The Murder Between Us: M|M Romantic Suspense

EPIC!Tal Bauer is top of the tree when it comes to this type of romantic suspense – a story filled as much with personal introspection and doubt as it is with investigations and police procedure.For FBI Agent Noah, the one night he allows himself to own his attraction to men means a Vegas experience that not only shatters him to his core, but which he has to deal with unexpectedly when FBI Profiler Cole, the guy he spent the night with, turns up in his serial killer incident room.This book gripped me from the start. The opening chapter tells you everything you need to know about the two men without copious amounts of exposition. Noah is repressed, he’s never acted on his attraction to men and he’s now being confronted by the object of his desires daily.He’s also dealing with the return of a serial killer after a six-year absence and this will be a no spoiler at all review but you can see from my updates just how it was going!There is everything you’d expect in a suspense novel from Tal. It has rapid twists and turns, it’s fast-paced and adrenaline filled, it makes you squirm and it causes your heart to race.It has two men who are beautifully detailed and fully fleshed out characters who leap off the page to grab your attention and hold it in a tight grip.There are red herrings and false starts, there is a twist in the tale which I never saw coming, things are both exactly as they seem and yet not all at the same time. it’s so cleverly done but, when the information comes out, it becomes much clearer.The romance is just awwwwwwww in word form; I fell for these two men instantly. Their chemistry skyrockets off the page but it’s so much more than just lustful hormones. They connect on a deeper level from the start, even as they tumble into their Vegas hotel bed it’s clear there could be more between them.Surprisingly, it’s only medium steam, but it feels more, if that makes sense. The intimacy and emotional connection between them comes out of the bedroom and into everything they’re experiencing together.And when it comes to experiences, let me say, if you have an easily turned stomach, parts of this book will make you want to vomit. Tal holds nothing back when it comes to the brutality of the killer the two men are trying to find.There were times I actually gasped out loud when reading, my heart was thumping and I had to force myself at 3am to put the book down and go to sleep. I NEEDED to know that the bad guy would get his just deserts.But, I should have known, as with all Tal books, there would be a final sting before our amazing two men can get their HEA.And what a HEA, the Epilogue is so beyond adorable I had a grin like the Cheshire Cat when I finished this book.Murders aside, I could have read about Noah and Cole indefinitely. I also seriously appreciated Noah’s daughter Katie was an integral part of the narrative too, not just there to add a bit of interest to his character.So, get it, start reading it early so you don’t stay up half the night, and be blown away by a romantic suspense novel which hopefully ticks all your boxes like it did mine.

**3.5 Stars**“Maybe Noah was falling for him, too. Maybe they could fall, and land, together.”what happens in Vegas doesn't quite stay in Vegas when there's a serial killer on the loose and Cole and Noah are brought down to reality after their one night stand and thinking they'd never see each other again.I enjoyed a lot about this book. It was really engaging and I was hooked pretty quickly. Noah and Cole's feelings go real deep real fast but it is given a bit of a slow down when they are both unexpectedly working the case together and fear and mixed feelings cause a bit of emotional distance between the two and they have a slightly slow build to their reconnection, I really would have liked to see that developed some more. But I did really enjoy it too and this author really writes moments between the two MC's so well. The anticipation, the intimacy in some moments. A touch of hands, a look etc!For the most part this isn't exactly gorey but certainly at one stage near the end there is a scene which is descriptive for sure. And a warning that the murders for the most part centre around women just existing and celebrating their achievements so yeah can definitely be triggering.The mystery and the build up was definitely engaging for sure. I will say though, there's one or two things that were spotted miles away. Also, reading back on the synopsis and it's kinda misleading. Kind of annoyingly so, especially with the whole "twisted secret" and the implications that there's something more sinister between Noah and Cole. Weird for sure.I had some other annoyances too like once again Noah was pushing Cole away and I feel like Cole truly didn't have the chance to react the way he was and therefore that didn't get the chance to play out because of what followed where Noah should have growled but he got let off for sure. I get what happened with the murders but honestly I'm still kinda left feeling confused, I'm not sure it truly all came together, it's just not completely clicking for me. some things especially toward the end were way too rushed and skipped right over. Which made me feel all meh about it.I really liked the dynamics with Katie. I loved Jacob so much and wish we would have seen more of him and especially his different friendships with Noah and Cole. The story was pretty engaging and I enjoyed it more than I maybe expected to. Cole and Noah really do work well together and they're super cute and deserve happiness but some things were just not developed enough and I'm still mad that Noah wasn't made to grovel but I'll get over it lol.

I loved this story. From Noah questioning his sexuality in the beginning, to him and Cole navigating some form of relationship and all the pitfalls in between.The case they both worked on was well plotted out and I have to say, I was shocked with one of the outcomes. I enjoyed that there was more to the story than I initially thought. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got, that's for sure.I've read many of Tal Bauer's book now and each story is different, but equally engaging and gripping.I'm not normally one for reading excerpts at the end of a book, however, I read the beginning of book two in this series 'A Grave Between Us' and that snippet has now got me downloading and reading the book already.I love Noah and Cole and I really hope there will be more books in this series.

I’ve very book Tal has written and never wanted any of them to end. This was brilliant in every way. A really nail biting plot that kept you guessing, knowing something was lurking in the background and at the same time a beautiful love story, but mind you at times I could very easily clip Noah round the ear for the way he was up and down like a yo-yo with Cole’s feelings. I’m really hoping there’s going to be a follow up to A Time To Rise 🤞