Partners by Gerri Hill is the third book in the Hunter series but can be read as a stand alone, the story links are minimal between books and there is enough context that it’s not necessary to start with book 1.
Casey O’Connor is not thrilled about the idea of getting a new partner and tries to convince the captain to let her partner with Hunter. Despite her efforts she ends up with Leslie Turner who is transferring from assault. But she has no time to really gripe about the situation because there is a killer who is focusing on single women, and when they link the murders to peeping tom sightings in the area their case starts to require long night stakeouts and lots of time to get to know her new partner. A partner who happens to be rather attractive.
Leslie is engaged to be married but she has not set a date for her wedding yet despite pressure from her soon to be mother in law. Her fiancé seems happy to just live together for the time being as long as he gets to play his games and have loads of socials with his friends. Leslie hasn’t spent too much time thinking about why she is so hesitant to make that final commitment until she begins to work in homicide and is partnered with Casey. When she realises she would rather spend time with Casey than her fiancé, even if it is on a late night stake out, then things start to shift in her world.
As the case begins to take a strange turn so the feelings between Casey and Leslie heat to a boiling point. But will Leslie risk everything for a relationship with a woman? And can they solve the case and stop the murders while being distracted by one another?
The Characters
Casey is a side character in the first two books of the series but in this one she takes the lead. I liked Casey from the moment she appeared and I am so glad that Hill gave her a story. She is an adorable butch with a cute accent and is a complete sweetheart. I want nothing but good things for her in this world.
Leslie is the one who goes through the big character arc in the story as she comes to terms with being a lesbian and what that means for her life. She is great and the pairing in this book is a little reminiscent of the story from Hunter’s Way so if you enjoyed that then you will enjoy this one.
The Writing Style
Hill is fantastic author. The story was interesting and most of it held up with one of two small things that dated it like a comment about lesbians not being able to be married. But overall it was an interesting case and the chemistry between the leads was believable and fun to follow.
The Narration
Abby Craden and Gerri Hill pair perfectly. Craden gets the nuances and timing of the mystery elements just right while also conveying the depths of the characters and the emotions that they are going through. It’s a beautiful audiobook.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I love the romance in this one more than the case. The angst, the connection and attraction between the leads and the drama around coming out all did it for me.
Cons And Heads Up
A spoiler follows so heads up:
Here’s the thing, while I am aware that there have been serial killers who have dressed as women in order to gain access to their victims I also feel like with the state of the world right now it’s not a great trope to have in queer fiction given that this is one of the stupid arguments against trans women. So that was a little unfortunate. I am also aware that this book was written in 2008 so this was not a commentary or slight towards trans women.
The Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook and loved the romance. I was a teeny bit sad that Tori and Sam from book 1 didn’t play a bigger part but that also meant that it could stand alone as a story.
Casey was a strong lead and Leslie was a good pairing for her. The romance was scorchingly hot and dramatic and while there were not a ton of sex scenes there was enough sexual chemistry to keep me captivated.
TLDR (too long didn’t read)
I highly recommend the audiobook versions of the entire series. There is something epic about the combination of Gerri Hill and Abby Craden when you want a great mystery with a hot romance.
Excerpt from Partners by Gerri Hill
She followed his gaze, an eyebrow arching in surprise. This was her new partner? Dark hair, nicely layered, reaching nearly to her shoulders framed a tanned, smooth face with only a hint of makeup. Oh, damn. If she was being paired with a straight woman, at least she could have been a dog. Not this…this beauty walking through their squad room. How fair was that?
But Malone was standing, moving to his doorway. “Detective Tucker? In here.” He stepped aside, motioning for her to enter.
Casey stood, offering her hand politely. “I’m Casey O’Connor. The lieutenant was just filling me in.”
“Leslie Tucker, nice to meet you.” She slipped an errant strand of hair behind her ears, her smile confident, showing no hint of nervousness. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked around about you. You still have friends over at Assault.”
“I don’t mind as long as they lied to you,” Casey said with a grin, noting the amused expression in the woman’s dark eyes.
“They had very nice things to say about you. Were they lying?”
“Well, since we’ll be working together, I guess you’ll find out sooner or later.”
Malone was the one who gave a nervous laugh as he looked from one to the other. “I’m sure you’ll—”
“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Tori said as she stuck her head in the door. “Mac called. They’ve got results. He had a hit in CODIS.”
“A name?” Casey asked.
“He didn’t go into it. We were about to walk over. You want to come?” Then she glanced at Malone. “Sorry, Lieutenant. I’m assuming she’s still working the case with us.”
“Yeah. And this is Detective Tucker.”
“Leslie,” she said, offering her hand to Tori.
“Tori Hunter. Welcome aboard.” Tori stepped back out of the doorway. “Let’s walk over. Have you met Mac and his team before?”
“I know who he is, yes. One of his guys, Emerson, was the one who worked with Assault the most.”
Casey followed Leslie Tucker out of Malone’s office, then stopped and turned back with a grin. “Dang, Lieutenant, couldn’t find someone old and frumpy I guess?”
“I was about to warn Sikes to keep his hands and eyes off her. Do I need to warn you as well?”
“No, no. I learned a long time ago never to mess with straight women. Don’t worry. I won’t pull a Tori and Sam on you.”
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Series
Tori Hunter Trilogy
Partners
Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9781594931307
- Publisher: Bella Books
- Audiobook Publisher: Tantor Audio
- Narrator: Abby Craden
- Gerri Hill Online
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Note: I received a free review copy of Partners by Gerri Hill. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
