Review: Dirty Secret by Rhys Ford

Dirty Secret (A Cole McGinnis Mystery #2) by Rhys Ford
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 234pgs
4.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Loving Kim Jae-Min isn’t always easy: Jae is gun-shy about being openly homosexual. Ex-cop turned private investigator Cole McGinnis doesn’t know any other way to be. Still, he understands where Jae is coming from. Traditional Korean men aren’t gay—at least not usually where people can see them.

But Cole can’t spend too much time unraveling his boyfriend’s issues. He has a job to do. When a singer named Scarlet asks him to help find Park Dae-Hoon, a gay Korean man who disappeared nearly two decades ago, Cole finds himself submerged in the tangled world of rich Korean families, where obligation and politics mean sacrificing happiness to preserve corporate empires. Soon the bodies start piling up without rhyme or reason. With every step Cole takes toward locating Park Dae-Hoon, another person meets their demise—and someone Cole loves could be next on the murderer’s list.

Review:
Thank you Rhys Ford for surpassing my expectations and making me happy. Let’s be frank, sometimes sequels can be a let down and though I was excited out of pants to read Dirty Secret I wasn't anticipating gold. Well folks I got platinum, I never thought I would like this book so much and I enjoyed it a lot more than the first. It was like sitting down to a kick ass episode of Cole McGinnis P.I. Sometimes even the most awesome has faults and so I do have a few things that bothered me.

Dirty Secret begins with a bang just like the first book Dirty Kiss, where Cole finds himself on one of his unusual cases. Think sex shop and instead of "Dick in a box", it's dick in a bottle. It’s a good thing he has his beautiful Korean lover Jae-Min to feed him and give him endless amount of cuddles, but it seems his cuddles are gonna have to wait. When the beautiful Scarlet, sexy Filipino man/woman shows up on his doorstep with a case to find a missing person Cole knows things are about to go south. Because being tangled up in Korean business either leads to him getting shot or people dying.

Gay and being Korean does not mix well and Cole is seeing it firsthand with his investigation. It’s also something he is experiencing on a personal level with Jae-Min because good Korean boys must get married, make the babies, and make their families happy. Now Cole is digging up old dirt and opening old wounds and that isn't going over well with the prestigious families. When bodies start dropping like flies, Cole knows he should walk away but he cant help wanting to find the truth even if it might cost him the ones he loves the most.

There is so much to enjoy in this book, with its constant action and bombs of surprise. I laughed so much and cried as mush equally. Cole's estranged parents make an appearance and man... was it sucky. They really brought the hatred and my heart broke so much for him, which really made me realize how much I am wary of Jae-Min for him. Yes, he is this beautiful Korean and that is my ultimate bias but I feel like Cole is living his truth and its not easy and he deserves someone who is living equally as honest. It’s a complicated relationship and I am looking forward to where the author is taking them. Their future might be unclear but they still know how to set the sheets on fire and cause a pants losing, "Wowza" they were hot.

My overall peeve is that I don't think the story came together well. It went all over the place by the end, and then the conclusion just felt "Meh". I kept wondering, "So the point of this was?" Would have been better if someone was trying to keep the truth from coming out instead of a looney with a gun (because really he was just a loony with a gun).

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and am looking forward to the next book in a pants-less state. I really am hoping Jae-Min proves something in the future cus right now I just view him as the glorified pretty boy who is still just there (I want him to shine). Cole is still the best and one of my fave characters ever, he's really made of awesome. I believe fans of the first book will enjoy Dirty Secret and then faint at the end of it. I have a sneaking suspicion that instead of Chaebols, Cole will be taking up with the Yakuza it only seems fair that he handles his Japanese side.

SideNote- The next book should be titled Dirty Pants y/y (ok that would be too much)

SideNote2- I think this book should come with a glossary for all the Korean words. Because not everyone will be a pro like moi >.<

4.5 Pants Off