Lucky Man

A Heated Beat Story, Book 2

By: Garrett Leigh

Narrated by: Dan Calley

Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

For a diehard music fan, a dirty, smoky gig is Vice Squad Detective Danny Jones’ idea of heaven. While watching one of the most popular bands in Northern England, the sight of gorgeous rock star Finn McGovern changes his life forever.

Beneath the tattoos and leather jacket, Finn is kind and sweet, but when he confesses a dark secret to Danny, it tests their fledgling bond. Danny digs deep to accept Finn, but before long, a terrifying trail of death threatens to tear them apart before they’ve even got started.

A monster is killing prostitutes on Danny’s patch, and when a dead girl turns up too close to home, Danny discovers a heartbreaking link between the girl and his bright new life with Finn, a life he’ll do anything to protect.

©2014 Garrett Leigh (P)2020 Garrett Leigh

Another Fantastic Read

I wasn’t prepared to love this book as much as I did and I’m not sure why. Something about Finn drew me in immediately and made me want to see him get his HEA and I knew that Danny was going to give it to him. Add in the mystery of the police case Danny was trying to solve and the appearance of Jack and Will from book one and you have a recipe for another killer book from Garrett Leigh! She knocks it out of the park every time with her incredibly lovable, flawed yet realistic characters and their issues. She doesn’t shy away from writing non-perfect characters and she nails it every single time! Want to know who else nails it every single time? Dan Calley! His narration takes an already fantastic book to the next level
every single time! His voice is perfection and I can’t wait for more audios from him and Garrett together!

Another great story and great narration!

This book got to me in so many ways. Danny and Finn hit it off right away but Finn has a secret that he's afraid will drive Danny away. As they become closer, he knows that he has to tell Danny. The reaction he gets isn't quite what he expected.

Danny is under a lot of stress with his job; he has to find out who is killing the prostitutes. His job begins to impact his relationship with Finn and they have things they must work through to get to their HEA.

I really loved this story. Garrett Leigh always handles books with mental illness in them with the perfect blend of reality and respectfulness and Lucky Man was no exception. Dan Calley turned in another fine audio performance. I really enjoy listening to his voice acting.

A copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author/narrator.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

If you saw my review for 'My Mate Jack'...

You can't tell me you didn't see this one coming...

While I really enjoyed 'My Mate Jack'...I absolutely loved 'Lucky Man'.

'Lucky Man' brings us back to the world of 'My Mate Jack' only this time Will and Jack are secondary characters as we get to know Jack's roommate...Finn McGovern and the man who ultimately wins his heart...Detective Danny Jones.

Finn's the lead singer for one of northern England's most popular bands. Danny's a cop whose idea of relaxing is involves smokey, grungy venues, filled with people all there for one reasons...music. When Danny first spots Finn, he can't look away but what he doesn't realize is that Finn's having the same problem.

While I really liked Danny and enjoyed the part of the story that revolved around him as a cop working on what could be the biggest case of his career. It was Finn who well and truly captured my attention and my heart.

Finn's a talented musician and a man dealing with maintaining a balance in his life that allows him to maintain the precarious hold that he has on his mental health. Mental health issues are often times either trivialized or sometimes it even seems like they're glamorized but with Finn we're given a real person...someone who could be living next door. He's not made to seem heroic for his efforts to have the life he wants nor does he feel like he's a failure when he has a setback. Just as someone would deal with a physical disability or a chronic illness, Finn is presented as a person dealing with a health issue and his happens to be a mental health issue.

This is an issue that the story treats with dignity and respect and while the story is fiction the reality of Finn and his condition are fact for many, many people in the real world and whether the story is a real one or fiction such as the case is here, this is a condition that needs to brought into the light.

As well as how Finn and his condition were presented I was impressed with the realism of Danny's response to Finn, when he was told about things by Finn. Sure he took a tiny step back but he didn't walk away and I know we can all say 'well he shouldn't have done that, he should have been ok with it.' but reality is how many of us wouldn't have needed to take a tiny step back to process this information because and I know it can hurt but for me, if I was in Finn's shoes I'd rather have that person walk away at the start than to let me love them even more and come to depend on them as a constant in my life and then when I truly needed them to have them walk away...that would be more painful than I could possibly imagine.

From Danny's side of things Finn also had some processing and decision making to do because being a police officer and being out and proud wasn't necessarily something that Danny felt prepared or ready to do and Finn needed to decide if this was something he could accept.

These two men worked hard to find their happy and in the end it was a much deserved happy that they won for themselves.

