Body and Soul: A Psycop Novel

Body and Soul: A Psycop Novel
Jordan Castillo Price
Torquere Press
ISBN: 1-60370-173-7
Fiction, Erotic Gay Romance, Paranormal
Reviewed by Shannon Frost

Everyone’s favorite neurotic Psycop, Victor Bayne, has returned once again in another well-written paranormal mystery by Jordan Castillo Price. Having been on extended medical leave since his last adventure, Vic finds himself struggling to reduce his dependency to the drugs that keep his psychic talent for seeing the dead under control and making an attempt at a normal life with his lover, Jacob Marks. When three people go missing, Vic’s called back to the force to scour the streets of Chicago for evidence of their spirits with his new work partner, Bob Zigler. With the pressure of the case bearing down on him, as well as his and Jacob’s quest to find a new place to live together that isn’t haunted, and fighting to not lean on the drugs for support, Vic must somehow learn to control his psychic abilities rather than having them control him.
Having read the previous Psycop novel, Criss Cross, it was easy to fall back into the strained life of Victor Bayne, though Body and Soul would have been just as good of a read without knowing the character’s previous history as it’s a work that’s capable of standing on it’s own, and provides enough back story that readers who may not have experienced the other Psycop novels can wholly enjoy this third installment. Vic’s sarcastic wit and neurotic quirks never get old, and are just as entertaining as before. Now that his relationship with Jacob has reached a deeper level, Vic has also grown as a character with the tender, protective Jacob gradually pulling him more and more out of his shell. Jacob is a perfect stable balance to Vic, and is not only a likeable character, but one who the reader looks forward to seeing when he enters a scene, and the intimate interactions between the two are always highly erotic and passionate. The mystery of the plot keeps the reader guessing with just enough clues given to let you speculate, but never enough to solve the puzzle until the dramatic climax. With its wonderful characters and page turning plotline, author Castillo Price has once again spun an excellent edgy and sensual mystery.