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After reading Never, Never I wanted to follow the series and Black & Blue by Candice Fox & James Patterson is the only other book in the series. I put it on hold at my library and (im)patiently waited for it.

I like that I was able to learn what had happened right before the beginning of Never, Never. I enjoyed a big mystery in the space of a novella without missing a ton of plot. It was the perfect length for what Fox & Patterson wanted to accomplish. They established what led up to Sam’s arrest, had Harry with a new (technically old) partner, and solved a pretty interesting crime. I also enjoyed Sam having an active role in Black & Blue knowing what we already know about him from Never, Never.

Harry still kind of annoys me at times. I can appreciate standing up for your beliefs and defending the defenseless. I just don’t think we would get along in real life. We’d be civil but we would not hang out. #sorrynotsorry If I were doing a comparison to the canine world, I prefer more of a Labrador retriever and Harry is a full on Jack Russell Terrier. All energy and way too hyper versus staid and calm but dependable to defend when needed. Both have loyalty for sure. Tox was a great supporting character and I’d like to see him again. I’m actually kind of hoping for another appearance in the second full length novel.

[bctt tweet=”I just don’t think we would get along in real life. We’d be civil but we would not hang out. #sorrynotsorry”]

Overall, Black & Blue was a solid novella not essential to the series but worth the read. I’m glad to have borrowed it from the library and not taken the expenditure upon myself.