As was the case in 'My Mate Jack' all of this was wonderfully given voice and substance by the very talented Dan Calley and if there was any doubt in my mind before that Garrett Leigh + Dan Calley = an audiobook that I must have, there's none there now.

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An audio book was graciously provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thrilling Mystery, Dan Calley is Amazing!

Garrett Leigh’s Heated Beat series includes the novels My Mate Jack and Lucky Man. Tied together through mutual friends, the two couples in these books struggle to find their happy endings. While there is some overlap of the characters between the two novels, you can definitely enjoy these stories as standalones, but I think you’ll get more pleasure if you read them in order.

Both of these classic novels are now available in audio, beautifully performed by Dan Calley. With his warm, rugged voice, Mr. Calley captures the emotion and enhances the intimacy between the men. And when Garrett Leigh turns up the heat, my earbuds just about melted. Fans of Dan Calley know what I’m talking about!

My Mate Jack chronicles the friendship of Will and Jack. Beginning with the joyous flirtations of youth as they test their mutual attraction, to the perfect moment when these two men let down their walls and reveal what’s in their hearts. This is a beautifully written friends to lovers tale.

With a relationship spanning years, Garrett Leigh demonstrates the passing of time, as well as the physical distance between the men, through their texts, phone calls, emails, and even letters. Hampered by poor technology, Will and Jack suffer through mixed messages, which just adds to their uncertainty about how the other man truly feels. Conveying anything honestly through texts and emails, especially after partying all night, is a recipe for disaster.

The angst continues to grow as they build separate lives, reconnecting at key moments, and breaking apart again. Yes, open and honest communication right from the start would have changed everything, but both of these characters had miles of growing up to do. Plus, it sets the stage for the next novel in the series, Lucky Man.

Very different in flavor, Lucky Man is a drama with a chilling mystery and deeply complex characters. A closeted police detective and a gifted musician, suffering from mental illness, grow from a casual hook-up to deeply committed lovers with non-stop action along the way.

From the moment Danny and Finn meet, the two men have amazing chemistry, and good Lord, Garrett Leigh outdoes herself! This is some superbly hot erotica, and Dan Calley makes the most of every bit of passion in the dialogue between these two. Rough, raw, and emotional, Lucky Man is a stunning audiobook.

If you enjoyed these novels back when they were first published, or if you’re a fan of Dan Calley’s audiobook narration, I know you’re going to love listening to My Mate Jack and Lucky Man. Here’s hoping Garrett Leigh releases all of her classic novels in audio!

Good story, excellent performance as always!

As stated in my review of the first book, I could listen to pretty much anything Mr. Calley reads. He always does a fantastic job with all characters and accents – male or female.

I liked this one much better than the first one…the story, the characters, everything really. While there is a lack of communication, they solve it pretty quickly and move on from it.

Finn and Danny forge a complex relationship. Danny’s career has forced him to work long hours and become somewhat emotionally closed off which has shaped his personality. He’s really sweet and loving but it’s hard for him to be outwardly demonstrative. When paired with Finn’s paranoia due to his mental illness and his need for constant affirmation of the relationship, you have a natural intricacy that will make any relationship a challenge. Once they figure out how to have a relationship, I love them together.

This is definitely a good listen!

Another great love story by Garrett Leigh+

I loved this story so much and Dan Calley as always brings the characters to life. He is one of my favorite audio performers and anytime he and Garrett Leigh collaborate it's always a 5 star listen!

4.5 Stars - Heartfelt story w/great characters

Garrett Leigh is brilliant at creating a story around flawed characters. There isn’t anything perfect about Finn and Danny. Yet, I found myself captivated by their story, despite not having one case of the goofy grins I normally like to have with books I am reading. People are fascinating creatures, and Finn and Danny are no exclusion.

Finn is a talented musician, who just happens to have a mental illness bad enough that it gives a lot of people pause. Many don’t stick around. After meeting Danny, one night at the end of a gig, they hook up, and proceed to spend more time with each other. When Finn tells Danny, he doesn’t immediately run away, but he has his concerns. On top of that, Danny is under pressure on the job. He’s a cop, and someone is killing prostitutes under his nose. He’s got a lot on his plate and it’s taking a toll. Watching these men struggle with finding a balance, and a proper understanding of each other, is heartbreaking at times. I felt bad for Finn, because his battles with paranoia, and fear, are never-ending.

This story was well written, thought-provoking, and reminds us there are some unpleasantries in life, but it doesn’t mean that love can’t be found in them.

Dan Calley continues to amaze me with his narrating skills. He really nails the emotions of the characters, so you feel what they are feeling. You’re IN the moment with the characters. It’s one of my favorite parts of audiobooks. The ability to multitask is another!