Secret Men (Hunt&Cam4Ever #6) by Adira August

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Available in KU

Blurb

(As taken from Goodreads)

A Hunter Dane Investigation. 

Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead ... Powerful men determined to keep their secrets. Detective Lieutenant Hunter Dane, determined to know it all. 

"The farmhouse has been sealed up since the last murder. Almost twenty years. Doors and windows intact. No sign of entry, forced or otherwise," Hunter said. 

"But we're searching it, anyway?" Merisi peered across the dying orchard at the two-story, clapboard structure. 

“You ain’t gonna find it.” 

Merisi whirled around. In the railroad ditch, a boy on a bicycle eyed him boldly. His Black Ops 4 cap came down to his ears. He looked about ten years old. 

“You don’t think so?” Merisi jumped down beside the boy and held out his hand. “Detective Mike Merisi.” 

The boy took his hand. “I’m Bernard.” 

“Why won’t we find him?” 

“They live in mirrors. We can't get in, but they get out.” 

“They?” Merisi asked. 

“Demons." 

Book 6 of the Hunt&Cam4Ever series. Cam's moved up the hall to his new office and new career. Hunt and his team struggle with two cases at once, chasing one suspect cloaked in wealth, and another in superstition. 

But Hunter is never without support: 

Hunt walked straight into his office where he slumped back on the edge of his desk. 

Cam followed. He shut the door before he kicked Hunt’s feet apart and moved in between his legs. Strong arms went around Hunt’s shoulders. 

“We're at work,” Hunter said, but he didn’t pull away. 

“You’re at work. I’m visiting.” Cam rubbed his cheek against Hunter’s ear. 

Hunt’s arms went around Cam’s waist. “I’m still at work.” 

“You’re on a break.” Cam’s arms tightened and Hunter’s head dropped to his shoulder with a deep sigh. 

After a minute, Hunt stood, hugged Cam tightly and pushed him firmly away. “You suck at being a good influence.” 

Cam grinned. "You're welcome." 

The HUNT&CAM4EVER series follows Hunter Dane through his murder investigations and his continuing relationship with Camden Snow. A frank exploration of the D/s dynamic between two powerful men. Consensual. Adult. Intense.

Review

“Did you forget what’s greater, stronger, than everything, Hunter Dane?

You are.”

I’ve been a fan of Hunter Dane and Camden Snow ever since I stumbled across On His Knees, about eighteen months ago, and my love for these two men, the developing relationship between them, and the mysteries they solve has only grown since that fateful day.

I’m not entirely sure what to say about Secret Men without it sounding like a literal repeat of what I wrote about the previous five books, but I’ll do my best.

For starters, this book gives us not one but two mysteries for Hunter and his team to deal with. Both cases are ugly, both are mystifying, and neither comes to a completely satisfactory conclusion. I don’t mean that there was anything wrong with the offered answers, or that the reader’s left with questions, quite the opposite. The crimes in this book are so realistic that any other resolution than we’re given in this story would be stretching the reader’s credibility too far. In fact, I’m glad the author didn’t opt for an unlikely and potentially legally dubious conclusion to these crimes; it added extra oomph to the story and made it all the more memorable.

Having said that, I’m not sure the book needed extra oomph. There isn’t a dull paragraph in this story. If we aren’t up to our neck in mysteries and horrific crimes, we are witnessing Cam and Hunter’s developing relationship. And, as in the past, it is a thing of beauty.

Their connection is complete now. Hunter is Cam’s…totally.

“Anything…anything…anything for you. […]

Anything for the one who took all decisions and responsibilities on himself, banishing uncertainty and solitude. Who never invited, but always took. Who never asked, but always impelled. Anything for the man to whom he surrendered in trust, who freed Hunter from himself.”

The scenes during which Cam demands and Hunt gives all of himself are glorious. Sure, they’re hot. But for me it goes far beyond heat-levels. The bond between them, Hunt’s need and Cam’s desire to fulfil that need are palpable and never cease to take my breath away. Because, let there be no doubt, Cam totally belongs to Hunt, too.

This book did read like ‘the end of an era’. The story-line centred on Cam and Hunt’s relationship reaches its arc in the final pages of this book in an ending as perfect as their building relationship has been from start to finish. This is the book after which you won’t have a single doubt that ‘Hunt & Cam’ are indeed ‘#4ever’. I had no complaints about the way the previous books in this series ended, but this conclusion places a crown on everything that came before, leaving the reader with that happy and warm feeling only a perfect romance can bring.

Then again, it may not be the end because it would appear there’s a glimmer of possible hope for Cam.

“Will you still marry me if I’m not gonna get sick?”

It took me two days to write this review and now that I’ve finished it, I’m not at all happy about what I’ve written. This book was awesome. It captured my attention from the start and kept me captive until I’d reached the end. Both the mysteries and the continuing relationship between Hunt and Cam were enthralling without ever ignoring the fabulous cast of secondary characters. I will forever be grateful for the day I discovered Adira August and Hunt & Cam and can only hope she’ll continue to share their relationship with us in the future.