Review: Dirty Dealings by A.J. Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - Zeta Cartel #3
Release - June 27, 2016
Genre - Romantic Suspense
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 2.5 out of 5
Length - 312 pages

I could’ve fucking strangled her. She knew it too because she stepped away quickly. “Touch me and I’ll have you!” she snarled.
“Bruja mala leche! What the fuck do you think you’re playing at! You can’t push me around!”
“Sure I can.” Her eyes were slate grey, the same colour as the sky, and just as cold. “I need help, and you’re going to give it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve got a situation. I need someone who isn’t afraid of murder and mayhem.”
I should have charmed her, offered to help and maybe it would have settled it, but I was too mad to even consider it. “Help you? Over my dead fucking body!”
She shrugged. “We can do it that way, too.” She took out her phone. “I’ll call you soon, hopefully within the hour. If you still refuse, I call Smith.” The eyes were hard. “I’d rather not shop you, because I hate that bastard, but I will if you make me.”
I gave her my number. I mean, I wanted to kill her, but in London they notice things like bodies in the street. Especially if you’re careless enough to do it in broad daylight next to a cop shop.

Quique is having a bad time. Back in Mexico his marriage has fallen apart and his wife has made him a laughing stock by cheating on him. Now he’s in London and finding himself out of his depth with a complex commercial deal. To make things worse, Natalia Truelove, a chef and pub manager, is blackmailing him. Quique is ready to commit murder and he’s pretty sure who his first victim will be.

Warning: Dirty Dealings contains strong adult language and themes as well as graphic violence and fully depicted love scenes.

Find your copy of Dirty Dealings here:
Goodreads | Amazon
FREE with Kindle Unlimited

MY REVIEW

Once I got used to the phrasing and language of this story, I found it to be an enjoyable, suspenseful read. Natalia was spunky, sassy, feisty, strong, independent, reliable and amazing. Quique was fierce, loyal, devoted, dominant, aggressive, alpha, protective, intelligent and supportive. I enjoyed the development of their relationship and how it was obvious to me, the reader, that they were on their way to forever, even though they were living in denial. The author explored many facets of the underworld and crime, such as gambling, kiddie porn, regular porn, cartels, corrupt cops, rape, assault, domestic abuse, murder, etc. There was definitely a lot going on and it kept things interesting.

If there was one thing I could have changed, especially earlier on in this story, it would be making Enrique appear stronger when confronting his cheating wife. She got away with a lot and considering the fact that he was the #3 in the world’s most elite cartel, I expected more in retaliation. More in regards to retribution. Just more! However, what he dealt with and the way he handled it spoke to the character of the man and it was very hard not to respect the heck out of him. He had such a compassionate soul for such a hard man and it made him a sympathetic character. It was really easy to like Natalia. Although she came off rough and hard to take, it was clear that these were her defense mechanisms. Used to shouldering the burden of those around her, she had to stay strong in the face of every adversity. Her life had proven to be difficult but she handled it with grace and perseverance.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. If you like stories that involve action, suspense, hints of mystery, a great moving plot with interesting and dynamic characters, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy the heck out of Dirty Dealings too.