A MelanieM Review: Manipulation (Diversion #4) by Eden Winters

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Lucky Lucklighter has a new life. His old life wants him back.

From the jail cell courtesy of a life of crime, complete with drug lord lover, Lucky Lucklighter surfaced with a new life, a new name and a new career as an agent for the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. Now Simon “Lucky” Harrison, Lucky even has a new boyfriend and partner,Bo Schollenberger. Bo Schollenberger arrived at the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau in much the same way as Lucky. As a pharmaceutical chemist, Bo ended up with a drug addiction and his illegal deeds brought him to the attention of the head of the Bureau looking for just the right or wrong type of men for his narcotics team.

Through perseverance and charm, Bo worked his way under Lucky’s defenses and his “I-Get-Along-Fine-Alone” mindset until Lucky starts thinking the unthinkable…that they might just have a future together.

But now Bo is missing. Their last case involved unexpected ties to bigger crime syndicates, and a voice from Lucky’s past who whispers ““Did you miss me?”

Now Lucky must figure out who is lying and who he can trust? The voice belonged to someone he was told was dead and now seems very alive. And there is more to Bo’s absence than people are telling Lucky. Is Bo missing by choice or by abduction? Every clue, every trail Lucky follows leads him back to the drug Corruption and the syndicate flooding the US markets full of this dangerously addictive drug. With temptation all around, what won’t Lucky do to find the man he loves and bring him safely home?

Eden Winter’s Diversion series captured my heart from the moment I met Lucky Lucklighter and Bo Schollenberger in Diversion (Diversion #1). I love complicated wounded men and here were two that not only fell into that category but did so in a way I had never seen before. There are so many layers to these men. Lucky’s background is a patchwork of hot cars, adrenaline rushes, and poor choices that led from boosting cars for drag racing to major involvement with a crime lord as employee and lover. Lucky is highly intelligent, walled off, and confident, while still leaving space in his heart for his sister, her children, and finally Bo.

Bo Schollenberger. Where to start? Each book reveals more complications and dimensions to this already convoluted personality. At first glance and meeting, Bo came across as extremely affable and gentle, a victim of his addiction and circumstances. A far cry from Lucky and his unrepentant outlook who when given a choice between continuing life behind bars or freedom as an agent chose freedom. Certainly a choice made from expediency instead of a need to “do right”. But nothing is as it seems, and the more that Lucky (and the reader) got to know Bo, the more we realized that Bo has depths and pain to him and his past then he was ready to reveal or deal with.

Oh the joy of discovery. Each new story and case has uncovered new insights into each man and their past. Bo and Lucky’s interpersonal dynamics has deepened and expanded along with their relationship. It’s hot, sexy, at times tender and rough. You never know from moment to moment what to expect when they get together. And to their chagrin and our delight, neither do they. Uncertainty, hesitation, an emotional neediness…all that is new to Lucky and it has contributed to his inability to commit to just about anything. I love it when a reader can’t predict what the main characters will do in any given situation. It keeps us on the edge of our seats as the plot swivels and swoops through dangerous highs and deceptively deadly lows. This is a E Ticket ride in every way.

Eden Winters has also chosen a highly unusual subject and law enforcement agency, in this case the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, as the foundation for this series and as professions for Lucky and Bo. Think hard, how many series and books are developed around pharmaceutical corporations, over/under the counter drugs, and the criminals associated with the shipping and stocking of known medications? I can only think of one. Eden Winter’s Diversion series. That aspect of this series has been an eye-opener about the giant pharmaceutical corporations, and not in a good way. More than once it has sent me running to research different elements that have popped up during Lucky and Bo’s cases, ones that left this reader thinking about new issues far into the night. This series world building is as quirky, complex, and believable as the characters living out their messy lives within it. I obsess over the characters relationships, the plots, the surprises and then go back and start them over again to see what clues and secrets I missed out the first reading. And then wait for the next book to arrive.

This story contains quite a few stunning revelations, more layers of deception than ever before and angst by the boatload. Once started I couldn’t put it down until it was finished…right around 2:45am. And could I sleep after that? Uh no. Manipulation contains shocks that will shake the foundations of Lucky, and Bo, and even Walter their boss. Where there had been certainty, now is left nothing but fog and questions. The narrative is concisely told, the tension and suspense increasingly exponentially until the plot feels as tightly wound as a coiled spring. It explodes with all the dangerous impact one might expect and the ramifications will still be unfolding right into the next book in the series, Redemption (which is being written now).

Each year a book from this series has found its way, deservedly so, onto the Best of lists for Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words and others. This year is no different. Manipulation will be high on my Best of 2014 lists, just as I expect Redemption to be there on the list for 2015. All are highly recommended and Must Reads that should be on everyone’s TBR stack of stories.

If you haven’t discovered this series yet, please, please, don’t start here. The pleasures and joys that come from the character growth and relationship dynamics is best enjoyed if you start at the beginning and Lucky and Bo’s first meeting in Diversion. I have a list for you below. Make it your check list of stories to read. Eden Winters is a remarkable author, and the creator of Lucky and Bo is certain to find her way onto your automatic buy list if she is not there already.

Tag this story and series one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Highly Recommended Must Reads! Happy Reading!

Cover artist: L.C. Chase. Terrific cover perfect for the character and story inside.

Sales Links: Rocky Ridge Books All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here