Smoke & Mirrors

THIRDS, Book 7

By: Charlie Cochet

Narrated by: Mark Westfield

Life for Dexter J. Daley has never been easy, but he's always found a way to pick himself back up with a smile on his face. Taken from his home and the arms of Sloane Brodie, his boyfriend and THIRDS partner, Dex finds himself in a situation as mysterious and lethal as the Therian interrogating him. Dex learns what he's secretly believed all along: his parents' death wasn't an accident.

Discovering the whole truth about John and Gina Daley's homicide sets off a series of events that will change Dex's and Sloane's lives forever. As buried secrets rise to the surface and new truths are revealed, Dex's and Sloane's love for each other is put to the test, with more than their relationship on the line. If traversing the waters of murder and secret government agencies wasn't enough, something inexplicable has been happening to Dex, and nothing will ever be the same.

©2016 Charlie Cochet (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Absolutely Fabulous!

If you could sum up Smoke & Mirrors in three words, what would they be?

Fun, Exciting and Sweet

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character is Dex. I think he would be an awesome person to hang around. He knows how to have fun and also how to get the job done.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Dex beats the crap out of Mr. Wolf.

If you could take any character from Smoke & Mirrors out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Definitely Dex because I am sure I would laugh through the whole dinner.

Smoke & Mirrors

The charm of Dex is present as ever.

Even after all he went through, he is still the person we rely on to be strong, steady, loving.

But he is also changing.

Dexter is the heart of the series and he and Sloane are the perfect couple.

They have issues to deal with, but overall, in this stage of the relationship, they are rock solid.

I enjoyed seeing them grow both professionally and personally.

Dex became more focused and he proved this in the opening chapters of the book.

Dex adapts and survives. He has a lot to live for.

There are many great things about the books in the series: they deal with serious social issues but also mix action, comedy and romance in a perfectly balanced way.

The characters feel like old friends, like members of a family you are always looking forward to seeing again.


Mark Westfield as always, narrates each character to perfection. He brings Dex, Sloane and the world to life.

Wow!

If the previous two books were more “emo” and relationship focused, this one was so packed full of action that I had to take a break at times to process everything. In just this book, we have kidnapping, torture, intrigue, double crosses, secrets, revelations, gunshots, fist fights, narrow escapes, a therian cat fight, relationship drama, medical emergencies, and, perhaps most shocking of all, ASH BUYING DEX GUMMY BEARS!

Props to the narrator for finally nailing Hudson’s British accent. Appreciate your efforts, sir!

Off to get the next book …

Plot twists.. and there’s more!

Dex and Sloane’s life, meant to intertwine, as more details revealed.

This one gave me all the feels, the dark moments balanced with the light-hearted ones. I’m enjoying all this listening marathon session.

Worth so much more than 5 stars.

I actually cried

I actually cried at this book. The author did so well with the emotions and suspense. This quick little listen made me so happy. The narrator did very well too. One more book!

The stories just keep getting better

Which character – as performed by Mark Westfield – was your favorite?

It is a toss up Mark is an amazing narrator and brings life to each character.

Any additional comments?

This is a great book and a awesome series I can't wait for more

Superb. My favourite story in the series

The narration, as always, is terrific and professional, with extra technical touches to add realism to the performance. Mark Westfield is THE voice of the THIRDS books. He is Dex and Sloan and Ash and all of the other characters. There is a rich quality to his voice that is easy on the ear. He expresses erotic and emotional scenes exceptionally well. It was as if I was in the room with the characters from start to finish.

This is a lovely lengthy audiobook with plenty of alone time for Dex and Sloan to express their feelings and love for each other. There’s a couple of angsty and heart-stopping (literally) scenes told from Sloan’s POV and they are super. It’s more of a relationship storyline compared to all the others, with emotions running high. We are treated to some smoking hot and growly bedroom scenes.

There’s THIRDS and TIN action going on, of course, but it’s not all fangs and claws and intrigue. There are lighter moments that had me chuckling this time round. Even Ash seems to have matured in this story. (But don’t worry he still takes time to make digs at Dex.)

So, the series has been building to this point and a lot of the puzzles and unanswered questions are confronted in this story. We find out what happened to Dex’s parents and more of his childhood. And Tony has a surprise for us all too. It’s all set for Hudson and Seb to tell us their tale next. Plus I’m excited to find out what’s going to happen next for Sloan and Dex.

This story definitely needs to be read as part of the series as it is not a standalone. Each story is fabulous and I think this is my favourite one now.

Another brilliant entry in an already great series

Original Audiobook Review October 2022:
Just like all my reviews I won't spoil anything even though this is a long ago written series, I came late to the party and I know there are many out there who have yet to experience everything Dex, Sloane, and the whole THIRDS gang so I won't touch on anything plot-wise.

Just like in my original review, I still found #7 & 8 so closely linked that just as with the reading form, the audios had to be listened to together and reviewed together.

Honestly, as much as I love the whole THIRDS gang, Dex and Sloane have always been my favorite. Is it because they were the initial introduction couple? Maybe. Is it because their chemistry is so unforgettable? Perhaps. Is it that their level of snark and cuddle is so snarky and so cuddley? Possibly. Frankly, I think it's a case of all three and so much more that I just can't find the proper words for. So what I will say is this: Mark Westfield's voice brings to life Charlie Cochet's words and characters so powerfully and spot on that I can see it happening right in front of me, I feel like I'm a fly on the wall, a window shopper on the street, if I stretched out my arm I could touch them, that's how vivid and real Westfield and Cochet make the story.

