
Gabriel has avoided Ranger Man for days, made a few important repairs to his sailboat, and put a dent in the stack of dime-store mysteries Elton loaned him. Life is at least okay.
Eight days in and his strategy crumbles like a wet cookie.
His ex-partner-in-crime returns, but this time he is very dead. And wearing a baby blue tracksuit, which somehow makes his murder even worse.
Is his body a message from the crime family they mutually pissed off? Did Peter have connections to Heartstone? And if he didn't, how the hell did he know he'd find Gabe there?
With yet another exceedingly ill-timed murder, Gabe's luck is once again not the Good Kind. Then there's his simmering attraction to Casey, which he's actively sweeping underneath his mental throw rug. Lundin is definitely not Gabe's type. He's a walking-talking moral compass that never seems to cease pointing out everything he's sure is wrong about Gabe. But damn, that man's uniform fits him like a custom glove.
Adding to it all, snow is in the forecast, there's a missing brush worker up the valley, and Calvin Perkins is still on the loose. Gabe's not even going to think about the spiders.
Everything will be fine. FINE.
Share
This excellent follow-up to THE LAST GRIFT is another taut, well-written mystery that brings readers back to Hearthstone where Gabriel still finds himself caught up in "something" he doesn't quite understand. Disturbing and dangerous situations seem to have followed him to his new home when all he was hoping for was a fresh start. Longstanding police corruption is exposed and danger abounds for both Gabe and his intriguing neighbor, Casey. Elle Keaton excels at creating complicated, mostly flawed characters - good and evil - who come alive on the page. And yes! Readers do get to see the unfolding of Gabriel's relationship with Casey. The author does a superb job of bringing readers along on this mystery filled with palpable danger and all the feels. Book 2 was well worth the wait! I loved it and highly recommend.
WHAT I LOVED: Wonderful Characters-Action Packed-Scary-Entertaining-Funny-Witty-Unpreadicable-Romantic-Steamy
I can just hear, “It’s not my fault!” Famously said by Han Solo. The main characters are utterly interesting, believable, and worth getting to know. I found myself rooting for Gabe. With Ranger man and the grifter circling around each other, I kept hoping they’d figure it out. But my absolute favorite thing is that the supporting characters are so dynamic and weave the story into an intricate blanket that I just want to cuddle up in. The audio book is exceptionally read.
Things between them have started to heat up and it now seems they might be looking to settle down. But around them… well, the phrase “all hell breaking lose” might have been mentioned once or twice or a lot of times in this second installment. Gabe and Casey cannot seem to catch a breath and they are starting to turn TO – instead of AGAINST – each other as they realize that them not standing one another is not exactly the case…
I love the setting, Elle Keaton’s brand of romantic suspense and the snark.
Christian Leatherman was a new to me narrator, I’ve only listened to the first two books in this series, but I enjoyed his performance a lot.
Bait and Switch does not disappoint! The bodies do pile up as danger seems to come from all sides. Our hero’s come to rely on each other slowly, but feeling can not be ignored.