Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

 

Breakdown is the third book in the Hot Wire series and is the conclusion of the trilogy. It is not meant to be read as a standalone and this review will naturally reveal spoilers for the series.

Peter Bauer has tried to put his past behind him—really he has. He’s in a committed relationship with Nik and they own a legitimate garage and are trying to build a life together. But Peter’s past isn’t finished with him. One more job. That’s what Peter’s sister, Olivia, asks of him. Olivia took over as head of the family in LA’s crime scene, after finally taking their father down and sending him to prison, and the heat is on. Their enemies are getting closer and closer and Peter feels he owes Olivia.

The last thing Peter wants to do is this job. He wants his life with Nik and every time he thinks he can have it, it gets further out of reach. And, when a ghost from the past enters their lives, Peter has to readjust his alliances once again. This will be a job like no other and if Peter can’t pull it off, his life with Nik will be gone for good.

Breakdown is the third book in the Hot Wire series and picks up six months after the previous book, Backstreets. It has been 2 ½ years since that second book was released and some of the details on this series weren’t as clear in my mind, but I was quickly back in this world after only a few pages.

Peter and Nik went legitimate, and they are trying hard to make their new life work. Peter still thinks everything is going to fall apart and with Nik testifying against dangerous criminals and the family business still all around him, he has good reason to think this. Olivia is now head of the family and their father is in prison, but so much damage was done to Peter and he has no idea how to say no to Olivia, even though he has a bad feeling about this job.

Peter is a product of his crime boss father and his drug addicted mother and was made to do terrible things his entire life. He wants his life with Nik, but he has no resources or role models to draw on to achieve this. He’s trying with Nik’s young daughter, but he feels he’s failing there as well and Peter has a lot of inner demons to battle. I liked getting the resolution to Peter and Nik’s story and it was clear it wasn’t going to be easy for them. There are several moving parts to this storyline, all dealing with Peter and Nik’s pasts. There is action and violence here and the story moves along quickly, but not all of the storylines had the resolution I was looking for. There was a lot of lead up to the final job, but the aftermath of some areas left me with questions that weren’t fully answered. Peter and Nik are solid by the end and it was great to see Peter get the life and love he never even dreamed was possible.

Now that the series is complete, this would be the time to meet Peter and Nik as they break free of their past life and build a new life together.