Review: My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
Book Information
Title: My Killer Vacation
Author: Tessa Bailey
Publisher: [N/B]
Publishing date: 6th June, 2022
Language: English
Genre: Contemporary adult romance.
Tags: Vacation romance. High-steam. Smutty.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Reviewer: Preye
Blurb (via Goodreads)
It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just me and my beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in our rental house really throws a wrench into our tanning schedule.
Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe I can be helpful, despite countless hours of true crime podcast listening. Not to mention a fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders.
A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary schoolteacher: the murder-solving team no one asked for, but thanks to these pesky attempts on my life, we’re stuck together, come hell or high tide.
I’m just here to do a job, not babysit an amateur sleuth. Although…it is becoming less and less of a hardship to have her around. Sure, she’s stubborn, distracting and can’t stay out of harm’s way.
She’s also brave and beautiful and reminds me of the home I left behind three years ago. In other words, the painful hunger and protectiveness she is waking up in me is a threat to my peace of mind.
Before I sink any deeper into this dangerous attraction, I need to solve this murder and get back on the road. But will fate take her from me before I realize the road has been leading to her all along?
Tessa Bailey writes books that flow smoothly from beginning till the end—which makes for an amazing reading experience. In all her books, she manages to strike a balance between the smut sequence, character mutation and the plot development, and, as expected, she delivered on this one yet again.
My Killer Vacation starts off with a dead body—literally. Taylor, on vacation with her younger brother (Jude), discovers a dead body in one of the rooms in their rental. The male protagonist, Myles, is a bounty hunter and is hired by the boyfriend of the deceased’s sister—who is also a friend—and what follows is fast-paced investigation to find the real killer.
Taylor is determined to assist with the investigation and Myles, battling an insane case of insta-lust and sudden possessiveness, wants her as far away from the murder scene as possible. They dance around their mutual attraction, but the flames are there and they know it.
The characters in this book are layered and with decidedly distinct narrative voices. If you like possessive alpha-heroes, I think you’ll like Myles because he has enough grunts, growls, scowls, and roars to spare. Taylor was also an amazing babe with her refusal to be daunted by any of the obstacles—Myles’ chest for example whenever he tried to prevent her from doing what she wanted to do—and how she took charge of her life.
I haven’t read any suspense/mystery/thrillers by this the author, so my guess is that this is a first (???). In that case, this was nicely-done. Not predictable per se, but there were enough hints along the way that I had a fair guess of who the killer was. I also liked that the plots were balanced nicely and it never felt like one over-powered the other.
I loved My Killer Vacation and I’m excited for other readers to meet Myles and Taylor. There’s also a host of other accompanying side-characters and my senses tell me that one or two of them might get their own stories.
Also, the female protagonist’s full name is Taylor Bassey, and while the author doesn’t mention it anywhere in the book, my guess is that she is of Nigerian descent.
