Not What It Seems by Nicky James

Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Not What It Seems is a standalone romantic suspense story from Nicky James with a premise that drew me in from the moment I read the synopsis. The two protagonists are River Jenkins, a man in his late twenties accused of the murder of three women and Dr. Cyrus Irvine, a renowned psychiatrist in his mid-forties who is called in to assess River’s mental state after his arrest. It’s a difficult book to review – not just because it’s a mystery and I don’t want to give too much away, but also because it took quite a while for me to warm to the characters or invest in their relationship – although many of the reasons for that make perfect sense in the context of who these people are and the situations they find themselves in. I’m sure it takes considerable skill on the part of an author to be able to write hard-to-like characters and make their flaws feel realistic and well-founded, and then to pull them back from being completely unlikeable without giving them a personality transplant. Nicky James manages it here, although it was a close-run thing for a time!

When Cyrus walks into the room at New Horizon Psychiatric Institute to meet the patient he’s been asked to evaluate, his first instinct is to turn around and walk out again. River Jenkins is the man he’d known as “Craig” for the weekend they’d spent screwing around two months ago, and who has ghosted him since. Staying to do what he’s been asked to do – assess the patient, review his file and reach a diagnosis – would be a massive conflict of interest – and yet Cyrus can’t bring himself to leave.

River is a desperate man. Accused of a crime he did not commit, he claimed to be mentally ill, counting on being sent to an appropriate facility rather than to a prison cell. He’s managed to keep up the act so far, successful to the degree that the police have called in an expert to determine whether he’s faking or not. The irony is that he told them nothing but the truth during their numerous interrogations, about the noises that woke him in the middle of the night every night for two weeks, the sound of someone throwing stones at the window of his apartment; about the voice whispering his name and the woman he’d seen silhouetted in the distance – who was not there when he’d gone outside. Recounting everything, River had started to wonder if he really was ill and not just sleep-deprived and anxious – until he realised it had all stopped once he’d been admitted to the hospital. He knows he’s been framed, but has no clue as to why or by whom – and when Cyrus enters the room… he knows he’s screwed. Yet Cyrus is also likely his only chance of escaping life imprisonment – if River can only convince him that he didn’t murder the women and then get Cyrus to help him prove it.

That’s the set-up and is all I’ll say in detail about the plot so as not to spoil it. River decides to use the fact that Cyrus is obviously still attracted to him to try to get him to help him escape; the only way he can prove his innocence is to find out who has framed him and he can’t do that from inside the hospital. Cyrus recognises River’s attempts to manipulate him but at the same time, can’t be completely sure that he isn’t telling the truth. With the pressure to make a decision mounting, Cyrus decides to ask a few questions of his own – and what he discovers just muddies the waters even further.

As I said at the beginning, I really liked the premise of this story, but although I enjoyed the listen overall, I had a number of issues with it that have brought down my final grade a bit. There are several pacing issues that really slow things down; for example, the scene in which River escapes the hospital is so bogged down in internalisation that it has no sense of urgency whatsoever, no feeling that he could be caught at any time. On the other hand, the final third of the book is terrific; the twists and turns of the plot culminate in a reveal I really didn’t see coming and the author does a good job of building and maintaining the tension there.

River and Cyrus are complex characters who aren’t always easy to like. River comes across as cocky, pushy, manipulative and even a bit cruel to start with; he tries to use Cyrus’ attraction to him against him and isn’t above reminding him about their weekend together in a way that isn’t always flattering. He’s a desperate man and is prepared to do whatever he has to in order to exonerate himself – but the way he treats Cyrus in the first part of the story makes it difficult to feel too much sympathy for him. This does change, fortunately, as River starts to admit – to himself at least – the real reason he ghosted Cyrus after their weekend together was because he’d enjoyed hanging out with Cyrus as much as the mindblowing sex and he’d felt a real connection – and it scared him.

Cyrus has recently ended an emotionally abusive long-term relationship with someone who completely destroyed his confidence. His self-esteem is at an all-time low, and his job is the one high point in his life; he’s the top expert in his field and proud of his reputation – and he’s absolutely terrified of what could happen to that and to him should his prior association with River become known. On the one hand this feels pretty realistic, but on the other, he seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown most of the time, and is at the mercy of his own neurotic thinking and perfectionism – and it’s exhausting! Yet he can’t stand by and see a man he’s coming to believe is innocent wrongly convicted of murder, and the fact that he helps River anyway, despite his very real fears is admirable – but while I get that his ex really did a number on him, he’s a forty-five-year-old professional who doesn’t often act like one. This is another thing I meant about this being a difficult book to review; River’s cunning and Cyrus’ insecurities make perfect sense given their relative situations, but doesn’t make them particularly easy to relate to.

The odd thing is that while they probably shouldn’t work as a couple… they somehow do. Their emotional relationship is a slower burn than their physical one, but it works, with River slowly revealing himself to be just the sort of supportive, non-judgmental guy Cyrus needs. They have strong chemistry and I liked the way their relationship evolves from something convenient and more than a bit one-sided to something based on mutual understanding and caring.

Nick J. Russo has narrated a number of Nicky James’ books (including Clashing Hearts, which I reviewed in 2021) and is always reliably good, so I happily settled in to this one expecting to enjoy the narration – and I did, very much. In fact, it’s a terrific performance that works on every level; it’s technically accomplished, the characterisations are spot on and the emotional content of the story is superbly communicated. Mr. Russo’s portrayal of the two leads is excellent; River’s cockiness in the early part of the story is imbued with an underlying note of vulnerability (and just a little cruelty), but slowly, his humour becomes more real and less caustic, and a genuine warmth begins to emerge. There’s an edge to Mr. Russo’s interpretation of Cyrus that conveys just how tightly wound he is, and his insecurities are especially close to the surface. The emotional connection between the two men is well-realised, with perfectly-timed banter in their lighter, more flirtatious conversations, while a quiet tenderness underpins moments of truth and intimacy. He really knows how to ramp up the tension in the more action-packed, suspenseful moments as well, and all in all, I’d say this is easily one of his best performances.

Although Not What It Seems has a few weak spots that keep it from a top grade, I liked enough about it to want to listen to more of the author’s work, and already have more of her audiobooks waiting for me in my Audible library. Nick J. Russo’s brilliantly characterised and expressive performance is a definite plus, and if you‘re looking for a story with an intriguing plot and plenty of steam, this one might be worth checking out despite its flaws.

Caz

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