Spy vs. spy vs. spy

Dirty Deeds

(Dirty Deeds#1)

by S. E. Jakes

Do I love a spy assassin story coupled with hott, smexy scenes? Hell, Yeah! And Dirty Deeds definitely delivers…actually, a one sitting read!  This first installment of the m/m Hell or High Water spin off series features 2 of its most intriguing, enigmatic characters, Cillian and Mal. 

Cillian, the English SB-20 operative, skillfully plays a spy cat and mouse game with Mal, the psycho SEAL. The continuing mission, the hunt for John moves forward peppered with spies, assassins, cryptic messages, betrayals… Mal shadows Cillian, hacks his intel, discovers his contacts. Cillian, in turn, hacks Prophet and the team’s intel. Spy vs. Spy, and yet, they all want the same thing…John Morse!

Standalone? Not really; helps to have met these men earlier, to understand their role in the team dynamics as well as the complicated relationships. We learn more about each, hearing their backstory, helping to understand Cillian and Mal; surprisingly, they share, have more in common than expected. “Gotta watch out for one another…he believed that kids who’d been slammed around needed to stick together…in many ways, Mal was a world apart from Cillian. In so many more ways, they were the same.”

Their witty, teasing, flirting, banter is just fun;  each plays a role, for the sake of the mission, or is it? The game quickly segues into something more…complex, raw, erotic; potentially dangerous.  Intuitively, they know what the other desires, what the other needs, and That’s the attraction; the irresistible draw and passion, an intimacy, opening, sharing, exposing deeper layers, hurts, and survival; both share. And the sex is…!!!

The ending: An OMG! Forces me to revisit Daylight Again; the stares, the sideway looks between Mal and Cillian take on a different, more profound meaning. I need to revisit their scenes and conversations. A novella makes me want to do this???

A great read! Can’t wait for the series!