Among the Living by Jordan Castillo Price

(PsyCop, #1)
M/M ROMANCE, URBAN FANTASY

Victor Bayne, the psychic half of a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who’s more concerned with flying under the radar than in making waves.

He hooks up with handsome Jacob Marks, a non-psychic (or “Stiff”) from an adjacent precinct at his ex-partner’s retirement party and it seems like his dubious luck has taken a turn for the better. But then a serial killer surfaces who can change his appearance to match any witness’ idea of the world’s hottest guy.

Solving murders is a snap when you can ask the victims whodunit, but this killer’s not leaving any spirits behind.

“I really hate threesomes when one of the participants is dead.”

Incredibly short at 89 pages, but a good intro into the series.

Jordan Castillo Price's world is creative - different people, around one in five hundred, have psychic talents that differ, each in strength. To enter the police force, if they show as psychic in their testing, they have to go to a brutal psychic camp and then are paired up with a normal cop in a special op team nicknamed the unoriginal 'Spook Squad.' Among the Living is a singular point of view through Victor, our awkward, disturbed, gay and awesome main character.

I love mains who have a little bit of issues with awareness and self-esteem, it's realistic and refreshing, especially considering how hard and psychologically draining his particular power is - to hear the dead. Victor is great and I know that there is well of possibilities waiting to be uncovered in sequels. The entire 'cast' was great really - the new partner who has to fight the right battles before officially joining beside him, the lie detector Caroline, and of course the ultra-hot Jacob.

It's a gritty feel throughout, ramped up when the villain is revealed. He was creepy and creatively done. At a mere 89 pages and Price's talented writing ability, the pacing of this didn't stumble and sped by. I do think they dove too quickly into the sexual stuff but what was there was hot - and I repeat - HAWT. Seriously, I had to fan myself with some of these scenes, which of course is a mega bonus.