Unstable Connections (Valor and Doyle Book 3) by Nicky James #Audiobook #MMRomance #Contemporary #Review #LGBT #Suspense

Erryn reviews ‘Unstable Connections (Valor and Doyle Book 3)’ by Nicky James. This book was released by the author on October 17, 2022, and is 468 pgs long. The audiobook version of this story was narrated by Nick J. Russo.  It was released on December 21, 2022, and is 12 hrs and 44 mins long. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Why I read this book:  I’m loving this series.

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Missing children are reappearing, and the ties to a 30-year-old cold case can’t be ignored.

Detective Quaid Valor has too much on his plate. Between his shaky, brand-new relationship with reformed office playboy Detective Aslan Doyle, his sister’s case going from cold to hot overnight, his father insisting on being involved, and his boss breathing down his neck, Quaid is on edge.

The stress of the case is impacting Quaid’s whole life. He isn’t eating or sleeping, and every time he and Aslan are together, he is overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy which threaten to ruin the one good thing he has. Aslan’s patience seems unending until something happens to turn his life upside down too.

Can their relationship survive the personal and professional pressures they’re facing, or will it crash and burn?

Between media rumors and unstable connections, Quaid and his team need to hustle and piece together a complicated case before more children fall victim to their unknown serial kidnapper. Maybe once everything is solved, Aslan and Quaid will have time to work on their rocky relationship and find stable ground once again.

*Unstable Connections is the third book in the Valor and Doyle Mystery Series. It is a same-couple series that should be read in order. Although each book has a self-contained mystery with no cliffhangers, the romance is over-arching and progressive throughout the series.

Buy Links: Audible  | Amazon  | Add to Goodreads 

Read my review of Book 1, Temporary Partners here.

Read my review of Book 2, Elusive Relations here.

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My Review:

When we last left Quaid Valor and Aslan Doyle, a missing child had reappeared.  With Quaid’s sister’s backpack.  A sister who’s been missing for nearly 30 years.

Man, I was pissed that they book cut out there.  But the mystery as to who attacked Quaid’s ex had been resolved.  And since the mystery of the sister was Quaid’s motivation for being in the Missing Persons Unit in the first place, logic dictated that storyline would carry through into the final book (or what I thought was the final book – but more about that later…)

Quaid’s getting it from all sides.  His father, who’d been responsible for Quaid’s sister the day she went missing – and who also served in MPU for years – wants in on the case now that there’s movement.  Quaid’s boss insists on going public before there’s enough known, and the City of Toronto wants answers – both in the cold case and for these new young girls who are disappearing. Quaid’s also trying not to rely too heavily on Aslan.  His ex burned him badly, and he can never quite trust that Aslan won’t do the same.  Aslan, for his part, has stuff going on as well and things take a bad turn for him and then, with all Quaid’s going through, it doesn’t look like he can be there for Aslan and things look rocky.

This book felt like breakneck speed at times – with information coming from all different directions.  Quaid’s got a solid team behind him – his partner, another pair from MPU, as well as Aslan and his partner from homicide.  But will they be able to solve the mystery in time?  Because, with a predator out there, children are still at risk.

I’ll admit I didn’t see the ending coming and that was all the more impressive.  At the end, though, even though everything was resolved, I still felt like I wanted more.  Needed more.  And, apparently so did the author.  The fourth book has just been released and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’ll be coming to audio shortly and OMG, can we talk about Nick J. Russo? I love him and he’s so perfect for these books.  So, although I’ve loved them all, this was the best and fingers crossed the next one will be just as good.

My Rating:

10/10 Pots of Gold (100% Recommended) – Compares to 5/5 Stars

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Facebook | Twitter: @NicoleJames1978 | Goodreads

I live in the small town of Petrolia, Ontario, Canada and I am a mother to a wonderful teenage boy (didn’t think those words could be typed together…surprise) and wife to a truly supportive and understanding husband, who thankfully doesn’t think I’m crazy.

I have always had two profound dreams in life. To fall back hundreds of years in time and live in a simpler world, not bogged down by technology and to write novels. Since only one of these was a possibility I decided to make the other come alive on paper.

I write mm romance novels that take place in fantastical medieval-type settings and love to use the challenges of the times to give my stories and characters life.