Review: Tramps and Thieves (Murder and Mayhem #2) by Rhys Ford

Whoever said blood was thicker than water never stood in a pool of it.

Retiring from stealing priceless treasures seemed like a surefire way for Rook Stevens to stay on the right side of the law. The only cop in his life should have been his probably-boyfriend, Los Angeles Detective Dante Montoya, but that’s not how life—his life—is turning out. Instead, Rook ends up not only standing in a puddle of his cousin Harold’s blood but also being accused of Harold’s murder…and sleeping with Harold’s wife.

For Dante, loving the former thief means his once-normal life is now a sea of chaos, especially since Rook seems incapable of staying out of trouble—or keeping trouble from following him home. When Rook is tagged as a murder suspect by a narrow-focused West L.A. detective, Dante steps in to pull his lover out of the quagmire Rook’s landed in.

When the complicated investigation twists around on them, the dead begin to stack up, forcing the lovers to work together. Time isn’t on their side, and if they don’t find the killer before another murder, Dante will be visiting Rook in his prison cell—or at his grave.

This is the type of Rhys Ford novel that I like best! She writes good cop/bad boy novels so well and I loved Dante and Rook. I have a feeling the murder and Mayhem series is going to be one of my favourites!

Writing a retired cat-burglar is a great premise for a character, especially when he falls for a cop. The dynamic between these two is soooo good, the whole tough-cop,matched to emotionally damaged partner works really well. It may not be the only story of its type - but it stands out because it is done so well. There is a reason why this type of book is popular! Yeah, it's hot. Of course it is, we all love a bit of love and if that love comes with a side of heat it's sometimes even better. Like here. H-O-T. Hot. 

Dante and Rook headline a book full of twists and turns, and Rhys Ford kept me guessing who and why throughout the story. I'm not the quickest of wits but I thought the plot twists worked well and I was kept guessing - sometimes it's obvious who and why, but not so much here. Well, not to me at least!

This novel is backed up with a cast of fantastic secondary characters (Uncle Manny is a definite favourite of mine) and I just kept wanting to read more... it's one of those books where I really wish the series was complete so I could scoff the whole lot in one go! Devouring series in one hit is a weakness of mine... I love getting to know characters through the long haul of a series rather than just one novel, and I think Rhys Ford is an author who works best over a series. This story is utterly complete in itself, no nasty cliff-hangers, but it finishes with just enough mystery to make one want to read the next in the series!

I think Rhys Ford fans will love this book, as will fans of detective novels and murder/mysteries and I definitely recommend it!

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.