Rating: 4.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Lead singer for Patchwork Heaven, Coby Kennedy is being stalked, has anxiety, and yet manages to do his part to keep the band at the top of their game. During the final concert of the tour, both Coby and his twin brother, Bruce, are gunned down while on stage. Coby and Bruce share a strong and unusual connection, feeling emotions.
There is obvious sexual tension between Coby and head of security, Gregor. Following the shooting, Coby and Gregor give in to their attraction and their first intimate encounter is all about Coby’s needs. Coby has anxiety and phobias that Gregor can help to address. However, country fans are not known to be the most tolerant and as news that Gregor and Coby are involved, band manager Carl is less than thrilled with the matchmaking. Finding out that there was a pool among the crew as to when Gregor would seduce Coby may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
The stalker’s escalation from notes to violence is terrifying but may be the break the police need, although it appears that Gregor is the lead suspect, even though Coby knows it isn’t true. The threats escalate, right to the band’s doorstep, Gregor is still a suspect, stage hand Kip is missing, and the tension keeps building.
The pace of this story was good and considering everything going on, was not too fast. When I say everything going on, I mean it, and if you don’t believe me, take a second look at the tags. This is a very different type of book than the last Samms novel I read and I found it to be really well written with the superstar stalker scenario perfectly developed. Since we joined the story after the stalking and threats happened, we were saved the bulk of the slow buildup.
I found that the characters, both main and secondary, were solid and believable. I liked that where necessary, we were provided with back stories that further supported the story and added a significant amount of depth to the individuals. The twin dynamic was quite interesting, especially Coby who could see colors, not quite auras, but that mirrored his or others moods. That Coby and “older” brother Bruce could feel each other’s emotions and hold the most unusual conversations cemented their incredibly close relationship in my mind. Add Gregor to the mix, having had a twin sister and having also shared a similar rapport with her up until her death, and the result is a lone twin who can understand Coby and Bruce’s closeness.
I would be remiss if I did not address the many important secondary characters, like bandmates Lewis and Jake, Kip, and Bruce’s former dealer and former band mate Phil. All of them were solid and supported the main characters without being overpowering.
Sometimes the “twinspeak” was cute and effective, and at other times it affected the flow to the point that I re-read one particular section four times and didn’t get it. I did a bit of unofficial research and asked a co-worker who is a twin if he ever experienced the strong, almost psychic connection to his twin brother and he said no, but did add that he has spoken to other twins who claim to substantiate this phenomenon.
Even though I am not a big fan of mysteries, Patchwork Heaven had me hooked and guessing right up until the stalker was finally revealed, in all his twisted glory.
The title: Perfect. The cover: Perfect, sensual and sweet. The story: ery satisfying, another solid winner by Samms.
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.
