REVIEW: Crash and Burn (Cut and Run, #9) by Abigail Roux
B- ReviewsAction/Adventure / contemporary mm romance / FBI agents14 Comments
It’s been five years since Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett first worked together to solve the Tri-State murders, and time has been both harsh and kind. Engaged now, they face the challenge of planning a deeply uncertain future together. Zane is at the pinnacle of his career with one last mystery to solve, while Ty is at sea in a world where he’s no longer the tip of a spear.
There’s just one more hurdle in the way of their happy ever after: a traitor from their inner circle who threatens to burn their world to the ground.
Squeezed between the Vega cartel, an unknown mole, and too many alphabet agencies to count, Ty and Zane must gather all their strength and resources to beat the longest odds they’ve ever faced. To make it out alive, they’ll need help from every friend they’ve got. Even the friends who might betray their trust.
Word count: 113,000; page count: 419
Review:
Dear Abigail Roux.
I still remember when, soon after the release of “Cut and Run,” a book buddy insisted that I had to read it. So I read it and we argued about whether the book needed a sequel, and we agreed that at least one more would be nice. And the rest is history. I fell in love with the first book because Ty and Zane started with an antagonistic chemistry, and while that quickly changed into something more, it never lost that edge for me. Yes, even in the first book I noticed that these two are not the sharpest tools in the drawer. Starting maybe in the middle of the story, I wanted to draw a big picture of the villain and smack them on the heads to make sure they noticed. But despite quickly realizing that I wouldn’t be reading this series for intelligent detective work, I had no intention of stopping because I loved Ty and Zane that much. And in books two and three (especially in book three if I remember correctly) the mystery was pretty decent.
I promise I won’t be giving you a recap of how I felt about all previous eight books in the series. The reason I mention it is because I was very disappointed by the eighth book, in which I felt that Nick (Ty’s friend who by that time had his own series) took center stage at the expense of Ty and Zane. I was still going to buy this book since it was the last one in a series I had invested a lot of time and money in, but I had very low expectations to start.
I am happy to report that I liked this book more than I expected. Even though Nick still plays a big role, Ty and Zane are the stars of this book (for me anyway, obviously your mileage can differ) and that’s how I like it. There are plenty of tender scenes between them, in bed and out of bed, and a lot of action, *a lot* of action. I never thought I would say it about *any* m/m book, but in the previous book I, of all readers, missed the sex between Ty and Zane. I really missed it. But there was a plenty of it to satisfy me in this book. I am also happy to report that Zane knew how to use his knives again. I thought he had developed amnesia about that in the last book (and many other things, but strangely this small thing was one of the most annoying).
We catch up with Ty and Zane when Zane, now special agent in charge, is contemplating the mystery of the “mole,” whose existence was revealed to the readers in previous books, but not his identity. After a conversation with Ty, who is now retired from FBI, Zane suddenly realizes that their home could be bugged and they take a certain action to try and counter that. And it all starts from there. Nick appears soon enough after the book starts, but not before we actually get to spend time with Ty and Zane and the action kicks in. A lot of characters from the previous books make guest appearances and most of these appearances made sense to me. It is really hard for me to talk about all the action without revealing spoilers, so I will try not to, but I have to talk generally about the *big reveal of the Big Bad*. So, the reveal in some ways rocks the foundation of the series – not who Ty and Zane were and are for each other, but the reader will be rereading a lot of events which will now have to be seen in a different light. It is just impossible not to do that given what happens in this book.
Did the reveal work for me? No, it did not. Not because of the reveal itself, because it is always fun to gasp at the end of a multi-installment mystery and realize that the character/s is/are not who you think they were. It did not work for me because when I go back and think about past events in light of the reveal I need to see the clues planted in places which I did not catch at the time and to be able to say “Aha. Now I realize what I missed and why”. And here it feels that the writer kept the cards close to her chest and said at the end – now I will wave the magic wand and pull the rabbit out of the hat and everything that you thought you knew is now wrong. To use JK Rowling’s words (I think she was the one who said that you should trick the reader but not cheat her), I like to be tricked, but here I felt that I was cheated, because so many positive relationships with this character are now, well, part of the web of deceit and lies. But I want to be clear, putting my emotional reaction aside: I just do not think that this reveal — if it was the end game, the end mystery — I just do not think that it was plotted well.
This also has nothing to do with suspension of disbelief, because believe me, the whole plot of this book (what they were trying to locate, whom they were after and who was after them) required a massive suspension of disbelief and I was totally fine with it. Right from the beginning of this series, nine books ago, the plots were over the top and I was completely on board. The big reveal, though, needs to be consistent in the universe of the series, and for me it was not.
Good bye Ty and Zane. I do not follow the “Sidewinders” series so I am not going to see you if you make guest appearances there. Thanks for the ride. And I want to thank the Goodreads reviewers who mentioned a vignette at the very end of the book, because otherwise I would have totally missed it and it was very adorable.
Grade: B-
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Thank you. I too felt disappointed by the way this series wrapped up, especially the big reveal. I’ve reread most of the rest of the series a number of times (with the exception of book 8, which I didn’t enjoy), so I know there are a few places where we can read the character in a different light. But all the same, I don’t think there were enough of them to make it seem organic. And even though the rest of the plots are, as you say, over the top, this one seemed so over the top for me that it was hard to suspend my disbelief, no matter how much I wanted to. I think it partly had to do with the way it actually seemed like a rehash from a previous book.
