Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
When a man is found in his apartment, appearing to have committed hara kiri with a samurai sword, Boston Homicide Detective Jack Cade suspects more is going on than what it appears. The department’s criminal profiler has left and a new guy is taking his place. At first, Cade is skeptical of Dr. Michael Di Santo. Di Santo seems so absent-minded and too neurotic to be effective. But he is brilliant and hot and Cade finds himself falling hard and fast, both in lust and in love. The attraction is mutual, although Michael’s past demons haunt him, keeping him from getting too close. Together, they begin to unravel Michael’s emotional knots even as they close in on a killer, another brilliant, wily person whose sights are now set on Michael.
Acts of Passion by Sedonia Guillone is a novel that picks up the story of a secondary character from a previous series, Genjin/Holmes Mysteries. As Sedonia Guillone has said, she thought Michael Di Santo deserved his own HEA and gave it to him here in Acts of Passion, a layered story full of romance as well as mystery and suspense.
One element of every story and series Sedonia Guillone writes is the wounded warrior or modern samurai, and the author plays on that theme here with several devilish twists, always with a nuanced overlay of Japanese culture and samurai weaponry involved. Do I love that about her writing? Absolutely. Her knowledge is impeccable, and she is able to impart that passion and love to the reader without it being a dry dump of facts. Instead she folds it into her characters and their history beautifully, revealing itself as it should throughout the storyline.
You don’t have to have read the other series, this story works perfectly as a standalone. Guillone supplies the back-history for Michael’s previous relationship with Toshi (the ex partner back in Japan) and for Jack Cade, the man who will capture his interest personally and at work. I loved the interchanges between the characters, it works on every level to pull them together professionally and as men becoming interested romantically. You will get it too because Jack Cade is such an intriguing character with his own demons pulling at him as well. The two men have many obstacles, not the least of which is a serial killer, to overcome, before they can more on with each other.
I thought the mystery was good (although I had guessed correctly at who the killer was) but the suspense? Excellent. This was seat of the pants, white knuckle grip, will they get there in time stuff. And I love every bit of it.
I only wish the ending was stretched out a bit longer for my tastes, that would have made this perfect.
Is Sedonia Guillone a new author for you? Grab this up and start reading? Have a love of the Japanese culture and the samurai warrior in modern times? Love a good thriller with a romance thrown in? This has it all. Then go search out her other stories. I’ve included a link to her website below as well. Happy reading! I highly recommend this author and story to one and all.
Cover art by: Louca Matheo. The cover is sexy and works well for the storyline.
Sales Links: Amazon|BN Nook|Kobo|Google Play|AllRomance Ebooks
Book Details:
ebook, 2nd Edition, 186 pages
Published January 15th 2016 by Ai Press (first published June 11th 2010)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Find out more about Sedonia Guillone at her website here: http://www.sedoniaguillone.com
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 