Unstable Connections
Valor and Doyle Book 3
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Unstable Connections
Narrated by:
Nick J. Russo
Buy Now for £18.99
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Narrated by:
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Nick J. Russo
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By:
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Nicky James
About this listen
Missing children are reappearing, and the ties to a 30-year-old cold case can’t be ignored.
Detective Quaid Valor has too much on his plate. Between his shaky, brand-new relationship with reformed office playboy Detective Aslan Doyle, his sister’s case going from cold to hot overnight, his father insisting on being involved, and his boss breathing down his neck, Quaid is on edge.
The stress of the case is impacting Quaid’s whole life. He isn’t eating or sleeping, and every time he and Aslan are together, he is overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy which threaten to ruin the one good thing he has. Aslan’s patience seems unending until something happens to turn his life upside down too.
Can their relationship survive the personal and professional pressures they’re facing, or will it crash and burn?
Between media rumors and unstable connections, Quaid and his team need to hustle and piece together a complicated case before more children fall victim to their unknown serial kidnapper. Maybe once everything is solved, Aslan and Quaid will have time to work on their rocky relationship and find stable ground once again.
*Unstable Connections is the third book in the Valor and Doyle Mystery Series. It is a same-couple series that should be read in order. Although each book has a self-contained mystery with no cliffhangers, the romance is over-arching and progressive throughout the series.
©2022 Nicky James (P)2022 2022Listeners also enjoyed...
Listener received this title free
I felt every ounce of Quaid's stress and tension as he threw himself into investigating new leads, re-interviewing past witnesses, and struggling to make the pieces fit together. If you thought you'd seen stressed-out, overworked Quaid before, it was nothing compared to his mental state in this book, and the resulting strain it put on all his close relationships was noticeable. Aslan and Quaid started off the story on a somewhat hopeful note--getting Quaid's father's begrudging approval and making little inroads on building trust--but sadly the heavy weight of the case revealed cracks in the foundation of their relationship. Quaid fell back into old habits learned from Jack, like not reaching out for support in fear of being seen as weak or clingy, and it made me ache to see all the things he left unsaid. Aslan did his best to keep open lines of communication between them, but with both their jobs being so busy and stressful, it was inevitable that they'd reach a breaking point. It certainly didn't help that Aslan got blindsided by the reveal of an incident from his past, and it gutted me to see how hard he spiralled in response. Thankfully, both Quaid and Aslan were committed to working things out, and no matter what ugly things they said in the heat of the moment, they always came back together, apologized, and worked to build each other back up. It was honestly really nice to see how self-aware these characters were, because it meant they didn't hold themselves or each other to an impossibly high standard to meet.
I'm genuinely impressed by how well Nicky James developed Aslan and Quaid's romantic relationship without taking any focus away from the MP cases, and I remained equally captivated by both as the story progressed. The more links to Juniper that were revealed, the more my brain kept spinning with theories and possibilities. I've said it before, but I love the way Nicky James puts her readers directly into the headspace of her detectives, including all dead ends, incorrect theories, and breadcrumbs of information that lack just enough clarity to keep everyone in the dark. I fell into all the clever traps of misinformation she laid and didn't guess who the real culprit was until Quaid had finally put the pieces together himself, and even then the truth was so unexpected I almost couldn't believe it. Juniper's kidnapping was one piece in a much more twisted story, and my heart hurt for all the innocent people that were involved. I'm glad that Quaid and his father got some closure at last, but that didn't take away from the emotional impact of the ending. Aslan and Quaid are going to need each other's support more than ever to move forward, and that's part of why it made me really happy to see them take some steps forward in their relationship and reaffirm their commitment to making it work.
**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.
An engaging, emotional mystery to solve
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Amazing
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Listener received this title free
Finally the mystery surrounding the missing child, Juniper, is solved and we were not short changed as this gifted author led us by the nose, and had us - or me specifically - suspecting every poor soul… but that, of course, is exactly what she intended.
The denouement was thrilling, intelligently executed and utterly satisfying, and at no time did I have a clue where she was leading us. I’m so glad that Valor can finally have some peace and desist from his constant searching because it’s clear he needed to set down his burden.
But how does Ms. James follow what could have been the end of the series - but thankfully isn’t. Don’t get me wrong… I’m so glad the author is as enamoured with her characters as I am because…
I do not want this fabulous series to end…
and I know I shall have a massive book hangover when it does. But, as I said, how will Nicky James follow that ‘ending’? Brilliantly, is all I can say from what I know of her work. And so we wait for the next instalment.
Valid and Doyle continue with the building of their tentative relationship, stepping on egg shells all the way. Each went through the wringer in this book and I lost a few years and gained more grey hairs for my hairdresser to deal with, but both were there for each other and have become stronger for their efforts. One really tender moment for me was when Doyle produced Valor’s birthday present… it was a complete ahh moment… I loved it, and what it meant, but more importantly it was what Doyle had ‘seen’ in his grumpy boyfriend because not many people see past the walls Valor has erected to hide his tender soul. However, enough said, I leave it to you, to discover for yourself. Suffice it to say that these two adorable men are still working hard to build a life together and I’m definitely cheering them on.
Nick Russo has become the voices of Valor and Doyle for me and I’m rather afraid I’ll be unable to imagine him as anyone other than these two characters in the future. My initial ‘problem’ with separating the two men (book one) has now dissipated and I’m comfortable with the differences he uses in tone and nuances to differentiate between Valor and Doyle.
I particularly love his depiction of Torin Fox, Aslan Doyle’s partner in homicide… such a fabulous character - his wooing of Alison, which is done with a great deal of ‘help’ from Doyle, is hilarious. Nick Russo does a fabulous job with this character and I only wish it were possible for him to have a book of his own.
The author and her narrator are a perfect team for this fabulous series and I can hardly wait for Inevitable Disclosure which I shall no doubt gobble up as soon as it’s released.
Another 5* from me for both story and narration. Brava Ms. James and Bravo Mr. Russo.
Fabulous ongoing series
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Listener received this title free
With such talent as Nick J Russo voicing Quaid and Aslan I felt everything deep in my soul. The nuances he put into each character was so good, Aslan's strong personality came through each time he had to pull Quaid back from one precipice or another. He definitely heightened the pleasure of this story for me.
This series is so good, Nicky James throws in enough red herrings to keep you guessing and wanting more. The plot thickens as more victims throw more questions into the already complex missing childrens case.
The precarious relationship between the 2 fabulous detectives has my heart in a spin, I'm really looking forward to much more....
And the plot thickens!!
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Listener received this title free
mystery with romance is just perfect and following aslan and quiad's relationship develop more was a absolute treat
like coming home
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