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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I was drawn in by the restrained romantic tension and the glimpses of Britain's homophobic culture/history (through the eyes of one adorable plumber) cunningly camouflaged by a compelling murder mystery.
I really enjoyed reading Pressure Head. The romance is muted here but if one reads between the lines, there's a slow-burning passion that is just waiting for an opportunity to flame out of control.
I really enjoyed reading Pressure Head. The romance is muted here but if one reads between the lines, there's a slow-burning passion that is just waiting for an opportunity to flame out of control.
It's an interesting concept, this divining plumber. The relationship between Tom and Phil begins to develop as they work thru their shared childhood traumas and move on to something that may be a more balanced adult relationship.
I enjoyed the mystery plot too, but didn't really appreciate that Phil uses some of his same bully tactics to get Tom to do what he wants him to do, use his special skills to help him solve a murder. It appears Tom is not truly opposed to helping, and I can see where he will continue to sleuth along with his new PI boyfriend. Should be an interesting series.
I enjoyed the mystery plot too, but didn't really appreciate that Phil uses some of his same bully tactics to get Tom to do what he wants him to do, use his special skills to help him solve a murder. It appears Tom is not truly opposed to helping, and I can see where he will continue to sleuth along with his new PI boyfriend. Should be an interesting series.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A bit of mystery, a touch of humor, some drips of romance, a dash of action, and a sprinkling of angst. Just a really enjoyable read.
I was in the mood for a light mystery, and I did enjoy this. It suffers from its lack of subtlety when it comes to the characters' feelings, though. It's a nice read, and I did pick up the second book but I'm halfway through that and still not convinced.
4 solid stars! New-to-me author and I'm thrilled about all of it.
Ohh, a new crime-solving couple to love! The back and forth tension and banter reminded me a bit of Hazard and Somers (plus a high school ex-bully situation.)
Single POV worked perfectly with the story, I absolutely loved only having Tom's side of UST and watching it play out. The twists and turns of the murder mystery were surprisingly engaging! Often the balance in romantic suspense is lopsided, but in this case it was superb!
Excited to have a new investigator series to dive into!
For those that don't like past bully books, this is not a bully book, small references to HS and the MC was not a colossal bully.
Ohh, a new crime-solving couple to love! The back and forth tension and banter reminded me a bit of Hazard and Somers (plus a high school ex-bully situation.)
Single POV worked perfectly with the story, I absolutely loved only having Tom's side of UST and watching it play out. The twists and turns of the murder mystery were surprisingly engaging! Often the balance in romantic suspense is lopsided, but in this case it was superb!
Excited to have a new investigator series to dive into!
For those that don't like past bully books, this is not a bully book, small references to HS and the MC was not a colossal bully.
funny
This was a bit of a strange one for me as I think I preferred the mystery to the romance here. I never quite felt the connection between Tom and Phil. There’s a lot of awkward uncomfortable history between these two and it seemed to cause tension, tension and more tension until suddenly it was apparently gone and they were in bed together. The mystery though was well put together and knowing this is the first book in a new series gives me a little more patience for the development of this relationship.
Tom Paretski was a talent for finding things. Anything hidden calls out to him and the talent seems to apply to dowsing for water as well. It certainly helps him in his profession as a plumber. But, the police seem to find some use for his talents as well when someone has gone missing. It isn’t always comfortable, but it’s helped him to find missing people in the past. This time around when the his friend Dave called on the behalf of the police department for his help, Tom never expected to do more than find the missing woman, dead or alive. Getting embroiled in the investigation because one of his tormentors from high school is the PI involved in the case is the last thing he thought would happen.
Phil Morrison may have tormented Tom as a kid, the worst of which resulted in the accident that has left Tom with permanent problems with his hip, but it was all in denial of his own feelings. Tom may have been openly gay, but Phil never wanted to admit those feelings to himself. Now he’s come to grips with his sexual orientation and has moved out of police work and into working as a PI. When his old friend Graham is accused of his fiancé’s murder Phil is brought on to help find the real culprit. Skeptical of Tom’s supposed “talents” he still is willing to use whatever skills he can get his hands on to solve this case.
The relationship here was on an extremely slow build and never seemed to have much true emotion behind it for me. As I mentioned earlier the murder mystery seemed to be given more weight by far. Most of the story here is a lot of talking between the investigating characters themselves and then with interviewing suspects. Ultimately not a lot happens until the very end where of course the investigation comes to a head.
As far as the characters go I really did enjoy Tom. He has a great fun narrative voice. I liked how he fit into the village and his relationships with his friends were entertaining. I felt like I understood his past and how it affected him in the present. This was not the case with Phil. I still don’t know that I understand what all happened in his past. We get hints of things that happened in his past that brought him to this point, but I never felt like I got a clear understanding of any of it. I didn’t dislike Phil, but I didn’t really connect to him either. I wanted to know more about him and his history. I think part of why the chemistry between Tom and Phil suffered for most of the book was because Phil was so closed off and wouldn’t open up about most anything. I think the best moment in the book was when Tom’s “spidey senses” started tingling and making him nauseous at Phil’s place. That reveal could have built to so much more between the two of them in that moment. I was looking for it to break down some of Phil’s walls and it didn’t happen in that moment. It still felt like Phil didn’t want Tom around, not that he was just scared of what things could mean between them.
