CRIMINAL INTENTIONS: Season One, Episode One: THE CARDIGANS Paperback – July 3, 2018

Good lord, am I going to get sucked into a massive thirteen-part m/m murder-detective series?This was gruesome, and explicitly so. The author presents a whole list of triggers up front, for which I was ultimately grateful, since I wasn’t totally surprised by what the book has between its virtual covers. However, McCade’s first book is not the frantic sort of roller-coaster of emotion and violence that Gregory Ashe gives us in his “Hazard and Somerset” series. It is more violent, or upsetting, in some ways, but otherwise rather different.McCade’s prose is elegant, precise, cool. There is much beautiful writing in here, darkly descriptive and evocative. But it is neither cold nor clinical. Malcolm Khalaji is a Persian half-Jew, in his forties, working homicide in the Baltimore Police Department. He is a loner, with personal baggage that we do not get to unpack during this first book. But he is also compassionate and smart and cultured. The partner he is assigned at the gut-wrenching start to this grisly murder mystery is Seong-Jae Yoon, a thirty-something child of Korean refugees just transferred from the Los Angeles police force. He, too, has baggage about which we only get the fainted hints. Also a loner, and detachedly formal in a very Asian way, Yoon is also compassionate, but wound very tight, his emotions suppressed for some as-yet unknown reason.Yoon and Khalaji have to deal with each other in order to get a grip on this baffling and horrifying crime. The interplay between these men, low-key and quiet, but also very tense, is spiced with the discreetly obvious truth that they find each other extremely attractive, even as they irritate each other constantly. It is a soft sizzle that obviously, if the reader has patience, will pay off in future books (um, episodes). What I was struck by, however, is the respect these two too-similar men show each other right from the start. This is a wolf and a tiger forced to share the same space. They are not happy, but they acknowledge each other’s skills. McCade manages to get all of this across without exaggeration or high drama.One significant fact is that we have a m/m book in which neither gay main character is white, nor is their police captain, a Latina woman of great presence in spite of minimal page time. It is a very gay book in other ways, too, although not in particularly happy ways.It was an upsetting book to read at times, and it was largely the author’s skill as a writer that got me through the toughest parts. You know that Khalaji and Yoon will not let us down, will not let each other down. The ending is a set up for the next book, and a clue as to the larger mystery arc that will presumably hover over the entire thirteen-part series.I still have no idea what the subtitle “The Cardigans” is supposed to mean. It’s a Swedish rock group, but I couldn’t find any key that explains what this means anywhere in the book. Am I supposed to think that this would be soundtrack in the background of a televised series? Sigh. Maybe I’ll never know.I have book two on my kindle: “Criminal Intentions: Junk Shop Blues.” God help me.

Sooo close to getting a 5-star rating!But The Cardigans sort of stumbled on the finish line and got bumped down to a 4 instead, with me not even knowing if I’d like to continue with the rest of the series/season. I’ll get back to why in a bit.I thought the plot was great and I was sucked into the story immediately. It was fast-paced and gruesome, and it sets the stage for getting to know more about Khalaji and Yoon through their reluctant cooperation.McCade doles out small amounts of information about the MCs, withholding most of it which just made me more curious.Basically, McCade is being a tease.Which is brilliant. I kept wanting to know more about them and was frustrated when I wouldn’t get it. But of course, I still devoured the read since any lull in the story (revealing more of the guys histories) was inevitably followed by action.Right. So Khalaji and Yoon are both loners. Both are damaged. But no specifics are revealed in this first episode.I really liked Khalaji’s grumpy persona and the vulnerability that shone through during the grimmer parts of the story. I think I could easily come to adore his character if only McCade would have offered a bit more flesh to his bones.Yoon was harder to place and he didn't completely win me over. The POVs alternated between the two, but Yoon’s chapters were less revealing than Khalaji’s. Yoon was way more closed up. Strict and a stickler for protocol. Younger and less experienced, but the experience he had is hinted at to more than make up for it.There were mainly two things in this story that bothered the heck out of me.The first one was the obvious disregard of a crucial clue. They found the clue. Acknowledged that it seemed suspect. And then never spoke of it again. I mean what the heck! That grated. Also, later on, it didn’t help that the case was solved without revealing the how of it all. Logistics is pretty central to this murder mystery after all, and not detailing how it was even possible to get away with the things done (especially the grand finale) just adds to the improbability.The second thing that annoyed me was the kiss.It just came out of the blue. No preamble. Just “lets test if we have chemistry to see if it’ll mess up our professional relationship”. To me, that was actually the final straw. So a 4 instead of a 5.I mean, naturally I wanted a kiss. At a minimum. But it would have needed to be some credible build up to that moment. As it were it just felt forced. Too bad really.I want both the suspense and the relationship development to be on point in order to fully enjoy this kind of story. So right now it’s anyone’s guess if I’ll pick up the next episode or not.

