Dirty Deeds by HelenKay Dimon
Series: Dirty #1
Romantic Suspense, M/M
August 8, 2017
Loveswept
Favorite Quote: “Do you want a hug?” Alec joked. Gaige’s eyebrow lifted. “It is tempting to say yes just to see you panic.”
Reviewed by Tracey
Alec Drummond didn’t make his billions by playing nice—or by playing much at all. When it comes to pleasure, Alec only has time for whatever’s quick and easy, which is exactly what he gets from his company’s hot new computer genius. But Gaige Owens isn’t some pushover. He pushes back, and it’s giving Alec a rush. The question is, could Gaige be the one who’s leaking trade secrets? Just to be safe, Alec keeps him close at hand . . . night and day.
Gaige never thought he’d roll over for a man like Alec again, but who could resist sex this mind-blowing? Then there’s the draw of Alec’s mysterious side: his cutthroat ambition, his covert CIA connections, and the murder in his past. For Gaige, a deeper look proves an irresistible temptation. But when Gaige and Alec are stripped of their defenses by an unseen danger, everything they don’t know could bring them closer together—or tear them apart. Only one thing is certain: Before it’s all over, someone’s going down. (Blurb)
Dirty Deeds was a little bit difficult to get into. It seemed to start off with a bang when one of the main characters, Gaige, was caught breaking into Drummond Industries by Alec Drummond. Then someone named Seth, who works for the CIA, shows up and admits to blackmailing Gaige to do the B&E, staging it all so Seth could get a face to face meeting with Alec. I would think there would be easier ways to get a meeting with someone but I guess not. The story never really explained who Seth was and how he had developed a relationship with Alec. Gaige’s ex-boyfriend was a criminal who set up Gaige to take the fall in an espionage case and this is how Seth became involved with Gaige. It was just a bit confusing and for me…it stayed a little bit confusing. I love mysteries, thrillers, and romantic suspense books, and I usually don’t have much trouble following a plot line, but in this case, I had some trouble. It was disjointed and kind of messy for the first half. I saw this book was the first in a series so I thought I was all good in reading it as a stand alone. I found out after reading that it is a spin off of another series and it might have made the book a little problematic that I hadn’t read that series. Seth and his boyfriend were in that series and it explains the relationship he has with Alec. I wish the author had just given up an update on all the past history to make the story flow a little better.
Alec is a billionaire who runs a food based company with his brothers, with Alec running the branch of the company that is based out of Germany. After he catches Gaige breaking in, Seth blackmails Alec and Gaige into working together to find out where a leak of information is coming from in the company and to get information as to what is happening at a doomsday seed vault in Norway. Alec doesn’t trust Gaige, so he plans to keep the man right beside him so he can keep an eye on him. That means Gaige will stay at Alec’s house. This is where the sexy times start as both men realize they are attracted to each other and start to act on their feelings. It is an insta-sex and love book. The time period of the book is about one week so everything happens very fast. They start out with a no strings attached relationship, but they each realize quickly there is more going on than just sexual attraction.
The first half of the book does drag more than the second half. The action and suspense pick up when the location is moved to Norway and they start with the actual seed vault investigation. The mystery aspect of the book was pretty obvious, almost from the start, since you knew it was someone connected to Alec’s company.
I sort of liked the characters of Alec and Gaige but I did think they needed some more depth and subtlety; maybe some deeper emotions showing at appropriate times. Alec was your stereotypical alpha male. He was over the top alpha, but that’s ok, sometimes that plays out as a good thing. Gaige wasn’t your normal nerdy computer guy either and he is eminently more likable than Alec, but I’m always a sucker for a smart ass character. He had learned to defend and take care of himself after his ex’s betrayal so he was a strong character too. I liked that the author didn’t make one man weaker than the other. These two met as equals in the personality area…they were just in different realms when it came to net worth. When Alec, Gaige, Seth and Alec’s brothers were all in a room together for a scene, it was just way too over the top with testosterone, everyone one of them trying to be the top alpha male. Think of four Jason Bournes in a room at the same time trying to make a point. I was just waiting for them to shoot each other.
This was a pretty short read so maybe such a convoluted mystery isn’t a good idea for a short book. I think more time explaining the situations and the actions of the characters would have been good in the suspense area and also in the relationship development. I didn’t ever really understand why some things were so shrouded in secrecy, and then a few chapters later, they weren’t. It was just somewhat loose in the plot details. I did love that the Doomsday Vaults for seeds is a real thing and I enjoyed learning about that area of the book.
In the end, the mystery is solved, both men recovered their severe trust issues (in one week) and they had an HFN ending. I always like an epilogue because I like knowing the characters I’ve come to care about have their HEA, but I was disappointed. There wasn’t an epilogue. I’m guessing I won’t be reading the future books in this series, and I hate that, but I was hoping for much better.
Grade: C-
Previous HelenKay Dimon Reviews
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Dirty Book Obsessions
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