An Ali Review: Kill Game (Seven of Spades #1) by Cordelia Kingsbridge

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Homicide detective Levi Abrams is barely holding his life together. He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.

Dominic likes his life free of complications. That means no tangling with cops—especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he can’t let go, despite Levi’s warnings to stay away.

The Seven of Spades is ruthless and always two moves ahead. Worst of all, they’ve taken a dangerously personal interest in Levi and Dominic. Forced to trust each other, the two men race to discover the killer’s identity, revealing hidden truths along the way and sparking a bond neither man expected. But that may not be enough to protect them.

This killer likes to play games, and the deck is not stacked in Levi and Dominic’s favor.

I thought this was really good. I haven’t been this excited about a new series in a long time. In fact, if the rest of the series was done I would have binge read the entire thing. When the story starts we meet both Dominic and Levi. They know each other through their jobs but they don’t know each other well. When a serial killer starts hunting prey in their city they end up crossing paths in a more detailed way. The two men both feel the chemistry between them but there is a lot going on in both of their lives and getting together is a complicated things.

As the book proceeds the two MC’s get drawn together repeatedly due to the circumstances of the case. I loved how the author handled these two getting together. It’s a slow burn and it’s obvious she’s going to take her time building their relationship and I for one am really excited about that. I love ongoing series where the main characters have time to build a solid foundation and where the author takes the reader along and lets us see all the steps along the way.

I liked both Levi and Dominic and I thought they were both well done and thoroughly fleshed out. They came across as realistic people with realistic problems. Both have some issues they’re going through and the author shows us their vulnerabilities and flaws. Despite that, or maybe because of that, I immediately connected with them both. There are a host of side characters (friends, family, co-workers) that we both interesting and added to the overall plot.

The author did a good job on the mystery aspect of the case. I thought it was entertaining and pretty fast paced. I have some theories about who the killer is and I’m eager to get to the next installments of the series to see if I’m right or not. The murders were sufficiently creepy but not too gruesome or dark.

So, again, this was really good and is going to go on my “best of” list this year. It looks like there will be 5 books total in this series and I can’t wait to read them all.

The cover was done by G.D Leigh and I think it’s fantastic. It fits the creepy vibe of a book about a serial killer. I think it’s super eye catching and attractive. When you get to the end of this book you can see the covers for the rest of the books in the series and they are all great. They are distinctive and they match well. You’ll have no trouble seeing that they are a matched set.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 297 pages
Published October 23rd 2017 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleKill Game
ISBN139781626496194
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesSeven of Spades #1 settingLas Vegas, Nevada (United States)
Nevada (United States)

The Seven of Spades series is best read in order of publication, which is as follows:

Kill Game (October 23, 217)
Trick Roller (January 29, 2018)
Cash Plays (April 30, 2018)
One-Eyed Royals (July 30, 2018)
A Chip and a Chair (October 22, 2018)

By Scattered Thoughts

At over 50, I am ruled by my terriers, my gardens, and my projects. A knack for grubbing about in the woods, making mud pies, and tending to the injured worms, bugs, and occasional bird and turtle growing up eventually led me to working for the Parks. I was a park Naturalist for over 20 years, and observing Nature and her cycles still occupy my hours. From the arrival of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the Spring to the first call of the Snow Geese heading south in the Fall, I am entranced by the seasons. For more about me see my bio on my blog.

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