If you could sum up Crime Wave in three words, what would they be?
u-maz-ing. 🙂
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes!!!
Any additional comments?
I was provided a complimentary copy of the audio in exchange for an honest review.

I am becoming obsessed with this series! I was extremely fortunate to be provided a complimentary audio copy of Book 1 Hidden Identity, and it was really, really good! Book 1 wasn’t a romance; it focused on the mystery aspect but there was romance (sex) in it. Crime Wave, which is book 2, hints that Jimmy McSwain and “sexy NYPD Captain Francis X. Frisano” have a romance. They certainly have a spark of something. But Jimmy has sworn to never fall for a cop, and Frank can’t be a publically out gay man and still fulfill his cop career dreams.

I have to say that Joel Leslie’s narration was PERFECT!! He is able to give the characters their own voice [I will admit that some of the characters sounded alike but that was ok (hide spoiler)] and I knew when it was Jimmy speaking, when it was Frank speaking, or when it was “Terry Cloth” speaking. 😉 I particularly thought Joel’s ability to express the characters emotions – be those anger, fear or lust – was simply amazing. I am still new to the audio world and I’ve not come across any other narrators who put so much emotion into the written word.

I felt these characters come alive, and when Jimmy becomes involved in yet another murder, I was rooting for him to solve it and to also find love.

Crime Wave is very different from Hidden Identity. I will admit that I had figured out who the killer was, but I had the motive and everything else related to the murder case completely wrong. I was surprised, which is always cool in a mystery. This one has a twist I really didn’t see coming.

Jimmy is begged by his sister to spy on her boyfriend, Rocky, because she thinks he’s cheating on her. He is, Jimmy finds this out, but it’s not with a woman; he’s with a man – and is in fact in love with this other man. But as Jimmy is working his case, Rocky’s lover is killed and Rocky arrested for it. Jimmy knows Rocky didn’t kill his lover and is determined to prove it. However, it’s not just this case that Jimmy wants to solve. There have been a string of deli robberies/murders that have hit the city, and Jimmy is believes that the person responsible is VERY likely to be the same person who killed his father 15 years ago.

With the help of Captain Francis X. Frisano, Jimmy is able to investigate both cases. There is the added complication of Jimmy and Frank sleeping together. They were totally HOT together!!!! 😉 But it’s super complicated because Frank is a police captain and wants to be commissioner some day. Well, that won’t happen if he’s an out gay man, so Frank tells Jimmy the blunt truth. It’s not like Jimmy is surprised; he knew this 100% already. And it’s not as if Jimmy wants to date a cop, either. Nope, he’s sworn he would never date a cop, and certainly never fall in love with one. But their attraction to one another is too much for them to resist and they find themselves coming together. [They do not end up together through circumstances of the investigation, no matter how much Jimmy was ready to back off his sworn promise of not dating a cop. So don’t read this expecting hearts and flowers at the end. Jimmy’s love life isn’t over though – an old beau has returned. 😉 (hide spoiler)]

I highly recommend this series and can’t wait for the rest of the series to be on audio. I am really becoming addicted to this new method of “reading.” 😀 I love Jimmy’s family and can’t wait to see what comes up next!!! 4.5 stars (because Jimmy’s heart of kind of broken).