Ramen Assassin by Rhys FordMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I always enjoy a fast paced suspense with lots of action and a side of romance.
Trey Bishop was a former child actor from a very affluent home. Both his mother and father were married to each other, but had other relationships and he had older siblings that looked down on him because of former wild child days. But he's turned a new leaf and is sober. Unfortunately, when he sees a couple of guys hauling a dead body to a van he's caught in the middle of a shootout, then caught up in a tangled web of lies and deceit.
Kuro Jenkins owns a ramen restaurant in K-town since retiring as an assassin. He's happy to be serving others and takes his new job seriously. But he's forced out of retirement when Trey is almost gunned down in the alley behind his place. Bringing his friends and allies into the drama, he's got to rely on them to keep Trey safe.
I really enjoyed the start of this story. There was a lot of great world building and description and the action started immediately. I was completely drawn in.
I really enjoyed the friendship and trust that blossomed between Kuro and Trey and how much open communication they had in their relationship. It felt genuine and organic and I loved their dialogue.
As much as I loved the suspense, it all sort of went off the rails for me by the end with the suspect list. I also ended up only really liking a handful of players in the book. The rest of the supporting characters were just not very likeable at all.
The writing was engaging and quick and the story was original. I enjoyed the read, just wished for a bit more from Trey's family in the end.
*Galley copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Cross posted to http://gaybook.reviews/*
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