Dead Draw cover art

Dead Draw

A Marriage of Convenience Gay Romantic Suspense (Perfect Play, Book 1)

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Dead Draw

By: Layla Reyne
Narrated by: Christian Leatherman
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About this listen

When a marriage of convenience is the only play left…

Special Agent Emmitt Marshall knows how to: Wear a cowboy hat. Hack anything. Win at chess. Fall in love with emotionally unavailable men. He even knows the perfect play to catch the terrorists who killed his mentor.

Special Agent Levi Bishop doesn’t know how to: Move on after his wife’s death. Help his grieving son. Pay off his mountain of debt. Fix the mess some cowboy cyber agent made of his case. The same cowboy who proposes a marriage of convenience to stop a common enemy.

Marsh is either the answer to Levi’s prayers—or a handsome nightmare in a Stetson. Levi doesn’t know. But both men do know their cases and lives are at a dead draw. There’s only one play left… I do.

Dead Draw is the first book of the Perfect Play trilogy, a swoony, edge-of-your-seat M/M romantic suspense series featuring a cocky hacker with a heart of gold, a widowed father who needs so much help, and a plan only a cowboy could cook up. Grab your hat, hold tight to the reins, and enjoy the ride!

©2022 Layla Reyne (P)2024 Layla Reyne Romance Romantic Suspense cowboy Detective Fake Relationship

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All stars
Most relevant
Loved this story which had me listening till 2am and the slow southern drawl by the narrator makes it come alive, enjoy I know I did

Slow start love

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Listener received this title free

I really enjoyed this audiobook more than I expected! There is quite a bit of plot happening outside the romance, which can sometimes be annoying or fall flat. But for the set-up of this story, the combination of the two worked perfectly and I was totally intrigued by both the romance and the actual FBI investigation plot. If you occasionally dabble in crime/suspense reads in addition to loving the marriage of convenience trope, this story is the perfect combo of the two. Overall it was a very slow burn, but the heat that was served was scorching. This was my first read by this author, and the first time I’ve listened to this narrator and they did a fantastic job! The Texas accents were not over the top, but spot on (based on my experience living in Austin). Being that this is book 1 in the series there is a bit of a cliffhanger, but more to do with the FBI plot than the relationship.

Loved this romantic suspense!

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I love a good “marriage of convenience” story; add in suspense, danger, and a cool hacker and this story was an even bigger hit for me. If you know Layla Reyne’s writing you already know that this story has a bit of a cliffhanger. The romance for the main couple is solid but the case they are working won’t be solved until the end of book three. The good news is that book two is available in ebook and audio, and book three releases in early June 2023 with the audio following very soon.

I loved how Marshall is with Levi and I especially love how he interacts with Levi’s son, David. Christian Leatherman does a wonderful job with all of the different voices needed in this book. My only complaint is that I think his pacing is off a bit at times – like pausing or not pausing when the sentence needed it. This was noticeable but didn’t ruin anything about the story for me and I promptly purchased book two after listening to this one.

I really loved Marshall when I first met him in What We May Be and this series is shaping up to be everything I could have wanted for him. What We May Be is an MMF standalone story that I highly recommend. However, it’s not necessary to read that before beginning this series.

What a great start to this trilogy.

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Dead Draw is a great novel with action, drama, mystery and a slow burn marriage of convenience.
We jump straight into the action as well with the op that goes wrong and brings Marsh to Levi's attention. Marsh then, in his need to fix what broke and move forward with his case, proposes a marriage of convenience that will give Marsh access to the case that's adjacent to his own and gives Levi the security to save him and his son.
This story starts at full speed and doesn't really slow down as they go from op to investigating to family drama and back again. Things, of course, do not always go well but everything brings Levi and Marsh closer together, giving their strong chemistry time to simmer whilst they work the case but hearts always have a way of becoming involved, especially for Marsh anyway. There's also David, Levi's son, to consider who may have the teenage attitude down but they've been through a help of a lot as a family and he can't lose anyone else. I found time that Levi was with his family highly entertaining and the investigation that both agents are working did get complicated in places with so many links and loop backs but is really interesting building up to a tense outcome that can only get darker in book two.
A well developed story in both relationship and plot that I really enjoyed. Definitely a recommended read/listen.
This is my first listen from Christian and he provides a great voice for these characters. It's an entertaining listen and he really draws you into the plot and the blossoming relationship between Levi and Marsh.

Great new series with strong MC's

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Listener received this title free

Dead Draw is the first book in Layla Reyne's new Perfect Play series. Clearly setting up the rest of the series, Ms. Reyne establishes both of the main characters, and gets them started in their relationship. I like their chemistry, and am looking forward to seeing where they go.

Layla Reyne always writes a clever, creative mystery.

Audio version performed by Christian Leatherman.

an audiobook copy of Dead Draw was provided for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own

A New Series by Layla Reyne

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