ARC BOOK REVIEW - Cryptic Pursuit - Jayti Philpot - Digital Book - 4*

 

BOOK REVIEW

Cryptic Pursuit - Jayti Philpot (released 2024)

*book links are affiliate links which means that I earn from qualifying purchases. 

I was absolutely delighted when I was selected as one of the lucky readers who received an advance reader copy of this book, which is released on the 31st of October 2024 (Happy Halloween!!). Being in the amazing position of being sent and being asked to read and review books is a perk of

Bookstagram/BookTok/blogging that I didn't know existed and it's such an amazing thing to be part of. 

The author has also done an amazing job teasing and tantalising the bookish tastebuds with imagery and quotes (check out her Instagram here), so I was excited to get started! 

BLURB

Serena

Alex is gone and it's all my fault. Now, his killer haunts and stalks me, punishing me with more victims than I can handle. I should've put an end to his games the moment I first laid eyes on him. Now I've been blessed with a second shot of redemption at the Major Crimes Unit in Greenwich. But nothing could've prepared me to come face to face with someone from my past, and the worst part? He doesn't remember me. 

Matteo

Tirelessly busting my arse to get to where I wanted to be as a Detective Inspector, ended up costing me the woman I thought I wanted. Now, no one could fulfil the position. Until she came. She's the Chief's daughter, but something about her seems familiar. She irritates me to my core but yet, I desire her the most. With the serial killer lurking closer, her life becomes in danger. Overstepping boundaries has always been easy for me to do, but to save her? I'd do anything. 

The TW (Trigger Warnings) and CW (Content Warnings) are in the front of the book, please refer to these before proceeding with this story. 

AUTHOR 

Jayti loves to write contemporary romance, featuring dark, forbidden, and emotional tropes. She writes powerful male and female characters who can take charge, and provide a morally grey personality all the while allowing the female character to strive to protect themselves and be possessively loved by a devoted partner. 

PLOT/STORYLINE

I'll be keeping my cards close to my chest on this one, I am not fond of spoilers so I will tread carefully to make sure I give a decent rundown without giving too much away. 

Serena is a detective in the London police force. Her partner, Alex, is brutally murdered by a sadistic and downright evil bad guy, who calls himself the Silent Hunter and seems to have taken a fancy for Serena. He pursues her, from the shadows, creeping around, intimidating and tormenting her while she tries to investigate his murder spree. 

When Serena moves to the Major Crimes Unit, her boss is a face from her childhood, a very handsome face. Matteo, the Italian Stallion, is a good bad guy with a heart, and a blank space where his memory is concerned. 

Sexual tension mixed with a gritty crime investigation storyline that wraps around the story and gives twisty thriller moments, the story is fast-paced and intense. 

As you can see from the blurb, this book has a dark theme with content and trigger warnings including descriptive spice, stalker themes, non-consent, and other gritty subjects. Read them warnings, they're for your benefit!  

CHARACTERS

Serena is a well-written character, relatable and strong, carving out a career in an intensely challenging field. She's intelligent, capable, and feisty without losing her vulnerable side. The death of her partner, Alex, created some heartfelt trauma and, as someone who has experienced panic attacks, the vulnerability and rawness here were relatable, honest, and nice to see depicted in such a strong character. She's a badass despite her trauma and I loved that! 

Matteo is our male main character, with parts of the story told from his perspective giving insight into his motives and, more importantly (giggidy) his desires. He's been burned by a previous relationship so he acts like a bit of a plonker sometimes, again very relatable! His professionalism comes first and he tries not to let his feelings get in the way of getting the job done. I don't know why but I really respect that. I would have loved to have known more about his past, it felt a little incomplete, but this is not the only book dealing with these characters so I suspect there is more to come where Matteo is concerned! 

Our bad guy, I can't say too much without giving plot points away but I will say that the sadistic, creepy, evil vibes are on point. The stalker angle is intense and some scenes are graphic and as a character, this bad dude has been made hateful, gross, and icky, exactly what was intended! 

Other side characters, we don't know much about as individuals, but they serve the purpose of building and developing our main characters and moving the story forward. There weren't any unnecessary people in this book, everyone had their role, purpose, and reason to be included. Whether that's progressing this story, or setting the scene for another, that's for you to find out!    

OVERALL REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

This was a cracker! I love a police procedural, crime investigation storyline (hence my slight obsession with true crime podcasts) and, while I am still getting used to more graphic spice in books, this one was HOT HOT HOT. I will never be able to sit in a BMW without blushing, let's just put it that way :) (sorry again mum!).

The chemistry between our two main characters was sizzling and fun, I loved their banter and bickering throughout and I was glad to discover that our stalker, the Silent Hunter was NOT the romantic interest but the bad guy, as he rightfully should be!  

The pacing and balance between the smutty stuff and the storyline stuff was excellent, not too heavy either way with a good, well-thought-out build-up towards the finale. I was so invested in the story and the romance that, while I suspected one of the twists, everything else was completely out of the blue, I actually yelled ABSOLUTELY NO WAYYYYYYY at 2am (I wasn't prepared to sleep until I was finished!) much to the annoyance of my peacefully sleeping dog.

I enjoyed the investigative parts and although I am sure that artistic license has been used to speed up timelines and heighten the drama, it all felt believable. 

The romance was surprisingly cute and endearing (bearing in mind that the last dark romance series I read was Haunting/Hunting Adeline which was 50 shades of f*cked up!) and I was genuinely rooting for our characters! 

I also enjoyed that the storyline wrapped up nicely while leaving a little breadcrumb trail leading up to the next book. I hadn't really picked up on the inferences leading up to this plot addition so it felt quite sudden and out of left field. I was initially confused but I expect the next book will close those gaps and fill in the blanks for me. I will leave this intentionally vague, again to make sure I don't give the game away, you'll need to read the book to find out!

It's released on the 31st of October and is available to pre-order now. Go get it! 

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?

Lovers of a gritty storyline, plenty of smut, and dark themes (with a secret soft spot for cute moments!) would enjoy this book, for sure! 

I hope that you've enjoyed my review, if you'd like to stay up to date, you can CLICK HERE to subscribe for updates. I also post bookish content on Instagram and TikTok, along with full-length video reviews on YouTube.