Variable Onset
by Layla Reyne
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: M/M Romantic Mystery/Suspense
Series: N/A
Standalone: Yes
Tropes: Fake Marriage, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract, Undercover LEOs, Single Dad, Hot for Teacher
A mystery whodunit with a romantic will-they-or-won't-they.
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Blurb
To catch a killer, a special agent and his former student will need to get close—to their target, and each other.
When the serial killer known as Dr. Fear seemingly reemerges after a cooling-off period, Special Agent Lincoln Monroe wants on the case. He knows his research on the calculating criminal, who targets couples and uses their worst fears to kill them, could prove invaluable. But nothing can prepare Lincoln for the agent waiting for him in Apex, Virginia: a brash and cocky former student. Carter Warren is everything Lincoln is not, and somehow everything he wants. And they’ll be going undercover. As newlyweds.
For Carter, seeing Lincoln again—and flustered to boot—pokes his raging bear of a crush something fierce. He thinks posing as lovers will provide the perfect bait for Dr. Fear. But pretending to be married forces them to confront fears of their own…like giving in to the very real chemistry between them.
With evidence pointing to the possibility of a copycat killer, Lincoln and Carter will have to race to separate truth from fiction. But when another couple goes missing, finding the killer will test every ounce of their training, skills and the strength of their bond like never before.
Excerpt
Lincoln bent to pick his socks up off the floor, and Carter admired his firm, round ass in well-worn jeans. He’d never seen Lincoln this dressed down before. Not that the professor wasn’t handsome in slacks, a button-down, and argyle, but jeans, a tee, and said argyle was a look Carter could get behind.
Literally.
That gray tee and pink-and-purple argyle rucked up around his torso, those jeans stretched around lean, muscular thighs, that perfect ass in the air, pale skin flushed for the kisses Carter would like to…
A sharp clap broke through the fantasy unspooling in Carter’s head. Lincoln was on his way back from the mudroom off the kitchen, exasperation painting his face, as if he could see inside Carter’s head. “Explain this,” he said, using his ring finger to gesture between them. “Beverley said I was going undercover as the new librarian at Apex U and that my partner on this case would be teaching a survival course to Apex PD. He said nothing about living together or pretending to be married.”
“Because I asked him not to,” Carter replied. Lincoln opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but Carter spoke again first. “It wasn’t only Agent—Senator—Kirk who asked for you on this case. I asked for you too. You are the Bureau’s resident expert on Dr. Fear. But it doesn’t take an expert to know who Dr. Fear targets.”
“Couples.”
Carter nodded and waited for the implication to register.
It took a few seconds, but then Lincoln paled and braced a hand on the end of the island. “You want us to be bait?” he squawked.
Carter dipped his chin to hide his grin. When he was sure his face was in order again, he lifted it and said, “If they’re active again, or even if this is a copycat, who better to lead the killer to than to two trained agents instead of to more innocents?”
Carra's Review
One fact that is indisputable is that Layla Reyne is an expert at writing romantic suspense. This time around here in Variable Onset, the story relies more heavily on the suspense and mystery, with the romance being more incidental to everything else that’s going on. But as a reader you’re so pulled into the intrigue of the case that you may not realize that the relationship that’s developing until it creeps up on you in unexpected moments.
Lincoln has pretty much fallen into being more on the analytical side of things, not just due to the nature of his work’s concentration but also as a result of his more introverted personality. It was really easy for me to identify with his character since that is me to a T. Carter’s more outgoing disposition lends itself more to his work in the field working undercover along with his ability to insinuate himself into most any environment. Right there you have the opposites attract thing going, and if you add that to the age gap and former professor/student dynamic, there’s plenty to attract most readers to their matchup.
With the case being the stronger focal point of the story, it’s easy to be pulled down into the rabbit hole…because let’s face it—when Layla Reyne is writing a story with mystery and suspense, you never know where things will lead or who the actual bad guy is. She definitely kept me on my toes here trying to guess who the perpetrator was, and that in turn kept me on edge for the majority of the book.
You can’t go wrong when picking up one of this author’s romantic suspense stories, and for me Variable Onset wound up being a 4.5-star read. This story is a standalone, so no worries if you haven’t read any of her books previously. Finally, with the adult language and a small amount of sexual content (though there’s plenty of sexual tension throughout), this book is meant for readers 18+.
About the Author
Layla Reyne is the author of Dine With Me, and the Fog City, Agents Irish and Whiskey, Trouble Brewing, and Changing Lanes series. A Carolina Tar Heel who now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home, Layla enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart pounding romance.
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