Camp Hell: A Psycop Novel

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS. Rating: 9/10 PROS: - Vic seems more sarcastic and acerbic with each PsyCop book. He looks at everything and everyone with a cynical sneer--even Jacob, at times. And as is usual with this series, some of Vic's comments are snort-coffee-up-your-nose funny. My favorite from this book? "If only I had a practice ghost to exorcise. I could hunt down Tiffany, the dead girl in the alleyway, but it seemed rude to exorcise someone I knew." - I loved learning (finally) some details of Vic's past. He's one of my favorite m/m characters, and I always sort of wondered while reading the earlier stories exactly how he ended up where he is. The memories of his time at Camp Hell are both horrifying and enlightening. - As much as I love reading stories in which 2 guys meet and fall in love within the course of the story, it's also nice to occasionally read about an established couple who are already in it for the long-haul and are comfortable in their relationship. Jacob and Vic are the ultimate screwed up power couple. And their sex scenes are simply hot. - I've never read hypnosis sessions described quite as well as they are in this book. The exposition flows seamlessly from Vic's regressions to present-time, yet Price does a very good job of depicting Vic's confusion when he finally comes to his senses after a session and realizes that what he's looking at is reality and not a memory from 15 years earlier. CONS: - I found a fairly sizeable stretch of the book to be a little unpleasant because Vic and Jacob are in a tense phase in their relationship and are distrustful and snappish toward each other. For me, that sort of thing is not fun to read. - In general, the typos and errors in the PsyCop books are not as numerous as in some other books in this genre. However, there is one mistake that occurs several times throughout this book that for some reason I found particularly annoying: almost every time the book should say "neither," it's "either" instead. (Example: "'I haven't thought about it.' Either had I.") Overall comments: I'm a big fan of the entire PsyCop series so far and suggest that every fan of m/m romance read them. I wouldn't recommend that you start with this one if you haven't read any of the earlier stories, though. This novel picks up right where the previous volume left off--as in, the first line of dialogue in this story occurs chronologically about 10 seconds after the last line in Psycop: Property --and I'm not sure you'd be LOST, per se, but this book doesn't spend a whole lot of time rehashing what's happened in prior volumes.

I really liked this one, definitely more than the previous book! I loved learning more about Camp Hell and Victor's experiences, even though they were painful. The FPMP was spooky and interesting and I really do like that whole plot. I also adored Victor starting to come into his own, acknowledging that he'd been suppressing and downplaying his ability as a way of self-preservation. I really look forward to him become more comfortable with his ability. I also thought Jacob's new-found ability was super cool, and I just loved his reactions. Victor and Jacob's relationship felt more even in this one, though I do still have a bit of a problem with how Victor can't ever actually stay mad at Jacob, especially when Jacob is in the wrong. There was a fair bit of secret keeping on Victor's part in this book, but it was never for long, and he seemed more to do it in order to get his head around things, not because he didn't want Jacob to know. Which is more than Jacob could say last book... Glad they finally talked about Crash, and *super* glad they said no threesome. I just really don't feel like it would have been a good fit for their relationship as we've seen it. The sex continues to be hot, though I was pretty grossed out by the margarine-as-lube scene, not going to lie.

