Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale, is a Paranormal MxM story filled with demons and inquisitors. It was first published 2007 by Blind Eye Books and the audiobook I listened to is narrated by Antony Ferguson, a man who kept shifting between posh British accent and cockney accent, not seemingly knowing which to use.
The story follows Belimai Sykes, a descendant of demons called prodigals, as he is hired the by inquisitors to investigate murders on prodigals. He works with the inquisitor William Harper, who is immediately drawn to the handsome demon and soon stands on the end of the road, having to choose between his faith or to choose the way of justice, as the all the murders seem to lead to one person. The Abbot.
Belimai is a sarcastic mess. He was once tortured by the inquisitors and forced to inject addicting drugs to become easier to handle. Now he is addicted and broken, trying to survive in a world that hates him. William Harper is a kindhearted man, and inquisitor wanting to help the prodigals, not just kill them, but he doesn’t want to stick out too much in fear of people realizing his own secrets. There are some other characters as Belimai’s ex-boyfriend and Harper’s sister, but neither get much screen time, not enough for them to stick out. This is a very narrow story, with only the two main ones getting any development as we get to know them.
The story in itself is a bit of a mess, it is more a mixture of smaller plots than a larger one. We have prodigals being murdered, which is taken care of around early on. Then a girl is murdered by her aristocratic uncle and prodigals are blamed. We also have the smaller plots of Belimai’s addiction, Harper’s sister and her husband being tortured and must be freed. It gives off the feeling of that there isn’t much of a main plot, which isn’t fully true, but it might go unnoticed that the main plot is about the corruption of the inquisitors and all the smaller plots are connected to this.
This kind of story is well suited for the slow-paced book this is, and it is character driven. If you are looking for fast-paced action, this is not for you, but this book is going for a slow-paced, dark atmosphere and frankly, some of the scenes are for the faith of heart. I have read worse, but there are still some uncomfortable subjects such as a girl being beaten by her uncle, people being carved into and cut up to have their organs sold, and addiction. None goes with a light-hearted story, and this isn’t that. For those who want a deeper story, this might be more to your taste.
Overall, I liked the story. It was short enough that the slow-paced story didn’t bore me and had some interesting subjects to delve into. The characters were acceptable, though I felt that they felt a bit shallow for this kind of story, and the romance is rather light. Not really addressed much, they sleep together investigate, Belimai is framed, Harper help him and suddenly they are in love. If you go into this book, looking for romance, this might leave you lukewarm but I liked the world and story enough to find it entertaining despite the lack of romance. All in all, I would give it a 7 out of 10, if I’m stricter, maybe a 6, but it is a decent story, a bit lacking in some places but decent enough for me not regretting reading it and recommend it for people looking for a deeper MxM story that isn’t just driven by sexual content and abuse.
With Kind Regards
Senefer.
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