I liked enough things about this book that I’d be curious to see where things go now that the two men have crossed that demarcation between strangers/friends/lovers. I enjoyed the distinctly British terminology. It really made the location clear and helped distinguish the personalities here. I’d ultimately list this as more of a mystery than a romance, and for that it’s not bad at all.
Tom Paretski was a talent for finding things. Anything hidden calls out to him and the talent seems to apply to dowsing for water as well. It certainly helps him in his profession as a plumber. But, the police seem to find some use for his talents as well when someone has gone missing. It isn’t always comfortable, but it’s helped him to find missing people in the past. This time around when the his friend Dave called on the behalf of the police department for his help, Tom never expected to do more than find the missing woman, dead or alive. Getting embroiled in the investigation because one of his tormentors from high school is the PI involved in the case is the last thing he thought would happen.
Phil Morrison may have tormented Tom as a kid, the worst of which resulted in the accident that has left Tom with permanent problems with his hip, but it was all in denial of his own feelings. Tom may have been openly gay, but Phil never wanted to admit those feelings to himself. Now he’s come to grips with his sexual orientation and has moved out of police work and into working as a PI. When his old friend Graham is accused of his fiancé’s murder Phil is brought on to help find the real culprit. Skeptical of Tom’s supposed “talents” he still is willing to use whatever skills he can get his hands on to solve this case.
The relationship here was on an extremely slow build and never seemed to have much true emotion behind it for me. As I mentioned earlier the murder mystery seemed to be given more weight by far. Most of the story here is a lot of talking between the investigating characters themselves and then with interviewing suspects. Ultimately not a lot happens until the very end where of course the investigation comes to a head.
As far as the characters go I really did enjoy Tom. He has a great fun narrative voice. I liked how he fit into the village and his relationships with his friends were entertaining. I felt like I understood his past and how it affected him in the present. This was not the case with Phil. I still don’t know that I understand what all happened in his past. We get hints of things that happened in his past that brought him to this point, but I never felt like I got a clear understanding of any of it. I didn’t dislike Phil, but I didn’t really connect to him either. I wanted to know more about him and his history. I think part of why the chemistry between Tom and Phil suffered for most of the book was because Phil was so closed off and wouldn’t open up about most anything. I think the best moment in the book was when Tom’s “spidey senses” started tingling and making him nauseous at Phil’s place. That reveal could have built to so much more between the two of them in that moment. I was looking for it to break down some of Phil’s walls and it didn’t happen in that moment. It still felt like Phil didn’t want Tom around, not that he was just scared of what things could mean between them.
I liked enough things about this book that I’d be curious to see where things go now that the two men have crossed that demarcation between strangers/friends/lovers. I enjoyed the distinctly British terminology. It really made the location clear and helped distinguish the personalities here. I’d ultimately list this as more of a mystery than a romance, and for that it’s not bad at all.
Who is an ass for waiting so long to read this book? *raises hand* Why hasn’t someone smacked my ginger self and told me how much I would love Tom and Phil? Ugh. Love is a light word to describe how I feel about those two and this book.
Tom Paretski has a talent, a talent for finding hidden things and well, water. His talents lend to his day job as a plumber and his side job as a consultant for the police department. When he is called out on a case to find a missing girl, he comes face to face with is crush from his youth and the jerk who created all kinds of trouble for Tom, aka Phil Morrison. OMG! Seriously? Merrow has gone and created one of my favorite types of characters; the redeemable asshole, and made me fall for him so fast regardless of his jerk antics.
Goodness this book was everything and then some. It has unrequited love on both sides, it has mystery, it has UST, it has witty and quirky banter, intimacy, humor, romance and just… yeah. This book is, was and forever will be everything and it’s now one of my all-time favorites.
So Tom and his crush, Phil meet again. Tom holds a grudge and a flame for Phil but knowing that Phil was part of the accident that put Tom in hospital and hurt him badly, makes you not wanna like Phil at all. BUT, redeemable assholes need their place in romance because they usually turn out to be smooth and swoony to the point of turning me to goo. Yup, Phil has the goo talent.
Phil is private investigator who is working the same case where he meets Tom again. He doesn’t really believe in Tom’s talent but decides to ask him on a view visits to folks who may be hiding something and that something could solve this latest murder. I loved the visits and the menagerie of suspects we meet along the way. What a colorful cast of characters this book has. I mean, Tom’s reaction to Robin East was awkward but adorably hilarious and Tom… that man is so clueless it’s endearing AF!
I really am trying to gather words that make sense to tell you how awesome this book was. To tell you I usually have figure out who done it with mysteries but I was so wrapped up in the stellar story telling that I let the book play out and went with it. I was so wrapped up in Tom and Phil that when we find out what Phil is hiding it kicked me straight in the feels. I was kinda expecting it to go along those lines but when Tom says “But—I thought you hated me!” and we get Phil’s reaction???? Cue the feels and shred my heart because that was so freaking intense. Yup, if I didn’t like Phil before, that right there made me adore him beyond the beyond.
So this book, it was oh so good! The mystery was mysterious. The romance was romantic. The humor was hilarious and the men were on point to make me smile and melt many times over.
I am so happy I finally read this and giddy that I have more books read with Tom and Phil. How is it possible to ever get enough of them?
Shhhh! That was rhetorical….*grins*
3.25 stars
Good plot and well written.
Now in audio, wasn’t fond of Gary in the first place, but the narrator managed to make him even more annoying.
Good plot and well written.
Now in audio, wasn’t fond of Gary in the first place, but the narrator managed to make him even more annoying.