Changing Faces by Cole McCade

Criminal Intentions by Cole McCade: Season One, Episode Four: Changing Faces

Narrated by Curt Bonnem

Note: Criminal Intentions is a same-couple series with an overarching plot, so listening in order is advised. Please be aware that there are spoilers for earlier instalments in this review.

Changing Faces, book four in Season One of Cole McCade’s compelling Criminal Intentions series, sees a bit of a change of pace as it reveals a little more about the series’ plot arc and heats up the slow-burn romance between Baltimore-based detectives Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon. With Mal on medical leave following the events at the end of book three, Seong-Jae is flying solo in the murder investigation this book, and it’s one which presents him with a thorny ethical dilemma he doesn’t feel equipped to deal with. He is also due to fly back to LA in a few days to testify in court against his former partner, something which has made him a pariah among his former colleagues, and is still struggling to deal with the confusing – and sometimes terrifying – emotions he’s experiencing towards Malcolm. Feelings which, at the end of the last book, saw Seong-Jae almost kill the man responsible for putting Malcolm in the hospital in a fit of protective rage.

I’ve said in previous reviews that the opening chapter in each book usually details the crime Mal and Seong-Jae will investigate, and that the author doesn’t pull any punches. Sometimes these scenes can be violent or gruesome and are almost always disturbing, so please take note of the content warnings you can find at Amazon using the “Look Inside” feature.

After a night spent dozing at Malcolm’s bedside, Seong-Jae is assigned the investigation into the case of a man who has died as the result of a domestic accident in the kitchen of the family home. In the opening chapter – which is tough to listen to and brilliantly written – the listener is made aware of what actually happened, meaning that we’re several steps ahead, following Seong-Jae as he uncovers the truth and struggles to walk the fine line between seeing justice done and doing what he knows to be right.

Seong-Jae arrives at the Mitchell home to find the body still in situ, pinned beneath a massive kitchen hatch. It looks like an open and shut case – but a look at the ME’s face, shows him it’s anything but. The two women (obviously mother and daughter) hovering in the doorway – the older of them with obvious signs of bruising on her face – seem distressed and nervous (although not particularly upset), and Seong-Jae senses that they see him as a potential threat, their body language more than simply a reaction to being confronted by an unknown man. Seong-Jae feels Malcolm’s absence keenly – he’d know what to say, how to put them at ease with that gruff kindness that promises honesty and protection – but Malcolm isn’t there and Seong-Jae is going to have to do the best he can.

The investigation in this book is relatively uncomplicated, which allows Seong-Jae to take centre stage in other aspects of the story and for listeners to get to know a little more about him. He makes a new friend in Cara Stenson, the no-nonsense ME, who has his – and Mal’s – number; he’s confronted by some extremely unsettling information about something – and someone – he thought he’d consigned to his dim and distant past… and he finally acknowledges the truth of his feelings for Malcolm – no matter that he still doesn’t want them or know what to do with them.

Even though Malcolm and Seong-Jae are apart for chunks of the book, they’re never far from each other’s thoughts. Mal, despite his absence from the main body of the investigation, is still a strong presence, and we get to know a bit more of his backstory, too, in a rather lovely scene with his parents. The chemistry between Mal and Seong-Jae is at fever-pitch, the slow-burn at that exquisitely painful stage where you’re desperately hoping for something to happen between them while also being desperately worried that it won’t! The moments where Mal helps Seong-Jae piece together what happened at the crime scene just ooze sexual tension (and they’re both upright and fully clothed!) – and their deeply heartfelt conversations as Mal helps Seong-Jae to make some very difficult decisions are laden with emotion and things unsaid.

Along with giving a bigger role to Stenson, the author also includes the PoV of police captain Anjulie Zarate y Salazar, and gives us a little peek into her life outside the department. We finally meet Gabrielle Leon-Khalaji, Malcolm’s ex-wife, who has returned to Baltimore for work and who ends up staying with him while he recovers. Gabi and Mal clearly have a complicated and painful history, and Gabi’s presence and her easy familiarity with Mal is like a flashing neon sign to Seong-Jae that he really needs to get over Mal as soon as possible.

There’s a lot going on in this book, yet it never feels rushed or overstuffed, and the way the author keeps everything moving while dropping little hints and clues is very impressive. The relationship between the leads is completely captivating – these two are made for each other but are too stubborn (and maybe a little bit scared) to admit it. I’m with Stenson:

“… if the two of you don’t stop acting like assholes, I’m going to knock your heads together. Every fucking crime scene, I gotta watch you dance around each other. It’s giving me a headache.”

Curt Bonnem’s interpretations of Mal and Seong-Jae are absolute perfection. He’s done a terrific job of capturing their very distinct personalities – Mal’s gruff compassion and Seong-Jae’s restrained logicality – and of starting to show Seong-Jae becoming just a little more comfortable and open with Malcolm than he was at the beginning of their partnership. There’s a fairly large recurring cast in this series, and Mr. Bonnem’s characterisations are distinct and imbued with a nice ‘flavour’ of their personalities, from Sten’s brusque kindness to Anjulie’s take-no-prisoners attitude and Sade’s sometimes wistful inscrutability. The other secondary characters are clearly differentiated, the narration is well-paced and expressive, and the strong emotional connection between Mal and Seong-Jae comes through really strongly. It’s another excellent performance and I’m pleased to see that Mr. Bonnem will be narrating the rest of this addictive series.

Fraught with emotion and full of romantic tension, Changing Faces is possibly the strongest instalment in the Criminal Intentions series so far. I can’t wait for the next one!

Caz

---

Buy Changing Faces by Cole McCade on Amazon