Review: The Trouble with Tony by Eli Easton

Reviewed by Fehu
The Trouble with Tony (Sex in Seattle #1) by Eli Easton
Dreamspinner Press
Novella: 144pgs
4.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
As part of the investigation into the murder of a young woman, Seattle P.I. Tony DeMarco poses as a patient of Dr. Jack Halloran, the therapist who treated the victim at a Seattle sex clinic. This isn’t the first time Tony has gone undercover, but it’s the first time he’s wanted to go under cover with one of his suspects. He can’t help it—Jack Halloran is just the kind of steely-eyed hero Tony goes for. But he’ll have to prove Halloran’s innocence and keep the doctor from finding out about his ruse before he can play Romeo.

Dr. Halloran has his own issues, including a damaged right arm sustained in the line of duty as a combat surgeon in Iraq and the PTSD that followed. He’s confused to find himself attracted to a new patient, the big, funny Italian with the puppy-dog eyes, and Tony’s humor slips right past Jack’s defenses, making him feel things he thought long buried. But can the doctor and the P.I. find a path to romance despite the secrets between them?

Review
Charming and funny mystery romance! Tony charmed my pants off. Tony is a private investigator engaged by a dead woman's parents, who cannot believe their daughter could have committed suicide. Former policemen, Tony still has friends at the force and one of them has pointed out the suspicious doctor of a sex-clinic, the young woman visited before she died.

The doctor refused to disclose his patient’s files to the police and the husband was away on a conference, so he couldn't have done it. That's why Tony decided to investigate the good doctor himself; little does he know how that encounter will turn out! Tony is half a country away from his Italian family and still in the closet, but since he is pretty picky about his partners or a part of him is, he didn't think that matters much.

Doctor Halloran is a war veteran and after a war injury, unable to work as a surgeon anymore. A friend’s wife opened a sexual consultation clinic and has given him a chance, hiring him as a consultant. Before he went to war, Jack Halloran was open and never had a problem to find a partner, now years later, wounded and having nightmares about what he had lived through, Jack is having trouble to adjust to civilian live. When he meets Tony and after their progressing sessions, he is charmed by the funny, quirky guy, but his professional integrity does not allow him to take things further. While Tony tries to woe Doctor Halloran's on the one hand, he also tries to prove the guy is innocent and find the real murderer.

I loved the characters! Seriously Tony is sweet and funny, all those analogies for his picky dick made me laugh. It was cute to see him fumble his way through the therapy sessions and discover a new fixation for his picky member. While the mystery was not very difficult, I appreciated, that he took some time to find out how the murder was committed, because while the suspect was obvious, the motive and method was not.

There was a lot of good sexual tension going on between Tony and the good doctor and I liked that no one was a damsel in distress in this one. Jack didn't need saving, he proved that he could take care of himself and Tony developed an interesting medical kink. All in all it was a great and entertaining story, with some pretty good lines and fabulous characters. I couldn't put it down and was smiling a lot.

Should You Read It? If you don't mind humour and some medical kink in your romance mystery, you definitely should read this one. It makes for a great summer or beach read or just a comfort read when you need cheering up. Recommended.

4.5 Pants Off