Rating: 4 stars
Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

One night, Andrew Shay returns home from work to find his roommate slaughtered and the killer still in the apartment. Andrew manages to flee, but he knows his life is in danger and the police don’t seem all that concerned about protecting him. When Andrew learns that there have been similar murders of other young men, he tracks down the detective who was on the case, Ray Clancy.

After being set up on bribery charges, Ray was kicked off the force, but he hasn’t lost his love for detective work. He now is barely making ends meet as a private investigator, and when Andy contacts him, Ray can’t resist getting involved. Ray knows that this isn’t an isolated incident; the police are denying the fact that a serial killer is on the loose and they are keeping the crimes out of the media, but there is no doubt what is going on.

Andy is terrified and Ray can’t help but want to protect and take care of him; the fact that he finds Andy attractive (and Andy returns his interest) just makes the connection all the stronger. With Andy in danger and a killer still on the loose, Ray is determined to dig back into the investigation, even if he has to do it off the books and with the help of some shady old friends. Along the way, Ray and Andy are finding themselves falling for one another, and hoping there is a chance for them after the case is over. Now they just have to hope they figure out the killer before they end up victims themselves.

The Hunt is an entertaining mystery/suspense story that grabbed me right away. We are thrown into the action from the start and can really feel Andy’s fear as barely escapes the murderer and knows he is likely in the killer’s sights. The mystery unfolds nicely and I liked the way we see Ray work his back channels since he is not officially on the case. Ray has a checkered past and it was kind of fun to see him team up with the bad guys for the greater good. The story is interesting and well developed, and while it lost a bit of steam for me at the end, overall I found it a great thriller and entertaining mystery.

Andy and Ray make a nice couple and I liked their dynamic. While this is clearly Ray’s world and he is not only older, but more experienced, I like that Andy can mostly hold his own. He joins in with Ray, helping to investigate and being a part of the case. These guys are both lonely, both feeling a little out of place, and so it’s nice to see how they fit together. The romantic development takes somewhat of a backseat to the mystery side, but I did feel like we get enough to believe in their happy ending.

So overall I found this to be a really entertaining mystery and it kept me engaged from the start. If you are looking for a nice suspense/thriller, be sure to check out The Hunt.