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bookish_notes's review
4.0
This book freaked me out. I don't really do stories involving ghosts, or the supernatural in general, but the PsyCop series is so good, and I just find myself reading the books anyways. I like a good mystery, and I love Vic's voice as he tells the story. Vic is adorable and I love him a lot. Vic is very entertaining, and I never feel like I'm missing out on not having POV chapters from other characters. The story starts off with Vic and Maurice, his now retired non-psychic partner, on a fishing trip. Vic, as we recall, is a psychic who can see and speak with dead people. And a little ways into the trip, with both Vic and Maurice out on a boat in the water, Vic sees the images of dead people rising to the surface, clamoring to speak with him. As one might expect, Vic gets properly freaked out by this incident.
Pretty soon, it seems like the drugs that Vic takes, which he takes in doses above the suggested amount and one that he gets my less than legal means, isn't entirely working to block out the dead. They come to him in numbers greater than before and instead of passively yelling at him about their grievances, they take almost a zombie-like approach with their arms outstretched, reaching for Vic wherever he is.
No place seems safe anymore to block out the dead and Vic has to deal with having a new partner. His last partner in the first book, Lisa, had lied to work on a PsyCop team where one partner is a psychic, and one is not (otherwise called a Stiff). Lisa herself is a psychic and has been sent away for proper training that she skipped out on before, and isn't really in the picture to help Vic with her si-no psychic questioning skills. Vic has landed a new partner, Roger, and he seems eager on the job and seems nice enough.
Jacob and Vic are living together at the moment in Vic's apartment while Jacob hunts for a new place to live. After the events in the last book, Jacob isn't at all comfortable in his own home, and we get to see Jacob and Vic being all loving and in a relationship, even though Vic isn't technically "out". I like Jacob just fine. He seems perfect for Vic and seems to take all the psychic stuff in stride, even though he has no abilities to speak of.
We do meet another interesting new character besides Roger and Vic's new doctor. We meet a character named Crash, who is a bit much personality-wise, but I wouldn't mind reading about him so more in future books.
There are some hot scenes between Jacob and Vic. But what I really loved is the mystery-aspect of this story. The mystery unravels pretty nicely and I loved when everything got revealed. It's just one of those moments where I feel like I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. And that's what made this story fun and kept me on the edge of my seat. The one thing that may or may not be a plot hole is the cold case that Vic and Roger take on? It's never addressed either way that helped solve it or not, but the storyline just kind of vanishes as Vic's personally issues with the dead take over. That's probably my one hang-up about this story, but otherwise, the characters and story were wonderful and I can't wait to read the next book!
I looked down at the hook. Maurice had squished a worm onto it. A worm spirit didn't appear and immediately start telling me about the moment of its death, so I presumed I was safe from the spirits of bugs.
Pretty soon, it seems like the drugs that Vic takes, which he takes in doses above the suggested amount and one that he gets my less than legal means, isn't entirely working to block out the dead. They come to him in numbers greater than before and instead of passively yelling at him about their grievances, they take almost a zombie-like approach with their arms outstretched, reaching for Vic wherever he is.
No place seems safe anymore to block out the dead and Vic has to deal with having a new partner. His last partner in the first book, Lisa, had lied to work on a PsyCop team where one partner is a psychic, and one is not (otherwise called a Stiff). Lisa herself is a psychic and has been sent away for proper training that she skipped out on before, and isn't really in the picture to help Vic with her si-no psychic questioning skills. Vic has landed a new partner, Roger, and he seems eager on the job and seems nice enough.
Jacob and Vic are living together at the moment in Vic's apartment while Jacob hunts for a new place to live. After the events in the last book, Jacob isn't at all comfortable in his own home, and we get to see Jacob and Vic being all loving and in a relationship, even though Vic isn't technically "out". I like Jacob just fine. He seems perfect for Vic and seems to take all the psychic stuff in stride, even though he has no abilities to speak of.
Good thing anything paranormal, ugly or not, made Jacob horny. But still, there had to be a limit somewhere, and I wasn't eager to find it.
We do meet another interesting new character besides Roger and Vic's new doctor. We meet a character named Crash, who is a bit much personality-wise, but I wouldn't mind reading about him so more in future books.
There are some hot scenes between Jacob and Vic. But what I really loved is the mystery-aspect of this story. The mystery unravels pretty nicely and I loved when everything got revealed. It's just one of those moments where I feel like I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. And that's what made this story fun and kept me on the edge of my seat. The one thing that may or may not be a plot hole is the cold case that Vic and Roger take on? It's never addressed either way that helped solve it or not, but the storyline just kind of vanishes as Vic's personally issues with the dead take over. That's probably my one hang-up about this story, but otherwise, the characters and story were wonderful and I can't wait to read the next book!
beecycling's review
5.0
The second audiobook of the series, and I liked it even more than the first. The narrator has made a bit of a change to the way he does Jacob's voice that I prefer. I'll definitely listen to this one many times. I like Criss Cross a lot anyway, as poor Vic is suffering even more than usual and I'm a sadist.
I listened over a few days, but at just over 4 hours long it's ideal for an evening or a lazy Sunday morning listen.
