Burden

Title: Burden

Author: Annmarie McKenna

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Publisher URL: www.samhainpublishing.com

ISBN/BIN: 978-1-61921-829-1

Genre: {M/M} Contemporary

Rating: 3.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Dragon Minx

Detective Brennan McGuire’s life has changed dramatically in the year since his car flew off a cliff. After surviving his injuries he now stutters, struggles with daily activities and has memory problems. Learning to deal with money sends Brennan to the local coffee shop where he spies a man with a gun, and for the first time in months his cop instincts take over—he jumps a guy to protect him.

Keegan Monroe just came off an undercover assignment. He didn’t expect to end up getting shot at or to be shoved to the ground. When Keegan looks into the eyes of the guy lying on top of him, attraction flares, but is he involved in the attempted hit? As the investigation moves forward, more of Brennan’s memories return. As the danger increases, its certain someone doesn’t want him to remember what happened before his car crash. Can Keegan discover the killer’s identity before it’s too late?

Burden is the latest release by Annmarie McKenna. It’s not often that one of the primary characters deals with a disability and I wanted to see how the author would handle it. I’m happy to say Keegan deals with Brennan’s problems nicely, treating him with sensitivity when warranted but as a normal guy most of the time. It’s really a refreshing slant considering the severity of Brennan’s residual injury.

I like both Brennan and Keegan and considering the length of the story, their personalities are pretty well rounded. I could have wished their relationship had more time to develop, but it’s still believable. The pacing is smooth, imagery vivid and the action fast-paced throughout. I liked how Brennan’s disability issues are woven into the story and when he begins to have flashes of memory, it only ramps up the sense of suspense and danger. 

The two things that bothered me the most--for the story length there’s an abundance of sex and the ending is abrupt.