Product Description

Vice Detective, Brandon Carr, despite his tattoos and bad-boy cool, lives in the closet with no intention of ever coming out. Then he meets Nevada Gaming Agent, Nick O'Malley, at a Goth convention and his perfectly constructed world starts to crack. Nick's passions for him, a restored hearse and rope bondage might drown Brandon's will. With the odds stacked against them they try to move from simply sex to something more. Sparks fly as the pair probes a world of cheating, murder, drugs and money laundering. The investigation repeatedly derails their relationship, finally forcing Brandon to choose between staying in the closet and saving Nick's life. #1 in the Taking the Odds Mystery Series!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #375120 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Review

Mychael Black, popular Torquere author, writes: Brandon Carr is firmly in the closet. Very firmly. Safely hidden where no one else can see that he has a penchant for men. As a cop for Riverside Police, he knows how to keep his needs and desires tucked away. And up until now, he's managed just fine. Then Nevada Gaming Commission Agent, Nick O'Malley, waltzes into his life and turns Brandon's world upside down in a heartbeat.

Nick is out and perfectly at home in his skin. He knows what he wants and Brandon fits the bill perfectly. They play hard and despite Brandon's avoidance of anything remotely resembling love, Nick already knows how he feels about the closeted detective. Unfortunately, fate has other ideas. When Nick's job lands him into a nasty mess, it'll be up to Brandon to get him out.

Hot cops. Hot sex. Tons of action. What's not to love??

From the first words on the page, it's impossible NOT to become entangled in this story. Brandon and Nicky are both insanely hot. Together, they leave you speechless. The tension is strong, in and out of their relationship. The sex? Dear God. The rope bondage scenes are intense and you feel as if you're right there, feeling the slide of rope over your skin as Brandon does.

If you've never read anything from Buchanan, this is a perfect time (and book) to start. It sets the tone for Buchanan's work: gritty, real, and hot as hell.

Customer Reviews

Gritty, Real and Hot
Buchanan, James. "Cheating Chance", MLR Press, 2008.

Gritty, Real and Hot

Amos Lassen

Brandon Carr is a vice detective who is deep in the closet even though he has tattoos and swaggers with "bad boy cool". He has built himself his own little world but it begins to crack when he meets gaming agent Nick O'Malley at a Goth convention. Nick lusts for Brandon and he tries hard to break Brandon's cool. Together they begin a sexual affair which begins to move to a more serious level. Together the two men begin a probe of cheating, drugs, murder and money and the investigation influences their relationship and causes it to come to an end. The two men seem to be total opposites; Brandon keeps his desires hidden with him in the closet while Nick is out and perfectly comfortable with whom he is. Nick wants love and Brandon avoids it. Nick knows how he feels about Brandon but fate and karma work against that. Yet when Nick finds himself in a situation he cannot control, Brandon is there to get him out.
While Nick is Goth with long black hair and teeth like fangs, Brandon is typically he-male but when they meet they enjoy a night of passion. Both men are difficult. Brandon can be sweet and loving when alone with Nick but cold and detached in public but he realizes that having Nick is better than not having him. As the two men get more involved in the investigation, the differences come to the surface more and more. Nevertheless I found myself loving both men.
The book tends to be quite dark and the thriller is more obvious than the romance. The sex is hot and sometimes kinky but there is something to learn here about casinos and what kind of life a vice detective leads. This is first-rate erotica and its two characters are extremely endearing.

Cheating Chance by James Buchanan
Nick is an agent for the Eletronic Services for Gaming Control at Las Vegas and he is also a goth guy with long black hair, almost fangs like a vampire and with an heaser for car. If not for his tanned skin of Native American descendant, he would be the perfect vampire. At a goth convention he meets Brandon, a cop from North California. After a night of passion Brandon says they can see again but that he is in the closet at home and he is not ready or willing to correct this position. And Nick is rebounding after a bad breakup with his last lover. Not the best fundaments for starting a lasting relationship but they try.

But Brandon's attitude when they are in public, his continuing flirting with girls, and the murder of one of Nick's former colleague, soon after they spoke on phone, puts Nick on top of suspects.

Both Brandon and Nick are difficult characters. They are not typical, not full good heroes and not at all bad boy. In looks they are maybe more bad boy, but Nick is also a sentimental character. He is jelaous and he is still trying to overcome the inferiority's feeling left him by his former lover. And the reaction he has when said former lover pissed him off is a clearly proof of his sentimental and hot nature.

Brandon instead is like Dr Jeckill and Mr Hyde: he can be soo sweet and loving when he is alone with Nick, and then so cold and detached when he is in public. Maybe not the right choice for one like Nick that in this moment would need a bit of reassurance. But still Brandon manages to outweight the bad moments with the good ones: in the end not having him is a lot worst than having him with some issue they have to overcome.

Cheating Chance is a good thriller, more adventure than romance, and even if the sex is a bit kink and there is a good bondage scene, it's not overly erotic (and it's not a complaint, I want to say that there is a good mix of sex and story...)

Sensual romance, exciting plot and fascinating characters.
I like both characters here. Nick, an agent for the Gaming Commission, is fascinating. He is a computer geek and yet into the Gothics and the fetish, and makes no attempt to hide who he is. He seems to be comfortable with who he is yet beneath he is insecure and badly scarred by a disastrous 3 years relationship with Jake, an investment banker. And the scar deepen after another heinous encounter with his former lover. The scene here is pretty disturbing.
Brandon is equally interesting. He is a cop hunk but deeply in the closet yet he looks like a bad biker boy, with his tatoos and attitude.
These 2 men could not be more different yet the attraction is intense and pure lust when they meet in a Goth Convention. Thereon their path is not easy as Brandon makes it very clear he will not come out of the closet for Nick or anyone as his career as a cop come first. As for Nick who is a flamboyant gay, how could he ever hope to cope with a closeted boy friend. Yet they could not leave the other alone as their attraction deepen into much more.
The sex is very hot, with BDSM and Japanese bondage and their romance captivating.
However there is just too much tech jargon in this story, which I sometimes struggle with. I understand the plot needs it and it is an exciting storyline but I find my attention waning in some parts as the writer gives us over the board in-depth knowledge of programming, slots machines and gaming crimes in casinos. Would have been a much better read if the tech jargon is pruned. This is the reason for the 4 stars.
Another angle which I find odd is the abrupt change in Nick's sexual needs. In the beginning he comes across as a submissive bottom but that abruptly changes in one encounter with Brandon. Very hot here but this sudden sexual preference is puzzling. The same goes for Brandon.
Still this M/M romance adventure erotica with its two fascinating characters is not to be missed.