I also felt like the writing and characterization were just weaker in this book. The sex scenes in particular (with the exception of the first) just felt rote–they relied on a lot of cliches about how things feel and sound. It just seemed like either lazy writing or as if Roux’s heart wasn’t really in it. Ty and Zane spent so much time, both when having sex and when not, saying “I love you” that it felt as if they didn’t really have much else to say to one another. Zane hardly made any puns and Ty’s silly, but witty, commentary was largely absent.
I did like the part at the beginning with the orchids though. That made me tear up and sniffle.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Ball & Chain was fun but so ridiculous even by the standards of this series that I felt kind of silly for liking it. I couldn’t put this book down and I am fine with not reading anymore about Ty and Zane. I feel completely satisfied with the series ending.
I stopped with book 7 because of what I read about book 8. Would it be possible to read this one after skipping book 7, or do I have to read book 7 first?
At any rate, I’m glad to see this series come to a conclusion instead of being milked for one more book indefinitely.
@Alaina: In comparison to book eight I did like this one much better and I actually enjoyed sex :), but yeah – reveal did not work for me. Also writing and characterization? The wild jump from one extreme in book seven (first true kiss, really?) to book eight where well, we all remember Super!Nick hijacking the story and other things made me question the consistency right there. Honestly, I think I will side with those who say that the book six was a logical end for the characters, at least character development wise and this book was kind of a return to there, you know? For me I mean and I consider this a good thing.
@lawless: You mean you skipped both book seven and book eight or only book eight? In any event several things happened that are mentioned in this book, but honestly they *are* mentioned so you will learn them. I think you will be fine – as I just wrote in response to Alaina, I certainly do not think that the characters had any consistent character development in those two books – wild angsty revelations of book seven led to eh exactly nothing re: their relationship development. Yep, I think if you want you can read the finale.
@Kim W: You are better than me, you did like book eight :). But yes, I am completely fine with this one being the end.
I haven’t read the last couple and I was never sure why the series got raved about so much. I’d read them and think, yep, fun with some problematic areas, then see scores of five star reviews and swooning and want to reread again and see if this time I’d get it, but no.
The first book was a struggle (the constant head hopping! The multiple injuries treated like paper cuts!) and I’m surprised I carried on, but I did and I enjoyed the middle ones quite a bit but they never hit the spot for me in an OMG, when’s the next one, when? way.
I’m tempted to catch up and finish just to satisfy the completist in me, though and the Scottish island setting of one sounds fun. If it’s the Hebrides, I know that area well and love it.
@Jane Davitt: Ha, well for me if there was a true ID reading in m/m, this is it. Connecting to the characters at the expence of everything else, etc, etc – check your brain at the door completely and I mean completely, and still as I said because I loved the characters that much, I kept reading. I only asked for internal consistency and even that was apparently too much, because boy the jump between books seven and book eight was whiplash inducing (issues, what issues, we have no issues now). Anyway, I may sound annoyed, because I still cannot recall books seven and book eight without shuddering (for different reasons – book seven attempted to uncover a very deep angsty problems and book eight just swept all of them under the rug IMO. Add Super!Nick hijacking book 8 and you have that), but I am really not overall. This book brought back almost everything I enjoyed about this series. Can I forget about BIG REVEAL? I wish I could.
@Sirius:
Did it make a difference for you when it went from two authors to one from book five onward? I co-write and I can’t imagine carrying on a series solo that I’d started with someone else, though I can understand wanting to complete it if they had an end goal in sight the whole way.
@Jane Davitt: Initially – absolutely. The character other author was responsible for seemed to lost the edge and depth, but then I was not even sure. He seemed to went back to himself and then not, and then again. But I wonder what would have happened in term of the plot. Who know if the books seven and eight went in the same direction if they were still cowriting – one can only guess.
@Sirius- Book six is actually my favorite, even though the mystery and reveal of the bad guys in that one is also way over the top. I just like the family stuff and yeah, for me it felt like a really solid place to stop. I enjoyed book 7, but I would totally agree that that’s where the characterization started to unravel. Perhaps not coincidentally, that’s where the big bad actually starts to be hinted at a little more obviously.
It’s funny too because I actually like Nick as a character and generally enjoyed the Sidewinder books, but I very much didn’t like the way they intruded on the main series in books 8 and 9. I’d have to reread Cross and Crown, but I also feel like the thoughts we get from Nick about his and Ty’s relationship aren’t consistent with how things play out in Crash and Burn. If someone more familiar with that book could correct me, though, that’d be good to know.
@Sirius – I should be more careful typing on my tablet. I skipped book 8 due to reviews warning of a major derail/change in characterization. I feel like Jane Davitt does; they’re fun books with over the top plots and wobbly characterization that purely on craft issues don’t deserve the uncritical love they get. As others have said, I love the family interaction, though.
I think most m/m series like this that follow a single couple have problems like this one does. Lanyon’s Adrien English series suffers from shifts in pacing and tone, and by the end I was thoroughly tired of English’s whininess. Jake at least was more predictable and easier to understand.
The first couple of Psycops –Price’s earliest published books — have issues the later ones don’t. (I like her Channeling Morpheus series better, although books 5 and 6 — Camp Hell and Ghost TV — are excellent.) Series books also tend to fall into heteronormative categories, with one character bring the alpha and the other being beta, if not femme. That’s actually less of a problem with this series than others.
Thanks for answering my question. Sounds like I could safely read this for completeness’ sake without having to read or buy book 8.
@lawless: ‘Psycop” is one of my favorite series, definitely. I have not read “Channeling Morpheus” , but read most of her other books.
Glad that my answer helped.
@Alaina: Eh, I prefer to forget Nick and Ty in book eight, so I am not complaining much to be honest :). But yes, book six could have been a decent end to the story.