Burgundy: Bait

Title: Burgundy: Bait
Author: Sarah Colter
Publisher: Torquere
Genre: Paranormal M/M, interracial
Length: short story (46 PDF pages)
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Summary Review: This story had a promising start but a disappointing ending.

THE BLURB

Roth is a reporter and a vampire. Someone has been murdering young gay men in his city, and Roth is surprised when policeman Martin Wheeler asks him to help catch the killer. As the two of them begin an undercover sting operation, Roth playing bait, they recognize their mutual attraction, which quickly develops into affection. A killer makes a move, leaving another young man dead, but there’s something different about this murder.

Will Roth and Martin be able to catch the killer before someone else is killed, possibly even Roth himself, or is their newly blooming love doomed?

THE REVIEW

Roth was a two and a half century old vampire and recently he had been longing for someone in his life who was more than a friend. On this day he had a visit from an old acquaintance, Lieutenant Martin Wheeler, with whom he had a tenuous relationship – they were not exactly friends since Roth was a reporter and Wheeler was a cop and the two careers were not without friction. When Roth inquired about the reason for the unscheduled visit, it seemed that Martin had something on his mind and requested that Roth invite him into his apartment for a chat. Although uneasy, Roth let him in after Martin explained that a killer was targeting gays and he had a specific modus operandi. Martin suggested that they team up to draw the killer out in the open, before he had a chance to kill again. Martin’s plan involved the two of them becoming up close and personal in public places since the killer hated openly gay couples who were affectionate in public.

After going over the plan, which would use Roth as bait, they put it into effect immediately. When they went out on their first “date” the simmering attraction that Roth had felt for Martin for some time was getting a workout, much to his dismay, because he had resolved a long time ago not to get involved with anyone, especially humans. Now a mere mortal was becoming important to him and he didn’t even know if Martin was gay. As they put on a performance for the killer Roth became more aroused, and he wondered if Martin’s burgundy jacket was the reason for the explosive attraction he was feeling because he was fond of the colour. However, the decision about whether it was the man or the burgundy jacket he was wearing would have to wait, because they had a killer to catch, before there was another victim. Later that evening the next body turned up and the victim was identified as a former lover of Martin’s, which made him even more determined to find and apprehend the murderer. Up to this point Roth had been unaware of Martin’s sexual orientation and had assumed that the attraction was one sided, even though they had been putting on quite a show to draw out the killer.

The story was going well and then it fell apart when the newest body was discovered and the investigation became unrealistic. Without giving away too much, the conclusions reached about the identity of the murderer were inconclusive. There were many threads left hanging, and rather than provide clues to help determine who was the killer, the author muddied the waters even more.

For a vampire Roth seemed to be inordinately fond of creature comforts and the need for excellent bed linens. I guess vampires sleep a lot so they require great sheets and mattresses –

Roth had recently washed the linens and covered the king-sized bed with a newly purchased comforter. The big, plush pillows were less than a month old. The mattress was semi-firm but the placement of two wrinkle-free pillow top mattress covers instantly caused tired, tense muscles to relax.

I thought that Roth’s and Martin’s pillow talk after sex was boring, and in addition, the dialogue was trite when they were trying to decide towards the end on which likely suspect was the killer. I found the whole investigation and sting unconvincing and their technique to flush the killer out left a lot to be desired, and at times it was unintentionally comical. The end seemed to be too incredible for words and very sudden, almost as if the author had run out of the word count and needed to complete the book in a hurry. In addition, the prose during the big reveal was a bit pretentious and overdone. I just could not buy the way the story ended.

Burgundy Bait would be of interest to fans of the writer.