The Gentleman's Choice
by Blake Rudman
Black Phoenix Book Tours
July 17-20
Caught in a whirlwind of adverse publicity following a viewer’s death, the streaming show, The Gentleman’s Choice becomes the target for a sadistic killer – and it’s up to PI Vanessa Young to put a stop to it before more young women are murdered.
A sleazy internet dating show blamed for a viewer’s death, a host with a dark, secret past, and a killer with a sadistic grudge…
Someone is kidnapping and murdering previous contestants from the popular streaming show The Gentleman’s Choice – a strictly-for-adults hybrid of The Bachelor and Love Island. Private Investigator, Vanessa Young, is hired by a victim’s family to infiltrate the show as a contestant to expose and capture the killer.
Vanessa and Cole Gianni, the show’s charismatic star, begin to fall romantically for each other, until Vanessa’s plan goes terribly awry when they’re drugged and taken to a remote location to take part in their captor’s own brutal, ultimately fatal, version of The Gentleman’s Choice.
With the clock ticking toward their fateful final night, Vanessa and Cole are forced into a battle of wills to survive their tormentor and escape with their lives before it’s too late…
Universal link for the book on Amazon
My Review
When The Gentleman's Choice first came across my radar, I was immediately intrigued by the premise. The idea of a dating show (with a bit extra 😉😉) having its contestants kidnapped and murdered appealed to me, mostly because it's not something I've really seen before in horror/thriller fiction. And while some may not consider this horror, the stuff that happens to the contestants is pretty grisly, so... take that as you will.
The story follows Cole Gianni, the perpetual bachelor and titular gentleman looking for love on the show. Cole and his partner/producer Skippy have built their show from the ground up and now have more prestigious adult empires (like Playboy and Hustler) calling at their doorstep. But Skippy is adamant they keep doing what they're doing, and Cole reluctantly agrees.
When a former contestant is found murdered, the family hires a PI to investigate and try to discover who is behind their daughter's murder. Posing as a contestant herself, PI Vanessa Young infiltrates the show and starts to snoop around, hoping to draw out the killer. But Vanessa gets more than she bargained for with Cole, who is keeping secrets, and the show. And with more scandals hitting the show from all sides, time is running out for everyone involved. Will Vanessa solve the mystery of who is killing the contestants, or will she ultimately succumb to the same fate?
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't want to put it down, and I found myself eagerly flipping pages, trying to solve the mystery right there along with Vanessa. And while my hunch about who the killer might be ended up being right (suspected them early on), I wasn't expecting the backstory/motive behind it all. But it made sense, although it was pretty messed up.
Cole is a relatively likable character, even though he does come across as unlikable at times. He's just trying to find some fame and fortune so he can claw his way back to bigger and better things (aka Hollywood). Skippy, though, is as thoroughly unlikable as they come. He's unsympathetic, uncaring, sleazy, and just all-around a bad human being. I didn't like him at all.
The plot is engaging and will suck you right in, and while I was happy with the ending, I wish there had been just a tad more. I was invested, and I didn't quite want to let go. Also, I wanted to know what happened with that one scandal involving Lola.
There was one tiny little thing that irked me (and it may have just been my own fussiness), but to mention it here might spoil things, so I won't.
If you're into dark, thrilling mysteries with a unique plot and some seriously graphic, gory bits (and you don't mind lots of sex/nudity), check out The Gentleman's Choice. You might just be pleasantly surprised.
4.5 stars!
About the author
Blake Rudman enjoyed a former, successful career in executive management, building his own companies from the ground up.
Success or not, Blake’s heart has always been in the written word, and the myriad ideas he spent much of his spare time jotting down in notebooks, Post-Its, and scraps of paper whenever the inspiration hit him.
Now a breakout author of five noir thriller novels – all to be published in 2023 – Blake’s destiny of becoming a writer of some renown is well under way.
When he’s not working diligently on his next novel, Blake spends quality time with his family and tropical fish.
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