Spot on all the way around and definitely worthy of many re-listens for years to come.

Original Review October 2017:
Combined Review for Books #7 & 8
Blogger Note: For me, more than any of the series yet these two are so connected that I feel they are almost one super large novel. Though you must read the whole series in order as the characters and storylines are interwoven, its most important that #7 & #8 are read in order IMO. I had the luxury of reading them when they were not new releases so I didn't have the "waiting period" between and frankly I'm super glad for it 😉.

Dexter J Daley, lover of all things 80s & all things Sloane Brodie, is about to have his life turned upside down once again but this time he learns new facts about the past which directly effects his future as well as that of all the members of Destructive Delta and their friends. As much as Dex and Sloane are devoted to each other, will their love survive these new found truths and changes?

As followers to my blog and reviews know, I don't do spoilers and I definitely don't want to spoil any elements of mysteries so I won't touch on any specific plot points for Smoke & Mirrors or Thick & Thin but I will say this: I was blown away and thrown for a loop farther than anything one of Delta's shifters could have hit me with. "Holy Hannah Batman!" came out of my mouth more than once and considering I was reading these while enjoying the refreshing fall air under my maple tree in my front yard and trying not to scare the neighbors with my sudden outbursts, I think those three little words sums up how I felt reading these two better than anything else I could come up with here.

Even though Dex is at the heart of these two installments, don't think Charlie Cochet has forgotten the rest of the team, their friends, family, and co-workers but we also discover a new enemy who may or may not be what Delta is led to believe. Yeah, I know I'm being cryptic but its the closest thing you're going to get out of me concerning the plot 😉.

As I said when I reviewed Hell & High Water #1 a few weeks ago, I had this series on my TBR list for a few years but now that I've read it I can't begin to guess what took so long. Brilliance from beginning to end and I can't wait to see where the author takes these characters in the future but I do know that I will be among the first in line to read any new adventures and they won't be lingering-in-waiting on my TBR list any more.

Best one of the series!

This was definitely the best book of the series. Even though the characters of Sloane and Dex are firmly established up to this point through the other books, Charlie manages to take them even deeper yet. The book starts out where the previous one left off with Dex being kidnapped right out of Sloane's arms while they are sleeping. The kidnapper turns out to be a new character to the series called Wolf. He is a Therian, supposedly the best of the best when it comes to agents and spies. Wolf questions and tortures Dex trying to find out information about Dex's mother and a file that she had which is a list of Therian and human couples where the Therian has marked their human lover. Throughout the book everyone is trying to get a hold of this file for various reasons. In the previous book Dex is having trouble with his health and some mysterious seizures. The seizures continue in this book and are apparently "changing" Dex in strange ways. Even though he is feeling terrible throughout much of the book Dex continues to be strong and determined to protect those he loves. The characters of Tony, Sparks, Sloane and Ash are all taken to a deeper level throughout this book. The book does an excellent job of drawing emotions out of the reader, one minute you're ready to cry and the next you're laughing. Throughout this process there are some incredible twists that happened in the book. It was definitely one that was hard to put down because you would get so drawn into the story. We also learned a lot about Dex's parents as he works through his feelings of being abandoned by them. To say much more would be giving away too much of the plot however I will mention that the book does sort of ended up setting the stage for the next book which will be about Sebastian and Hudson. I rated this book a solid five stars for everything including the narration which was excellent. The hard part is now the waiting until the next book in this series comes out!

I'm a sucker for this series. I can't help it.

This book is one of my favorites in the series, along with "Gummy Bears and Grenades" and then all the other Dex and Sloane centered books.

Like the rest of the series, the writing flows well and is a very entertaining read, though there are still some small plot holes (in book 4: what -biologically- makes a mate mark different than a normal, deep scratch besides intent, or does the intent itself change the body's chemical makeup at the time, or when was Sloane's blood added during the marking since he only mentioned smelling Dex's blood at the time, etc...), inconsistencies (as far as I know, a house and an apartment are two different structures and not interchangeable, but Dex's house is called Dex's apartment quite a few times. Or, another example: I thought earlier books said Dex got the My Pet Monster, not Cael, and no mention of them having two), and timeline arrangement questions (like, in "Thick and Thin" with Sloane's supposed first shift after Dex's change at Greenpoint and not with the frat boys. Since it was specifically noted that it was the first shift after it wasn't a time delay like the seizures, etc...). Either way, the series is worth reading or listening to - I know I still love reading/listening about Dex and Sloane while at work or in my car again and again.

As much as I loved this book it's all kinds of frustrating the way Sparks manipulated them from start to finish. The guys didn't even ask the most obvious questions. For example, when Sparks admits to letting certain events happen, Sloane didn't even ask how long she was going to let it continue, accepting her answer of saying she wouldn't let Dex die. And that's far from the only thing/question/conversation/issue that was left out of the characters' dialogue.

Or how about Sloane not wanting to tell anyone about purring in human form and forgetting that there are a few people listening in on them 24/7?

I do enjoy Sloane's feral side's possessive streak and the little touches; it's an extra touch of sweetness that Dex never seems to get enough of.

I wish someone would've brought up the fact that Gina Daley still possibly saved Sloane and Ash by telling Tony about them, allowing him to submit their names to Sparks to find them before their deaths could be falsified, with or without another leak by TIN.

As for narration...Mark Westfield has a sexy voice (especially speaking as Sloane) and did a great job.

The weird/whiney lilt in Dex's speech in books 3 through 6 is practically gone, so thank you for that. Dex still doesn't sound as cool as he did in the first two books, but I still say 4.5 - 5 stars.