I listened over a few days, but at just over 4 hours long it's ideal for an evening or a lazy Sunday morning listen.
jamiesbookaddiction's review
2.0
I'm not sure how I feel yet about this series. Here's the thing, in the last book I really liked Victor and Jacob. I like that Victor can see/talk to dead people. It's an interesting concept.
What I'm not liking is how Victor is coming across to me. Is he supposed to be trying to actually solve crimes? Does he like being in law enforcement? Was he forced into this and he's doing it against his will? I'm saying this because the last two books have talked about all the medication he's taking and abusing so that he DOESN'T see/talk to dead people. This book dragged on until about 80% of the way in and then it finally picks up and he talks to one finally.
I just don't get it. Or I'm not anyway. I will say that if he's like this throughout the series, I'm going to have to walk because I don't think I have it in me no matter how much I do like these two together.
What I'm not liking is how Victor is coming across to me. Is he supposed to be trying to actually solve crimes? Does he like being in law enforcement? Was he forced into this and he's doing it against his will? I'm saying this because the last two books have talked about all the medication he's taking and abusing so that he DOESN'T see/talk to dead people. This book dragged on until about 80% of the way in and then it finally picks up and he talks to one finally.
I just don't get it. Or I'm not anyway. I will say that if he's like this throughout the series, I'm going to have to walk because I don't think I have it in me no matter how much I do like these two together.
oliviak_31's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
myzanm's review
3.0
A good book, but it didn’t draw me in like the first book. It might just be that I set my expectations too high. I really like troubled characters and this book have that. I just didn’t connect like I expected.
lizzy_22's review
3.0
These PsyCop novels are relatively short but pack a big punch in terms of impact and payoff. Victor continues to be a bit naive and unassuming in a totally endearing manner and Jacob is his steady and loyal partner as the events in Criss Cross reach a crazy cross-country climax. Love the humor, suspense and romance in these. Criss Cross may be short but it's really well plotted and satisfying.
sarful's review
4.0
This is a fun series with a self-conscious and hugely entertaining main character. Man, seeing dead people sucks more than I'd imagined. Vic's humor is great, as is his point of view. This is a macabre story, but then again dark comedy usually is.
The bad guy was obvious but why they were bad, not so obvious. I love Maurice, Lisa, the introduction of Crash was great and Jacob, sigh, he's wonderful. That scene in the shower, dayum. I'm looking forward to the growth of Vic and Jacob's relationship.
The bad guy was obvious but why they were bad, not so obvious. I love Maurice, Lisa, the introduction of Crash was great and Jacob, sigh, he's wonderful. That scene in the shower, dayum. I'm looking forward to the growth of Vic and Jacob's relationship.
hpstrangelove's review
4.0
(Audiobook review) I liked this book a little better than the first. There seemed to be a bit more substance, and the narrator's voicing of Lisa wasn't quite as irritating, probably because I knew what to expect. I liked Maurice coming back into the story - he seems like an interesting character that I'd love to read more of. The sex scenes were nice, but they slowed the plot down at the beginning. I kept wanting them to hurry up and get finished so I could find out what happened next in the story. That said, I have to admit that the last sex scene was five-stars!
Overall the story was good, but it was the little details that got to me. I simply can't imagine fishing the Calumet River! It'd be like fishing in your toilet - your un-flushed toilet. When Maurice tells Victor to 'smell that fine air' and Victor says all he could smell was 'algae and exhaust fumes', I wanted to tell Victor, 'those aren't exhaust fumes you're smelling, at least not from vehicles'!
But the one detail that bothered me the most were the references to basketball. Even if Victor isn't a Bulls fan, living in Chicago I'd expect him to know that pre-season games start at the beginning of October, and the regular season starts at the end of October. It makes no sense for him to be questioning the location of the basketball game being broadcasted on ESPN, or later, when he finds the DVD player and says 'I figured that probably explained the off-season basketball game.' Off-season? I know it's a tiny thing, but it's things like this that throw me out of a story, and that's never good.
Overall the story was good, but it was the little details that got to me. I simply can't imagine fishing the Calumet River! It'd be like fishing in your toilet - your un-flushed toilet. When Maurice tells Victor to 'smell that fine air' and Victor says all he could smell was 'algae and exhaust fumes', I wanted to tell Victor, 'those aren't exhaust fumes you're smelling, at least not from vehicles'!
But the one detail that bothered me the most were the references to basketball. Even if Victor isn't a Bulls fan, living in Chicago I'd expect him to know that pre-season games start at the beginning of October, and the regular season starts at the end of October. It makes no sense for him to be questioning the location of the basketball game being broadcasted on ESPN, or later, when he finds the DVD player and says 'I figured that probably explained the off-season basketball game.' Off-season? I know it's a tiny thing, but it's things like this that throw me out of a story, and that's never good.
bingo0p's review
2.0
Dnf @ 56%
I saw someone say that he apparently fantasized about having sex with his boyfriends ex, and also fantasized about having a threesom and I don’t want to read this anymore
I saw someone say that he apparently fantasized about having sex with his boyfriends ex, and also fantasized about having a threesom and I don’t want to read this anymore