Review by giasbookhaven - Sounds Like Trouble

giasbookhaven 's review for:

Sounds Like Trouble by Pamela Samuels Young, Dwayne Alexander Smith

3.25

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I liked this one more than the first book, that's for sure. Full review to come.

6.30.2025 Update:

Sounds Like Trouble is a follow up to book one Sounds Like A Plan. Our Private Investigators, Mac and Jackson are back again, but this time they've partnered up and are working as a team on cases. And when a well-known crime lord requests them to look into a unique matter, it's an offer they can't refuse. Literally.

I liked Sounds Like Trouble soo much better than book one. Mac and Jackson have better banter and their chemistry felt more natural. I still found Jackson annoying but a little less this time around. Taking on the case for Big Ced who wants them to find hidden evidence against him and competing mob leaders, raises the stakes for our duo because they (and we) know the stakes from the beginning and the tension built-up more naturally.

Their case puts them on the radar of local law enforcement who have their own investigation going for the mob boss which adds to the pressure of them solving and closing this case as quickly as possible. As if that wasn't enough, Mac and Jackson learn that there's someone following their every move to get their hands on the evidence Big Ced wants and they're willing to kill to get it. Sounds Like Trouble was loads more of an enjoyable read for me.

There's more balanced humor scattered throughout the book as Mac and Jackson find a synaptic rhythm to their investigation tactics. I just wished they spent more time doing hands-on investigating rather than passing off tasks to others in their inner circle to narrow down leads and information. Mac and Jackson are at the center of the narrative but spend most of the time being passive members of the story while situations and danger finds them rather than the other way around.

And while I felt Jackson and Mac have a good foundation for chemistry for this case, I still cannot see them as an item.

It feels like that's the direction they're heading but I think it would be an awful idea. Jacskon is too immature, unserious and self-centered. I don't feel like he takes the cases too seriously either. His bottom line is always the amount of money he can get out of the client. To me, that says he has loose morals and is easily manipulated. To be Mac's partner on these cases that have proven to be life or death for them so far, he has a lot of growing up to do.

Side note: it really grossed me out that Jackson described his thirteen year-old daughter as a young woman. She's a child. Don't care if the intention behind this statement was to signify that she was growing up or looking older. It shouldn't be phrased like that. Ever. Young black girls have always been overly sexualized from within and outside our community. This hot take may be seen as a minor thing to some, but it wasn't for me.

Would I read another installment in this series? Yes, I would. I think the series has the potential to improve with each book. And I think that readers who don't enjoy the heavy contemporary mystery books would enjoy these books.

Content Warnings