In Hot Pursuit

Title: In Hot Pursuit
Author: Kate McMurray
Publisher: Loose Id
Length: Novel (164 pages)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A guest review by Lily

The Blurb

Hard-working NYPD cop Noah Tobin didn’t even want to go on vacation. But it’s been a tough eighteen months since the death of his lover, so he’s determined to make the most of it. On his first night in sunny Florida, a chance encounter with a handsome man in a bar bathroom jumpstarts something in Noah that’s been dormant for all those months. Then the man disappears.

Noah’s vacation is thrown into upheaval because he can’t just let it go when he learns that the mysterious man who turned his life upside down went missing. He volunteers to help with the manhunt for his mystery man, a wealthy restaurateur named Harrison Knowles. But finding Harry is only the beginning of Noah’s hot pursuit.

The Review

When Noah Tobin’s lover is killed by a man out gunning for Noah he’s left with the memories of his love and a thirst for justice. Eighteen long months later the NYPD Detective is in the courtroom to witness his lover’s killer brought to justice. After months of hard work it’s a satisfying yet hollow victory.

Knowing how stressed Noah has been during the past eighteen months his lieutenant places him on paid leave and offers him the use of a time share in Tampa, Florida. With no choice in the matter Noah accepts and soon finds himself in sunny Florida. On his first night he decides to visit a gay bar, something which he rarely did back home in New York for fear of being outed. At the bar Noah meets a sexy man named Harry. After sharing a couple of drinks they spend some time in the bar’s bathroom before parting ways.

The next day Noah sees Harry’s picture on TV. It turns out that Harry is Harrison Knowles, a local businessman who’s now missing. Figuring that he’s one of the last people to see him before his disappearance Noah contacts the Tampa Police Department. After sharing more information about himself than he ever wanted to Noah finds himself helping Detective Debra Ruiz in the investigation.

When Harry manages to escape his captors, Detective Ruiz, Noah and Harry work together to figure out who kidnapped Harry and why. As the men spend time together they form a tentative friendship and even though Noah wants to maintain distance between them, they soon become lovers again. As he works to figure out who’s after Harry, Noah also has to deal with coming to terms with his past and his ever deepening feelings for Harry.

Noah and Harry, who at first appeared so different, one a hard working, reserved police detective and the other a laid back, fun loving bar owner, were really nicely written and I enjoyed the development of their relationship. The sex scenes in the story, beginning with their first encounter in the bar’s bathroom, are very hot but don’t overwhelm the story. We are also shown some sweet and tender moments between Noah and Harry and these help to show a softer more vulnerable side to Noah and at the same time a mature, caring side to Harry. There are also some nice secondary characters in this story with Detective Ruiz being the most interesting one. I liked the fact that she is portrayed as a strong, intelligent and capable police detective who also happens to be a woman.

I did have a slight reservation with the story and that is that I found it strange that Noah and Detective Ruiz seemingly didn’t have a problem with some of the activities that went on in Harry’s bar and his involvement in them. It seemed out of character for the two police detectives to act that way. I would have expected it to be a bigger issue but other than that I really enjoyed this story.

Overall I found In Hot Pursuit to be a well written and fast paced story that grabbed my attention and kept it from beginning to end. There is plenty of action in the story as the men deal with kidnappers, shooters and not one but two bad guys. I liked Noah and Harry, enjoyed the development of their relationship and when I finished the book I was happy to have read it. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and look forward to reading more in the future.