Review – Hidden Crimes by Emma Holly

Publisher: Self
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: ARC from the author

Cats and dogs aren’t supposed to fall in love. Like any wolf, RPD detective Nate Rivera knows this. He can’t help it if the tigress he’s been trading quips with at the supermarket is the most alluring woman he’s ever met—sassy too, which suits him down to his designer boots.

Evina Mohajit is aware their flirtation can’t lead to more. Still, she relishes trading banter with the hot werewolf. This hardworking single mom hasn’t felt so female since her twins’ baby daddy left to start his new family. Plus, as a station chief in Resurrection’s Fire Department, she understands the demands of a dangerous job.

Their will-they-or-won’t-they tango could go on forever if it weren’t for the mortal peril the city’s shifter children fall into. To save them, Nate and Evina must team up, a choice that ignites the sparks smoldering between them . . .
This blurb came from the author’s website here.

When I received the request for a review from Ms Holly, I did not have to think twice before decided to accept because as I have stated in previous reviews she is one of my favorite erotic authors. Then when I read the blurb and realized that with this installment of her Hidden series, third after Hidden Talents and Hidden Depths, she was returning to the city of Resurrection I had to start reading immediately. I found it to be a lot of fun to revisit Resurrection and see what was happening with the werewolf pack introduced in Hidden Talents .

In this particular installment things aren’t exactly running smoothly for the werewolves. Professionally they are still working hard as the police force but on a more personal or should I say internal pack level things were slightly unsettled. One of the wolves, Nate, wasn’t comfortable in his pack position anymore. He knew he wasn’t Alpha and didn’t want to try to become Alpha but he kept having issues with the respect he owed his Alpha, Adam, (the hero of Hidden Talents). It wasn’t an issue of poor leadership Nate just had to continue almost challenging Adam every time they were around each other.

After encountering a horrific crime scene and arguing with Adam about pursuing a clue that had nothing to do with their current case he decided to go grocery shopping to let off some steam. Adam is what you would call a metro-sexual if a werewolf could be one. He likes nice things and will save until they are available rather then just get something to fit the needed purpose. And he also likes women, a lot. The particular supermarket he prefers is high-end and affords him with lots of chances to flirt with the ladies old, young, species indiscriminate although he does lighten the message when it involves non-wolves. One of the ladies he usually flirts with is a tiger shifter who happens to run a fire-station. It was interesting to see how the tigers had the fire department and the wolves had the police department. Makes for an interesting rivalry.

Elvina, the tigress, is a single parent raising her twins with the help of her mother. Her son was responsible for providing cupcakes for the monthly birthday celebration in his class so she was making a late night trip to go buy them when she ran into a Nate who was not his usual self. She decided to see what was going on and from there Nate asked her to help him check out the crime scene. Apparently Tigers are good at astral projection and the one who was usually on call for the police was taking a well-deserved vacation. Elvina agrees to help and that really starts their transition to lovers.

I enjoyed both the hero and heroine a lot. They were complete separately and when they finally matched up it was amazing. The supporting characters also helped flesh out the story and were more then just window dressing. The issues with cross-species trust let alone a cross-species romance were also dealt with quite nicely. Things were all rainbows and hearts but took some working and adjusting from all parties. The clandestine investigation that Nate and Elvina were conducting and the investigation that the police department had been working were intermingled nicely within the threads of the romance. They helped to build external and internal conflict.

I can’t say what happened with the investigations, how Nate and Elvina managed to work out their romance, or even how Nate settles his position within the werewolf pack with out some massive spoilers. I will say that this is a romance and to trust the author to make it all work without seeming too convenient. Since this is a book written by Emma Holly the smex will be erotic grin.

Ms Holly is one of a few authors whose self-published works I find to be more polished then a lot of the work coming out of traditional publishing. It makes a huge difference knowing that I will not be jerked from the story due to an error that should have been caught during the editing process. I wish more self-published authors would continue in this trend.

Hidden Crimes is a very entertaining complete story. I loved returning to Resurrection and I hope we get more set in that city. It is extremely complex and each installment has revealed more about this world and its inhabitants.
I give Hidden Crimes an A

Links to purchase:
Kindle | Amazon