THIRDS Spotlight!

When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley’s testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences—and the media frenzy—aren’t far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he’s lucky he doesn’t find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he’ll get transferred from the Human Police Force’s Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father—a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS—pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent.

Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer—and every bit as dangerous.

Okay, the first time I saw a THIRDS book cover, I will admit I didn’t even deign to read the blurb because I had read one other Charlie Cochet book and it was so weird, I couldn’t get into it. However, so many positive words about it on a group I’m in and I finally gave it a try. And OH, I am so glad I did.

Contemporary setting, but it isn’t the today we think about. Half of humanity was poisoned and their bodies changed, turning them into shifters, better known as Therians. With human/Therian relations not being great, THIRDS was created to police the Therian side of the equation – after all, Therians are stronger, faster, and deadlier than their human counterparts.

This book had it all. Adventure, suspense, guns, fights, angry Therians, humor, romance, sex, and an insane, yet intelligent antagonist… I will admit, I knew instantly who the bad guy was – but you must realize that 99% of the time I do. And it doesn’t detract from the story for me at all. In fact, it lowers the angst and helps me to keep reading.

So, Shifter? Check. Hot men? Check. New York on the verge of war? Sounds like a movie worth watching to me. Oh, Hollywood… I would so pay to see this in the theatre.

5 stars and I’m on to the next one.

 

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When a series of bombs go off in a Therian youth center, injuring members of THIRDS Team Destructive Delta, and causing a rift between agents Dexter J. Daley and Sloane Brodie, peace seems unattainable. Especially when a new and frightening group, the Order of Adrasteia, appears to always be a step ahead. With panic and intolerance spreading and streets becoming littered with the Order’s propaganda, hostility between Humans and Therians grows daily. Dex and Sloane, along with the rest of the team, are determined to take down the Order and restore peace, not to mention settle a personal score. But the deeper the team investigates the bombings, the more they believe there’s a more sinister motive than a desire to shed blood and spread chaos.

Discovering the frightful truth behind the Order’s intent forces Sloane to confront secrets from a past he thought he’d left behind for good, a past that could not only destroy him and his career, but also the reputation of the organization that made him all he is today. Now more than ever, Dex and Sloane need each other, and, along with trust, the strength of their bond will mean the difference between justice and all-out war.

 

On the heels of book 1, Hell & High Water, I instantly jumped into #2. And was not disappointed. With Isaac being a major pain, planning a war the THIRDS needs to stop at any cost, and harming innocent civilians in the process, there is no down time for Sloane and Dex’s team. In between a youth center being blown up and other bombs going off, they are constantly on edge. Even worse – Sloane is on edge. Which is exactly what Isaac wants.

This is a page turner, from beginning to end. You won’t want to stop. Dex is still his humorous self, and what he did for Calvin & Hobbs I absolutely loved. I also loved what Cael did for him with Sloane. At the end of the book Sloane ended up where he began – where his nightmares reside – before his current life. Can he handle it and save his partner?

If only secret groups wouldn’t stop attacking someone. Whether that’s Humans4Dominance attacking innocent Therians, or Therians prepared for war and attacking humans. All-in-all, I’m pretty sure there will be no dull time in the THIRDS and New York City for some time to come.

Now, on to #3…

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New York City’s streets are more dangerous than ever with the leaderless Order of Adrasteia and the Ikelos Coalition, a newly immerged Therian group, at war. Innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire and although the THIRDS round up more and more members of the Order in the hopes of keeping the volatile group from reorganizing, the members of the Coalition continue to escape and wreak havoc in the name of vigilante justice.

Worse yet, someone inside the THIRDS has been feeding the Coalition information. It’s up to Destructive Delta to draw out the mole and put an end to the war before anyone else gets hurt. But to get the job done, the team will have to work through the aftereffects of the Therian Youth Center bombing. A skirmish with Coalition members leads Agent Dexter J. Daley to a shocking discovery and suddenly it becomes clear that the random violence isn’t so random. There’s more going on than Dex and Sloane originally believed, and their fiery partnership is put to the test. As the case takes an explosive turn, Dex and Sloane are in danger of losing more than their relationship.

If you’ve read my other two reviews of this series, you’ll know I f’ing love it! Everything about it from the Therians, humans who shift into animals, to THIRDS, to the wonderful characters that inhabit this world. As any reader of any series, I know that usually in books 2 or 3, things usually start to lag and wondered if it would happen here.

Thankfully, Rack & Ruin didn’t let me down. As Sloane and Dex work toward strengthening their relationship, Ash is busy destroying the one he’s shared with Cael. Not only that, but some strange things are going down. There’s a mole within THIRDS and someone is out for revenge. Our boys go through more than their share of scrapes and trips to the hospital. In fact, this review is uber short because I have to start book 4 because OMG. (not sharing what happened at the end of Book 3)

So, if I haven’t said it before: Great character and world building in this series with fantastic characters you’ll love and hate. I hope at some point, Ms Cochet will decide to do a second THIRDS series that will be about Ash and Cael. Because, man those two deserve their own story while Sloane and Dex are having theirs!

Oh, and if there’s a gorgeous, hot straight male Therian running around. My number is… Wait… you mean I can’t put that here? Dangit. Just when I thought I could get a hot-blooded Felid to come purr for me.

Read THIRDS! I mean seriously – READ IT!

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