Vic Bayne is a PsyCop. He's the psychic half of a detective team assigned to special cases where certain types of paranormal activity may be at work. His boyfriend, Jacob, is also a PsyCop, but he's the non-psychic half of a separate detective team in a different precinct. Vic rates as a level five medium (the scale goes to seven), and he's able to easily hear and see the spirits of the deceased who have not moved on yet. Institutionalized when young because of the voices he heard and visions he had, he signed up for training at Heliotrope Station (nicknamed "Camp Hell") when it was realized he was psychic and not schizophrenic. Training at Heliotrope was much more intense than he bargained for, and he was mentally, physically, and emotionally abused, and his memories of time spent there have been self-repressed. But he still carries the emotional scars, and they easily resurface. In the fifth book of the PsyCop series, "Camp Hell", Vic's life is turned over and jumbled up. He's discovered that he is virtually non-existent on the Internet, all people he went to Camp Hell with are also nowhere to be found in searches, a different organization (the FPMP) has been following him and keeping surveillance on him for years, and a particularly troublesome ghost is pushing him to his limits. And to top it off, his relationship with Jacob is strained to near-breaking point. The characters come to life in this book. It's fulfilling that the characters do indeed grow. They learn from their experiences and they mature. Vic is not the same person he was in "Among the Living", and it's apparent here. Jacob, likewise, grows and matures, and even Vic's new partner, Zig, becomes much more three-dimensional and undergoes emotional growth. Jordan Castillo Price does an excellent job of not letting her characters stagnate, as often happens in serial novels. There are many separate plot-lines in "Camp Hell", each of them interesting enough for the own story, and it's very impressive that Price manages to balance them and give each plot thread the proper amount of attention, tying them all together to make one cohesive story. There's a healthy amount of pretty explicit eroticism tossed in that adds an air of steaminess to what would normally be just a gripping and exciting thriller. While the previous novel, "Secrets", ended abruptly on a bit of a cliff-hanger, "Camp Hell" has a very satisfying and conclusive ending. The open plots that were previously started are all closed in a fulfilling manner. As an added bonus, the readers and fans are treated to some surprising, and exciting, revelations about Victor and Jacob... revelations that will be sure to influence future novels. With witty and smart dialog, steamy romance, chilling supernatural ghosts, and compelling characters, "Camp Hell" is an excellent story and is one of my favorites of the PsyCop series.

Camp Hell delivers more of PsyCop goodness. There is Vic's funny introspection, Jacob in all his glory, more insight in to the depth of Vic's powers and his past, and we learn more about Jacob as a person. Readers who are ready to start with installment #5 are well acquainted with Vic and well, he is good old Vic: "The map of the transit system should've been easy to read. I knew where I was, and I knew where I was going. The routes were color-coded. But there was that transfer thing, and the special Sunday turnaround, and every time I thought I had a handle on which train station I should go to, the route dissolved in my mind and I was left gazing at the big map and starting over again at "you are here." " "Miraculously, nothing landed on my suit - which I was dying to get out of, but the thought of being naked with all that judgmental, muscular bulk in my house made me uneasy ..." And Jacob, is ... well ... Jacob: "I heard Jacob come in and bound up the stairs. He's got energy to do things like that, because he eats right, exercises, and doesn't take questionable pills." And as ever present, there is the city of Chicago making its appearance subtly by description: "A faraway gunshot, a few blocks away, at least. There weren't any followup shots, or screams or sires, either. Typical noise. I'd been sleeping through it for years." Camp Hell brings some interesting changes to the series and it truly is one of my favorites in the series. To begin with, the book itself is longer than the earlier novellas - it is close to 300 pages. While this series has always been more character driven than romance focused, Vic and Jacob's relationship has some serious progression which is very nice to read about. Not only is their relationship progression, but Vic is getting closer to learning about his own history. Through an interesting method of writing flashbacks into the story, Ms. Price shows us Vic in his early twenties and what life was like for him while he was in Camp Hell. Vic reflects on his attitude when he was young and makes fun of who he used to be. In her typical style, the scenes are funny but emotionally gripping as well. One of the most rewarding parts of this book for me focuses on Jacob and what he learns about himself. Jacob is more vulnerable in Camp Hell - vulnerable emotionally that is. He makes his love for Vic known and there are quite a few scenes that had me on the floor due to the sweetness. Basically, Jacob is becoming more three dimensional to the readers because, I think, he is becoming more three dimensional to Vic. He is not just beefcake anymore. The hardest part of finishing Camp Hell (although I finished the book with a huge smile on my face) is knowing that there is only one more published book left in the series. Although Ms. Price is working on sequel which should be out later this year. Thank goodness..

Wow! It was out of this world awesome! Jacob and Vic are so good together! I love how they talk, the intimate moments between them are passionate and so hot! There are so many things happening: new case that has Vic and Zigler stumped, an unknown organization that robs Vic of his calm attitude, trip down the memory lane - so many new characters that are quirky and so much fun to get to know! I loved Vic's memories of his time in Camp Hell - they showed what shaped Vic, what kind of young man he used to be once and what brought him to that point. Vic today was strong, sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. I enjoyed his interactions with the people he cared about and his bristly attitude when he was on his guard. Jacob surprised me in a good way, and I am glad how things were between them by the time the book ended. Vic finally let down a major wall and let Jacob in, and Jacob has proven himself trustworthy. The case was super spooky but very interesting, especially the way they had to go about it. It was closely integrated with the world building which the author nailed to a tee. I loved Vic talking to ghosts and Zigler happened to be a decent partner. Overall, this was very enjoyable story - fast paced, suspenseful, funny and so full of feelings! Loved it!

