ARC Review: Cash Plays by Cordelia Kingsbridge

Cash Plays (Seven of Spades, #3)
by Cordelia Kingsbridge
Published by Riptide Publishing
eARC
LGBT, mystery, thriller, romance, contemporary

The Seven of Spades is back with a vengeance - the vigilante serial killer had resumed their murderous crusade, eluding the police at every turn. But a bloodthirsty killer isn't the only threat facing Sin City. A devious saboteur is wreaking havoc in Las Vegas's criminal underworld, and the entire city seems to be barreling toward an all-out gang war. 

As Detective Levi Abrams is pushed ever closer to his breaking point, his control over his dangerous rage slips further every day. His relationship with PI Dominic Russo should be a source of comfort, but Dominic is secretly locked in his own downward spiral, confronting a nightmare he can't bear to reveal.

Las Vegas is floundering. Levi and Dominic's bond is cracking along the seams. And the Seven of Spades is still playing to win. How many bad hands can Levi and Dominic survive before it's game over?

I love the Seven of Spades series and I was super excited to dive into Cash Plays. And oh boy was the book full of feelings and emotions. Dominic gets a case that makes him face his gambling addiction and sends him down a spiral while Levi is struggling with his demons and rage more than ever - all when Seven of Spades is getting more and more vicious and murderous. FBI has also send an agent to help with the serial killer, which stirs up trouble within the Las Vegas Police Department.

Cash Plays suffered a bit from the middle book syndrome; Levi and Dominic hardly spend any time together and you just know there's going to be plenty of problems in their relationship. It's not necessarily all bad as Kingsbridge is a very good writer and all previous books have had high stakes. Personally, I'm not a fan of middle book syndrome when it comes to relationship problems, and that's the reason why I'm knocking one star off the rating. I wanted to see Levi and Dominic together and work on their connection and relationship, but that didn't really happen here. Most of the old secondary characters were amiss and there were a lot of new interesting ones such as Russian crime boss Sergil Volkov and Rocco, but I missed seeing Dominic's family and friends.

Cash Plays continues the stunning and captivating series, and stakes rise even higher. I definitely need the next one - to find out more about the Seven of Spades and his/her obsession with Levi, and what happens with Levi and Dominic's relationship. I need to see the things that were messed up in this one to be fixed in the next sequel. I still recommend the Seven of Spades series.

4 of 5 stars

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Thank you, Riptide Publishing, for giving me a chance to read and review Cash Plays!

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)