The Will Darling Adventures #3
Subtle Blood brings things full circle for Will and Kim. Their old enemies resurface, and we see how brutal having an aristocratic family can be. Even though Kim is nosing about the murder in the gentleman’s club unofficially, it’s astounding just how much he can get away with as an aristocrat. Will and Kim do a great job working together, making the right calls and tracking down the bad guys.
There needed to be more book dealering. Will is barely at his store! The store played a more significant role in the first two books. I love the tension between Will, the book dealer, and the former soldier. The dynamic between Kim and Will, as always, is excellent. I’m grateful that the class difference isn’t brushed off and provides friction for them. They handle it well.
The mystery in Subtle Blood is good. Kim’s brother is an absolute brute, and I didn’t like reading all of his nastiness and bluster. His blind trust in his rank and entitlement was awful. The media added a layer of complexity and difficulty. The foreshadowing is solid and gives good misdirection.
The boat scene towards the end was fantastic. The description of the boat and the movement of people around it is top-notch. The ladies, Will and Kim, work together so well. A steam yacht is so fantastic.
Kim is flippant and shares too much information with people who don’t need to know it. Some of the information Kim plants is falsehood, but some makes him vulnerable. He still comes across as flighty and unserious, but he’s astute and dedicated too.
I didn’t like the steamy sections. It seemed implausible and only partially accurate for how the mechanics would work. It went from 1 to 100 quickly and seemed disconnected from the story. However, there is a morning after when the door bursts open, adding a lot of tension.
Subtle Blood was a solid K.J. Charles novel. After being SO impressed with the A Charm of Magpies series, I’ve found some of her other books to be pretty meh and almost formulaic. This one isn’t formulaic, but it also won’t rank as my favourite book of hers. It’s good, full of action, and is a great ending for the series.