Heat Trap by J.L. Merrow
Review by Lauren
source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own
Check out the summary on Goodreads
Review: I don’t want to spoil too much about this book as it’s the third in a series, which is why I didn’t include the official summary above. However, I can say that I absolutely love these books. I’m a big fan of m/m romance – as you probably know if you’ve read my blog for awhile – but I also love m/m books that aren’t just focused on the romance (though those are awesome too!) and the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries are just such books. Plus, it’s a series that follows the same couple, which can be rare – most “sequels” in m/m fiction tend to be companion novels.
While I don’t always rate books I read, I gave the first two books (Pressure Head and Relief Valve) four stars, and I rated Heat Trap five stars on Goodreads. Once again, this book features a mystery that Tom and his PI boyfriend, Phil, must try and solve. Tom’s a plumber by trade – hence the series’ title – but he also has the ability to find things that have been purposely hidden, connecting the emotion of the hider with it, so sometimes it’s a bit cheeky, but other times (in the case of murders), it’s much darker. As for Phil and Tom, they have been growing their relationship across all of these books and I love how they are growing closer, as well as getting to know more about each other. Phil and Tom knew each other in school but they hadn’t seen each other in years, and a lot happened during that time period, especially because Phil was definitely not out back in the day.
I feel like this series just gets better and better. The mysteries are all intriguing, and I love when Tom uses his abilities, but I also like the growth of a relationship across multiple books. It feels natural and realistic. I definitely recommend this series, and Heat Trap in particular.
