BOOKLIFE.COM 69ROMANCE
Say Hello, Kiss
Goodbye
Jacquelyn Middleton | Kirkwall Books
453p, trade paper, TKprice, ISBN 978-1-
999-27530-3
In this smoothly written
contemporary romance,
Middleton (Until the Last Star
Fades) effortlessly touches on
mental health issues and their
effects on personal relation-
ships. Leia Scott married her
high school sweetheart and
supported his professional
hockey career for years, but the relationship went sour. At 26,
she’s a divorcee stuck in a part-time job she loves while strug-
gling to launch her sustainable fashion line. Determined to live
for herself, Leia has sworn off dating and complicated relation-
ships, but a chance meeting with handsome property devel-
oper Tarquin Balfour threatens to change her resolve. The two
enter a no-strings-attached, steamy relationship that quickly
becomes tangled.
Leia and Tarquin’s chemistry sizzles from their meet-cute
during a blackout in a London IKEA store on New Year’s Eve.
Although the plot centers on their budding romance,
Middleton smoothly blends aspects of their personal lives into
beautifully interwoven subplots set against the backdrop of
life in London and New York. The playful and racy banter
between Leia and Tarquin is delightful. The heavy internal
monologue and British slang may give some readers pause,
but others will appreciate the insight it sheds on the charac-
ters’ motivations and actions.
Middleton elegantly balances the romance and sensuality by
exploring challenges such as
post-traumatic stress, anxiety,
and depression. While readers
swoon over Tarquin’s wealth,
good looks, and love of Star
Wars, they also get to see a
strong man’s perspective on
struggling with mental
illness. Leia’s gratitude
journal entries throughout the
story add depth to her char-
acter and plot, simultaneously
highlighting an effective
coping mechanism for depres-
sion and anxiety. The heavi-
ness in certain scenes is
quickly lightened by the char-
acters’ quirks and heightened
sexual tension. This sultry yet
sweetly heartfelt romance is a
winner.MYSTERY/THRILLER
Kill Signal
Zoran Basich
161p, ebook, $2.99, ASIN B07S1HC8WB
This gritty San Francisco
police procedural follows an
engaging group of troubled
SFPD detectives who are
caught up in a longstanding
criminal conspiracy and trying
to cope with the psychological
scars it has left on them. The
tense mystery follows several
interrelated investigations as
Inspector Marko Bell, still trying
to come to terms with the murder of his wife in a mysterious
massacre, believes he may have discovered a new lead. He
looks into the suspicious death of an ex-cop who had gone on to
serve as the mayor’s personal driver—and who may have been
planning to betray his boss.
Numerous dark plotlines twist through the novel, and
although not all of them get cleanly resolved, the haunting,
nihilistic air gets under the skin. Basich’s characters find them-
selves always fighting against their fates, usually without
success: A selfish politician thwarts the attempt of an
employee to obtain a taxi medallion from a friend with terminal
cancer. Another character is stuck with memories of his
parents murdered during the Balkan conflicts. One scene
featuring the abuse of a sex worker reveals a character’s moral
rot, but is not for the squeamish. Basich also at times applies a
lighter touch, as when he describes a detective’s sweetly
tentative romance with a medical examiner.
Vivid characterizations are
the novel’s greatest strength,
as these detectives leap off the
page. As one makes awkward,
heartfelt attempt to repair his
marriage, Basich describes him
as “terrified that he would run
headlong into the reality that
he was the only one who
thought it could still be
repaired.” Bell’s troubled rela-
tionship with his partner
comes across in aching detail,
as the two men’s wounded
psyches bring them close to
destroying each other.
Intricately intertwined
subplots populated with all-
too-human lawmen as trou-
bled as the criminals they are
chasing will ensure readers
will keep turning the pages
until the surprising end.
Fans of contempo-
rary romance will
rejoice in this story
of falling in love
through and despite
mental illness.Production grades
Cover: A-
Design & typography: A-
Illustrations: –
Editing: B-
Marketing copy: B+
Production grades
Cover: A
Design & typography: A+
Illustrations: –
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: AHauntingly memo-
rable detectives
navigating through
a linked series of
crimes make this a
must-read for fans
of noir-flavored
procedurals.Great for fans of
Ed McBain, Joseph
Wambaugh.Great for fans of
Candace Bushnell,
Alexa Martin.PAID REVIEWS