I can't believe I waited so long to read The Cardigans because it's AMAZING. So beautifully written -- I swear the prose knocked me away -- with a tense, thrilling murder mystery that made me devour this in one sitting because I needed to know what would happen next. We've got an ultimate slowburn romance between two opposites. A mutual mentioned that I might love Yoon and they were right!! A quiet, awkward, stiff, cold INTJ gay Asian with a mysterious past?? That archetype has my name written on it. Then he's paired with Malcolm, a gruff wolfish masculine detective who hides a soft side. I'm so excited to read the series both to experience their slowburn romance AND learn more about the overarching murder mystery. As soon as I finished reading, the intro song from Yellowjackets started playing in my head lmaoIf you loooove detectives investigating serial killer TV shows and wished they had a slowburn gay romance then this book is for you!!

Loved it!

Damn. I'm still in shock. I don't know what I expected, when I bought this book, I just know that I basically inhaled it, and now I'm hungry for more. The first episode of "Criminal Intentions" got everything a good crime book needs: Complex and authentic characters, realistic police work, great storyline - and all of that combined with a wonderful style of writing. The amount of details describing feelings, persons or situations (= crime scenes) is just right to get the perfect idea of what's going on - there are a lot, but not too many. Whats happening is beyond messed up and really upsetting, and the way psychological backround knowledge is included, the explanations for why people do, what they do, makes it all very authentic. Not less gruesome, of course, but authentic. I also liked the slow burn a lot. It's realistic and highly different from various other queer-romance-books, in which it doesn't even take 10 pages for the main characters to have very explicit sex. "The Cardigans" clearly focuses on the crime storyline, revealing a few glimpses of an upcoming romance, and it's good that way. I'm so excited for what's to come!

This is not your usual wham bam stuff. It's slow burn and it's going to be frustratingly delicious and fun. I loved the opening of the series.

I’m not one for reading detective novels. I find them a bit samey and find the solving of the crime the main feature of the book rather than the characters and the plot.When I heard Cole McCade was writing a detective series, I knew I had to read it because I love his writing. I’m not going to be cheesy cliché and say I would read his shopping list, because that’s just stupid, it’s a shopping list! I would, though like to study his bookshelves. What does that man read to give him such a wide expanse of knowledge and skill to go from writing a sweet romantic book like A Second Chance At Paris to the gruesome story in The Cardigans?I love the way Cole McCade writes. His books are full of rich descriptions, perfectly capturing tiny nuances that make my heart sing. I totally get my geek on when I’m reading his books, he’s a modern day Emile Zola, heavy on description, with real characters and a plot that packs a meaty punch.Detectives, Malcolm Khalaji is teamed with Seong-Jae Yoon to solve the hideous murder of a popular, young gay man. Malcolm isn’t a stereotypical older cop; he’s not jaded with an attitude that the world owes him. He cares, he’s respectful and always thinks of the pain and loss of those who know the victims of crimes. Seong-Jae is an enigma. Deep thinking and reflective, his relationship or the building of the relationship with Malcolm is a definite strong feature of the book for me.It’s an exceptionally good read. Strong stomach required!

This has the potential to get better so 3.5 stars it is. I know the plot till book 9 because my friend told me and got me interested in this 😂 The second last chapter sure was something.