Morrel & Morcerf and the Spear of Destiny by Kyle Baxter with review

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Book Title: Morrel & Morcerf and the Spear of Destiny

Author and Publisher: Kyle Baxter

Cover Artist: Kyle Baxter

Release Date: October 28, 2022

Genres: LGBTQ+ Action & Adventure Fiction, MM Romance

Tropes: Race Against the Clock, ex-military, king incognito

Themes: Community, Family

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Length: 98 449 words/ 373 pages

It is a standalone book. It is part of a connected series—shared universe—but you do not need to have read the previous books to follow it.

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Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON US  |  AMAZON UK

Gay Mystery Archaeologists Chase Nazi Gold!

Blurb 

Alois d'Pierrepont and Marton Prawer have been attending black market antiquities events trying to recover treasure stolen by Nazis during World War II. Marton is particularly interested in a certain missing Picasso.

Following the trail to France, the two stumble into far more than they bargained for when a shady auction they're attending in Paris’s Latin Quarter is raided by Interpol. Alois’s uncle Frederick, from Bring Me Edelweiss, is soon hot on the case along with his lover Joel McIntyre.

After recovering the journal of a Nazi general the four men race across western Europe, chased by fascists desperate to find the treasure for themselves. Gunfights and car chases ensue as the group uses a map in the journal to track down the treasure and its contents, rumored to include the fabled Spear of Destiny.

Excerpt 

Alois d’Pierrepont knelt at the door to the study and pulled a small black pouch from his breast pocket. With a grunt, he undid the button on his Versace “Black Baroque” evening jacket. It fit a little too snugly for squatting. Opening the bag, he selected two picks, inserted them in the door lock, and went to work.

“How’s it going?” Marton Prawer asked, appearing beside him and flashing his winning smile.

Alois looked up at his boyfriend. I’d go a lot quicker if you wouldn’t hang on my shoulder, he thought. “Just bloody fine, dear,” he grumbled between gritted teeth.

They’d come to the party to find evidence that the host collected Nazi memorabilia. Marton was obsessed with returning stolen loot to the Jewish people. A noble pursuit. And being a history buff and amateur archaeologist himself, Alois found him fascinating and intense. 

The owner of this house had a reputation for acquiring antiques with a sketchy provenance. But reputation was not proof, so the two young men were looking for something they could leverage for information. Something that might get them an in to the black market antiquities scene. To be fair, Alois was at a loss as to how to accomplish that, but Marton was determined. Seems a bit of a stretch.

It was a good thing he was able to use his own contacts to get an invite to this party, but . . . May wind up paying for that. That particular person, a socialite named Denis, was a pill and likely to bring it up to gain his own leverage. He let out a long, deep breath. So far, it’s worth it. After all, they’d made it here. But still, the games people play. It’s all so exhausting. 

He wiped beads of perspiration off his forehead and frowned. Locks never gave him this much trouble. Then again, he wasn’t used to performing under pressure. Before, it was always a lark, a trick he picked up as a kid running around his grandfather’s drafty old home, picking the locks on all the doors for fun. Though he’d long ago gone pro and bought a professional lockpick set, this was different. They were on a mission.

“Take a breath.” Marton’s voice was easy and soothing.

Alois shook out his hand and let out a long exhalation, then went back to it. After a moment, the tumblers clicked easily like they’d been waiting for him. The lock let out a satisfying chunk.

“Sorry, just a bit nervous.” Alois chuckled as he stood. “Never done this ‘in the field,’ as they say. Before, it was always a party trick or me larking about. Never actually tried housebreaking before.”

Marton looked up at Alois and gave him a kiss on the lips. “You did great.” He ran a hand along the front of Alois’s slacks, teasing him until he hardened. “I’ll give you something special when we get back to your place.”

A deep moan escaped Alois’s chest. “I’m looking forward to it already.” Grabbing the door handle, he stepped inside the office and flicked on the light.

They stepped into a nondescript modern office.

“Oh,” Marton said in surprise.

“What, were you expecting a Nazi flag on the wall?” Alois asked, nudging the shorter man in the side. “Or an autographed photo of Hitler?”

About the Author  

Kyle is an artist, playwright, and writer. As a playwright, Kyle has had his plays performed in New York at the NY International Fringe Festival, and the Midtown International Theater Festival. As an artist and illustrator, he has had his art exhibited in both New Orleans and New York.

Born in Hawaii, Kyle is an Army brat and grew up in Erlangen, Germany, as well as Augusta, Georgia, and several cities in Texas. After stints in Louisiana and New York, he resides again in Honolulu with his black Labrador Retriever Brady.

Author Links

Blog/Website  |  Facebook  |   Twitter   | Instagram

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My review of Morrel & Morcerf and the Spear of Destiny by Kyle Baxter
   3.5 stars

The cover of the book says ‘Gay Mystery Archaeologists Battle Nazis’ and it is just that! The cover design is a bit cheesy, which is what makes it charming and appealing. It reminded me of an old-style comic book cover.
 
First, what I really loved about this book. There are a lot of wonderful things to this story. It’s well though-out and well planned. This book has several points of view, many characters, with many moving parts, something I love! The story revolves around a grand chase through Europe to save precious art stolen by Nazis in World War II and hunted by Neo-Nazis in the present day.
 
Now, for what I didn’t like and the reason I didn’t give this book a 5-star rating. The writing simply wasn’t the quality I’d expect from a professional author. There were aspects I wouldn’t think twice about in fanfiction but were out of place in a book written and edited by professionals.
 
This book has everything I adore and want to read in an action-packed story. Car/motorcycle chases, a treasure hunt, an interesting cast of characters, kidnapping and explosions. There are slick special forces operatives and not so slick spy-wannabes who are forced together, and their interactions were delightful.
 
However, I found there were too many dialog tags using words like chirping, trilling, and chattering. Internal dialog was overused in that most times the thoughts were out of place and unnecessary, I already knew those thoughts by previous character speech or actions. In some places they were inserted into the middle of a paragraph or dialog, which really dragged me out of the story. There were inconsistencies such as GPS was used then the directions were crumpled up and thrown away because they were on paper. Or, in one sentence, clothing was neatly folded and packed and in the next shoved haphazardly into a suitcase. There was too much repetition of phrases or statements, often in the same paragraph and I found periodic and random tense changes.
 
I have no idea if the historical information the plot revolves around is accurate, but it was presented in an entertaining and plausible way. I didn’t feel the need to stop reading and start Googling to check facts. The story isn’t really a romance, though there are romantic parts and couples who face challenges all couples do, even if they’re not super slick spies.
 
An Irish Wolfhound! This dog was a minor character and portrayed perfectly. I love this breed and it was a real treat to see one in a book.
 
One of my biggest pet-peeves in books is the use of epithets instead of character names and there was an abundance of overuse of epithets. All these things conspired to cause disappointment in this book.
 
Mr. Baxter is a new author to me, but honestly, I’m not sure I’d read another of his works.
 
An advanced reader copy of this book was provided by the author for a fair and honest review.