Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

I have not had much free time so when I decide to binge read I decided it was high time I caught up with Tess and Po in this series I have come to love. This latest instalment sees an old school friend of Tess named Stella reach out to her with a request. Her father Aaron Lacey who is an ex-cop has gone missing. Aaron was working for a company called Elite Services and it looks at first glance like he has done a runner, the question is why?
Tess and Po decide to help her out and as usual butt heads with people from the get go. Of course no book would be complete without their loveable friend Pinky. I liked this story and as per usual the characters are totally what makes these books so engaging. There is a lot of action and it is reasonably fast paced. It took me only two sittings to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot wait to move onto the next book in the series.

This is 5th in a series featuring Private Investigator Tess Grey and her partner, both professionally and privately, Nicolas 'Po' Villere, who not only is her back-up, but an ex-con as well.

Ex-Cop Aaron Lacey is wounded .. and running. His employer, a protection service of ex-military and police, will stop at nothing to take him out. Lacey has already killed two of his colleagues in self defense. What is it that Lacey knows .. or has .. that makes him so dangerous to his employer?

His disappearance has his daughter worried, so she calls on Tess Grey ... someone she once went to school with years ago. But now Tess is conflicted. Her own mother has warned her not to help her friend. Her mother is not being only overprotective ... she's lying to Tess. What does she know and why would it affect her ability to help her friend?

As Tess and her partner Nicolas Villere get involved, they need to figure out who can be trusted and what secrets they are hiding.

I like this author's writing. There is much movement and excitement in his words. Story premise is excellent. The book is fast-paced, with characters that I really enjoy reading. Although 5th in the series, it is easily read as a stand-alone. This is one series I highly recommend starting at the beginning. The characters are unique ... with diverse backgrounds. Opposites attract maybe?

Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this excellent crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I had not read anything from this author previously, although knew the name from the UKCBC Facebook group; he’s British but writes thrillers set in the USA. This is the fifth in his Grey and Villerre series about a couple of Private Investigators based in Portland, Maine, who are also life partners. It’s a page-turning action romp that worked fine as a stand-alone although I would’ve probably enjoyed it even more knowing the personalities and backstories of the characters.

Ex-police officer turned PI Tess Grey and ex-con Po Villere are asked to track down the father of her childhood friend Stella, Lacey, a corrupt ex-cop who has stolen a memory stick from his employers, a shady private security company, Elite Services, with the intention of blackmailing them. He’s injured and on the run, having killed a couple of the mercenaries sent after him in self-defence, and Elite’s psychotic guns for hire will stop at nothing to prevent him exposing a famous client’s shocking secrets, but a chance discovery gives Tess a more personal reason to find Lacey before the killers do.

This was a fast-paced competently written thriller with an appealing central duo and some fun side characters, especially larger-than-life Pinky. The plot was fairly predictable, and the villains a bit of a caricature. Some of the fight scenes were rather overblown and hard to follow but that might just be me. I enjoyed the relationship between Tess and Po as they throw themselves into the job, while trying to negotiate their personal relationship. I’d be keen to read the earlier books of the series, although this could take a while, as I have far too many books already to be buying more just now, especially at their current price.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. False Move is published on 01.05.19.

Tess and Po are back! I've only read one of this series so this was more or less a standalone for me but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. This time out, they're looking for Aaron Lacey, a former police officer who has since gone to work for Elite Custodian Services and who is now missing. Tess' mother doesn't want her to take on the job and as the tale progresses, Tess begins to question her mother's thinking. What was their relationship, really? Po figures less but he's still critical to the search and the plot. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good fast read.

An entertaining read but not my sort of book.

An ex-cop Aaron Lacey goes on the run from his employers, Elite Custodian Services and they will stop at nothing to track him down and kill him if necessary.

His daughter, Stella, reaches out to her old school friend, Tess Grey, who together with her partner, both personally and professionally, Nicolas ‘Po’ Villere are asked to help with the search. Po has served 14 years in prison himself so has many enemies who would be happy to see him killed.

The book becomes a competition between the ‘heavies' of Elite Custodian Services and Tess and Po to discover Lacey's whereabouts first. Tess' mother, Barbara whose husband was Lacey's partner years before is reluctant for Tess to get involved and when Tess meets up again with Stella after many years, she becomes concerned at their likeness. Was her mother more involved with Lacey than she is letting on?

I quite enjoyed this story and the ending, but it did not hold my attention. I suspect this may be because this is the 5th Book in this series. I did not really connect with the characters, but this often happens if you have no knowledge of their previous history.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Non-stop action in this pacy fifth installment of the Tess Grey & Po Villere thriller series. Tess is tasked by her old school friend to find her father, an ex-cop on the run from his employer, a private security firm willing to kill to hide an unknown secret. Ably assisted by their gangster friend Pinky Leclerc. An enjoyable romp from start to finish.