**4.3 stars** I am going to be in the minority here when I say this wasn't my favorite installment in the series. Don't get me wrong, I stayed up until 1:30 am with work at 8:30 the next day to finish this one! I clearly loved it. However, I thought some of the plot elements didn't jive with what I've noticed in the past. I agree with other reviewers who noted that Vic wasn't particularly afraid to tell others about the extent of his gift in the past. He never tried to downplay it before so I found it hard to believe that he had been trying to hide that he saw whole bodies of ghosts. That was the first detail that bugged me. Also (and I don't want to give away any spoilers), I wasn't thrilled with the twist with Jacob's character. Despite my issues, I loved the further character development and the flashbacks to Camp Hell. Of course, I also dug the smoking hot sex in this book (Jordan Castillo Price always delivers on that!) and I will never look at margarine the same way again!

Recommended and rated this book: 5 stars This is an incredible series! It is fast moving, interesting plots twists and turns, great character building with none of them feeling flat but fully drawn out people and some very HOT M/M sex! It is this wonderful mix of cops hunting down mysteries that may turn out to be a ghost or two, with some wonderful romantic moments between Vic and Jacob in between their hot sex relationship to keep everyone on their toes (figuratively). You must begin at the beginning to enjoy this series! Reasons I enjoyed this book: Action-packed /Easy-to-read /Entertaining /Great world building /Original /Page-turner /Romantic /Steamy /Twisted /Unpredictable /Witty /Wonderful characters

How does Price manage to write books and characters that are so gripping, so moving (without being sappy), so sexy, so funny? Clearly, she's a meticulous observer of human behavior and she knows how and when to translate what she sees into the written word in service of her stories, her characters, and their lives. I find myself highlighting well-written sentence after well-written sentence. Example: "I chose to bus one of the dirty tables toward the back of the diner, and sit there with someone else's salt scattered on the tabletop all around me instead." Bravo! And that alliteration rocks! Another: comparing an assignment with an overabundance of evidence to "searching for hay in a haystack" Or this: "... the dining room chair and I realized that neither one of us had enough padding to extend our acquaintance beyond an hour or so." And the love scenes between Vic and Jacob are both romantic and scorching. What's not to love about these books?

Excellent tome avec son lot de révélations sur le camp de l'enfer mais pas uniquement. Victor compter ses amis (lui ne se pensait lié à personne). De la suspicion et de la trahison. Dommage que l'auteure n'ait pas fait traduire toute la série en français mais en VO, c'est tout aussi bon à lire.

Psycop Vic doesn't remember much of Camp Hell where he was trained as a psychic and experimented on, but meeting an old roommate there who is able to do regression hypnosis answers lots of questions he has. I won't say much, other than this book packs an emotional punch and we learn lots about Vic and null boyfriend Jacob. There are secrets, hidden enemies, suppressed memories and hot sparks. An addictive series.

Book 5 was an epic journey, stretching far longer than its predecessors, filled with a whirlwind of events. The intricate plot twists and rich character developments unfolded like a tapestry, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I feel a deep sense of satisfaction for having immersed myself in this series, and I can’t wait to dive into the next book—it promises to be just as thrilling!

Aucune fausse note depuis le début de la série, qui reste cohérente, nerveuse et passionnante. Je craignais que "Camp Hell" soit une longue suite de flash-backs effrayants, mais non. Il y a bien sûr quelques retours en arrière, mais pas trop flippants, et surtout l'histoire de Vic et Jacob continue parallèlement, pleine de suspense et de rebondissements. Ce tome 5 est largement à la hauteur des 4 précédents. Brillant, donc.

I loved Vic and Jacob they are great characters that have developed with each book. The storyline was interesting and exciting, I can't wait to read the next book in the series.