Dearly & Deviant Daniel

Dearly and the Departed, Book 1

By: L.A. Kaye

Narrated by: Zachary Zaba

When the family business is death, what does it take to feel alive?

Maybe a gorgeous motorcycle mechanic with a dark past has a few ideas?

Mortician Keir Dearly has a secret he plans to take to his grave. If he tells anyone he speaks with the dead who come through his funeral home, who will believe him? Keeping the secret prevents Keir from pursuing a love life because how would a lover react to such news?

Mechanic Dashiell Clegg owns Clegg Cycles, the family business his father left to him and his estranged brother Daniel. Dash has only seen Daniel twice since Dash was released from prison, and that’s perfectly fine with both of them. The brothers stay out of each other’s lives until one day, Dash gets a call that changes everything.

When Dash’s brother, deviant Daniel Clegg, shows up on Keir’s table with a final request: Keep my brother from being blamed for my murder, the temptation to jump into the mix is too much for Keir to resist. Can Keir save Dashiell Clegg without telling anyone about his conversations with the dead?

After being warned about communing with the Departed, will Dearly have to pay a price for assisting them in finding their final peace?

L.A. Kaye’s debut novel, Dearly & Deviant Daniel, is the first tale in the Dearly & the Departed M/M paranormal romance series. It’s a little mysterious, a little creepy, and a lotta sexy, so be sure to check it out! It’s approximately 90,000 words in length and ends happily for now.

©2022 L.A. Kaye (P)2023 L.A. Kaye

Good story. Good narration.

A funeral director who is also a medium is bound to be fuel for interesting stories. Toss some romance inside a murder mystery and you have my attention. This type of story is new to the author, and I could see a few places where the story could have the edges smoothed out. I had fun listening rough edges and all. I was engaged the entire story. A few tidbits of info could have unfolded a little more slowly. I think it would make sense to have the origins of Kier's abilities be part of the ongoing mystery rather than lay them out in the first book, but I prefer a multi-layered mystery over a simple "who dunnit".

The narration was decent. Some of the narrators pauses were a touch awkward, and I was a bit confused by his pronunciation of Bogart. I did enjoy the narrator's voice, and his character voices were distinct enough.

Overall, this was an entertaining story with great characters including the side characters. I am looking forward to the next book.

What a ride!

This storyline is stellar! I live a good paranormal read and this fits that trope. It makes sense to me that a mortician is able to see spirits and the storyline builds on that premise. I can’t wait for the next one!

Loved this book.

I really enjoyed all of the different characters in this story. I’m glad that after all of the skeletons were out of the closet that these two men were able to love each other freely. I definitely am glad I read this book.

Great twist on paranormal romance.

Wish narrator had more range and it would’ve added a lot. Though the story itself was worth it.

It's ok

The author over explains details - the most annoying of which is " and not the Great White Way, as Broadway is called because of all of the white lights on front of the theaters" ..I'm not sure who the authors thinks her readers are

The spicy parts were so boring - the author added so MUCH conversation that you forget they're actually supposed to be ... 🔥. (again its the over explaining thing)

The narrator is too quiet , his pacing is off and his intonation so even that I found myself falling asleep. Additionally his attempt at a gruff" voice sounds like he point marbles in his mouth
I couldn't finish the audio but downloaded the book on KU to skim and find out whodunnit