The chemistry between Valor and Doyle is electric from the moment they first meet, and even though neither of them wants the attraction zinging between them, it’s impossible to ignore – but Quaid is well aware of Aslan’s reputation as the department playboy and has no interest in being just another notch on his bedpost. Nicky James has created a tense, fascinating mystery that unfolds steadily to reveal a tangled web of lies, betrayal and heartache, complex family dynamics and red-herrings, and does a wonderful job of combining all that with the developing relationship between the two leads.

The moment he arrives, he and Quaid are trading very thinly barbed insults, but he quickly hits his stride, bringing a different perspective while providing solid back-up and a useful sounding-board for Quaid. He’s not wild about the arrangement, but it’s Doyle or no-one if he’s to stand a chance of bringing little Matthieu Paquet safely home.ĭoyle is equally unenthusiastic about working with Valor, but he can’t refuse the assignment. Quaid’s partner is currently on leave to be with her sick daughter and all the other MPU detectives are working other cases, so his boss ends up having to scrounge him up a partner from somewhere else… which is how Quaid finds himself teamed up with Aslan Doyle again. Temporary Partner takes place a few months later, and begins when Quaid is assigned to the case of a missing five-month-old baby who was taken from the garden of a well-to-do suburban home. It’s not essential to have read this one first, but it’s a fun introduction to the characters, and some of its events are referenced in this story. Neither is pleased about being partnered with the other, and are surprised (and maybe a bit annoyed) to discover they work well together. Valor and Doyle know each other only by reputation Valor is by-the-book with a stick up his arse and a permanent scowl on his face Doyle is laid-back and do-what-it-takes with a reputation as a manwhore (his words) and a revolving door of lovers of both sexes.

MPU and Homicide don’t mix and their animosity is legendary. In the prequel novella (not available in audio) Department Rivals, we meet Detective Quaid Valor of the Missing Persons Unit and Detective Aslan Doyle of Homicide when they’re partnered up for a team-building exercise designed to foster co-operation between the two departments.

Nicky James kicks off a new romantic suspense/mystery series with Temporary Partner, a tightly-plotted mystery that will keep you guessing until the last minute coupled with a fantastic will-they/won’t-they partnership between two detectives from rival divisions of the Toronto PD.

Temporary Partner by Nicky James