Fire and Water

(Carlisle Cops Book 1)

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by: Andrew Grey

Do Fire and Water Mix?

Blurb: Officer Red Markham knows about the ugly side of life after a car accident left him scarred and his parents dead. His job policing the streets of Carlisle, PA, only adds to the ugliness, and lately, drug overdoses have been on the rise. One afternoon, Red is dispatched to the local Y for a drowning accident involving a child. Arriving on site, he finds the boy rescued by lifeguard Terry Baumgartner. Of course, Red isn’t surprised when gorgeous Terry won’t give him and his ugly mug the time of day.

Overhearing one of the officer’s comments about him being shallow opens Terry’s eyes. Maybe he isn’t as kindhearted as he always thought. His friend Julie suggests he help those less fortunate by delivering food to the elderly. On his route he meets outspoken Margie, a woman who says what’s on her mind. Turns out, she’s Officer Red’s aunt.

Red and Terry’s worlds collide as Red tries to track the source of the drugs and protect Terry from an ex-boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer. Together they might discover a chance for more than they expected—if they can see beyond what’s on the surface.

Review: Officer Red Markham has his hands full.  His city is being attacked by a killer selling deadly crack, so deadly it kills on the first try.  He also is under personal attack by those who don’t want to or can’t look at his face.  He’s seen it all and it keeps getting worse.

The drug dealer is well placed behind an invisible cloak making it damn near impossible to capture him and stop the flow of this deadly drug onto the streets of his already upset town.

To Red, life as a cop was something he wanted from a young age.  He worked harder than most to achieve his goal, and to offset the discrimination most showed him.  No not from color or sexual preference, but from a disfiguring accident when he was a child.  He could get past age, sex, or even racial bias, but the stares, the lowered eyes, the gasps when people saw him went straight to his core.

When Terry Baumgartner fell into his life, Red was taken off guard.  He liked the kid, but more importantly, he felt the need to protect him.  It was a strange situation that brought the two together, one that would ultimately help Red find the answers to many of his questions.

Terry had his share of issues, too.  He had allowed himself to be captivated by a dominating man, a man who used his money and charm to take away everything that was Terry.  As Terry fell further into his clutches, he lost his soul to this heartless creature.

With sheer determination and fright, Terry managed to get free, or at least he thought he did.  The phone calls, text messages, and threats became worse than the thought of losing his soul to this man again.

When his life was threatened, Terry found himself in the protection of the one man he never thought would be there for him – Red Markham.  [Tweet “How could the man he initially saw as a disfigured freak come to his rescue?”]and Why?  Why did this man allow himself to be put into this situation?

Andrew Grey wrote a compelling story filled with mystery.  What happened to Red?  Why did Terry allow himself to be used and abused by this man?  Who was pushing deadly drugs on Red’s streets?  And how do all these seemingly random things connect?

Fire and Water is worth the read.  I an now an Andrew Grey fan and will be reading more of his books.