Junk Shop Blues by Cole McCade

Criminal Intentions by Cole McCade: Season One, Episode Two: Junk Shop Blues

Criminal Intentions - Junk Shop Blues by Cole McCade

Narrated by Curt Bonnem

I was completely hooked into Cole McCade’s long-running Criminal Intentions romantic suspense series by the time I’d reached the end of the first chapter of book one, so was chomping at the bit to get stuck into the next one! The Cardigans introduced listeners to two very different protagonists – detectives Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon – and set up what looks set to be a very slow burn romance as well as telling a tense and exciting story of the investigation into the string of murders that brings them together.

Junk Shop Blues opens about a week since the pair started working with each other – and things aren’t going well. Neither of them is dealing well with the emotional fallout of the Macallister case, and neither of them is prepared to open up or attempt to process it with the person most able to really understand what they’re going through – each other. Malcolm is distracted and snappish and more irascible than usual, and Seong-Jae has no idea why – which, in turn, annoys him and makes him irritable, too. But the world – and crime – doesn’t stop just because they’re unaccountably pissed with each other, and they’re quickly assigned a new case – a murder at a luxury hotel.

When they arrive, it’s to find the dead man lying face down on a bed strewn with rose petals – and on the floor, just beyond the foot of the bed, a long, triangular kitchen knife. The victim was Marion Garvey, a nightclub owner Malcolm had a few run-ins with back when he worked narcotics, although nothing stuck. After a quick initial assessment, the detectives head off to view the available surveillance footage, hoping for a look at the killer – but no such luck. The cameras captured Garvey entering the room, but the screen goes blank shortly afterwards, the timecode still running until around fifteen minutes later when the images reappear, showing a woman backing out the door, her hands pressed to her mouth in horror. The concierge reluctantly identifies her as Lillienne Wellington, daughter of Maximilian Wellington, the owner of the hotel, head of a large business empire – and the patriarch of the richest family in Baltimore.

The mystery in this book is less complex (and less gritty) than in the previous one, but that’s fine – that sort of high-stakes, high-octane plot wouldn’t work for every book – not only would it get exhausting to read, it would probably be impossible to write! The simpler mystery enables the author to start laying down some of the storylines that will run throughout the series, introduce some recurring characters and, most importantly, continue to develop the relationship between Malcolm and Seong-Jae and reveal more about their characters.

Malcolm agreed to continue to partner with Seong-Jae because, much as the man’s aloofness annoys him, he’s honest enough to admit that when they work together, they’re dynamite. The trouble is that Seong-Jae’s icy demeanour and rigid control are making it impossible for Malcolm to get a read on him – and he doesn’t like it. It doesn’t help that he finds Seong-Jae very attractive – but he’s not going there; not only is it a terrible idea to become involved with your work-partner, that kiss they shared at the end of the previous book seemed to have no effect on Seong-Jae whatsoever, and no way is Malcolm going to start lusting over someone who clearly isn’t interested. Except of course, it’s too late, because he’s already finding it hard to get the man out of his thoughts, no matter how hard he tries. And he does try.

Seong-Jae finds Malcolm just as frustratingly hard to read, and knows his partner is intent on letting Seong-Jae know him as little as possible. He recognises that his own tendency to hold back hasn’t helped break any of the ice between them and is reluctantly fascinated by this “lone wolf”, this puzzling man with the ability to offer patience and compassion at the same time as he displays a steely determination to enforce and uphold the law – and wanting to solve that puzzle.

The tension between Malcolm and Seong-Jae feels like it’s on a knife-edge as their slow dance around each other continues and Malcolm’s increasingly erratic behaviour makes trust between them impossible. The case gets complicated pretty quickly, as Maximilian Wellington’s wealth and influence make witnesses untalkative and put road-blocks along certain avenues of enquiry. Frustrations abound, until Malcolm finally remembers that he and Seong-Jae work incredibly well together when they actually WORK together – and that he needs to do a better job of listening to his partner.

Curt Bonnem did an excellent job with the narration in the previous book, so I was able to go into this one secure in the knowledge that I’d be listening to a performance that would work for me. His resonant baritone has a natural hint of gravel to it that he uses to good effect to portray Malcolm, and the deeper tone and very even, measured delivery he employs for Seong-Jae perfectly depicts his very controlled demeanour. When I listened to the first book, I almost immediately thought of him as rather “Spock-like” – cool, logical above all else and somewhat bewildered by emotion; I’ve since discovered that Spock was actually part of the inspiration for the character (the Zachary Quinto incarnation!) Mr. Bonnem does a fantastic job of realising him, and of conveying that tiny hint of vulnerability that lies beneath his aloof exterior. Malcolm is definitely the more emotionally open of the two, yet he, too, is holding back and is very careful about what he allows others to see; there’s a definite feeling of the pent up, prowling wolf Malcolm is often described as coming across in the performance. The supporting cast is appropriately depicted and well-differentiated and the narration is well-paced and expertly nuanced throughout; it’s a very strong performance and I enjoyed it.

Junk Shop Blues is a good follow up to The Cardigans in the way it is beginning to progress the relationship between Malcolm and Seong-Jae and to reveal more about their characters and backstories. The mystery is fairly straightforward, but there are some unanswered questions here which I’m guessing may somehow tie in to Seong-Jae’s mysterious past – and he’s beginning to suspect there’s something bigger going on in the city than the murder of the owner of a nightclub.

I’ll be jumping into the next book as soon as it’s available (Note: available now, The Man With the Glass Eye) – and have my fingers crossed that more of this gripping series will soon make its way into audio.

Caz


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