Name: Love Kills Twice
ISBN: 9781648901928

Rien Gray

She needs an assassin. They’re the best in the business. Falling in love was never part of the deal. Desperate to escape her abusive husband, Justine hires a contract killer. Campbell’s services come at a high price, and their dark, seductive charisma leads Justine right into their bed. Hiding an affair while Campbell designs the perfect murder has Justine walking a tightrope of stress, but each time the two of them sleep together, it’s harder not to get attached. Campbell struggles with their own traumatic past, convinced that the truth will drive Justine away. There’s a faint hope that things could work, save for one problem: Justine’s husband wants her dead too. Revenge is easy—heartbreak could cost both of them everything.

Love Kills Twice

KADY BURNS

Love the nonbinary representation. It was a fun ride that went by quickly. Was a bit predictable, but I am not mad at it.

Jude Silberfeld

What are the odds of a husband and a wife both hiring the same assassin to get rid of the other? And what are the odds that the wife will fall for the assassin?

Love Kills Twice is a dark and very hot first book – its length puts it right at the limit between novella and novel, so call it what you will – in a new series and, I think, a debut (there’s a link to a very well-written short story on the author’s website).

The writing is really good and I absolutely loved the atmosphere. It took me a little longer to love the characters, for two reasons. The first is my own moral sense, which struggled with liking killers. I knew what I was getting into though, so once I got over myself, it was fine. The other reason is how mysterious Campbell, the non-binary assassin, remains for most of the story. I liked how they looked at and saw Justine (their client and potential victim) from the start but it wasn’t enough for me to get a real feel as to who they are. Which was kind of exciting in itself. There’s a capacity for passion hidden behind the cold facade that explains a lot once it’s unveiled.

Justine, on the other hand, is also complex but in a very different way. When we meet her, she’s already decided to have her husband killed, after years of him mistreating her, cheating on her and extinguishing her light and passion. So yes, she’s already decided to take action, in the most radical way. Yet as the relationship with Campbell evolves, we see her stand straighter, become more assertive, take what she wants.

As you’ll probably get from the premise, there are a few potential triggers in this book. Here are the warnings listed on the publisher’s website: on-page murder of a side character, cheating and power imbalance by a side character; off-page domestic abuse of an MC, mention of past war-time trauma of an MC.

A second book in the series is announced in a more or less near future. I’ll be very interested in seeing what happens to Campbell and Justine next.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Megan Cooper

I’m really not sure how I stumbled across Rien Gray’s Fatal Fidelity books – likely someone posted something about it and it stuck randomly in my mind. I am glad that I remembered it as I was really quite intrigued with the characters, the writing and the plots. It just goes to show that you don’t know what’s out there unless you start looking outside your normal reading parameters.

These books are published through Ninestar Press – a smaller publisher that has been impressing me quite a bit over the last year or so. They publish LGBTQ+ novels that have a bit of an edge to them – they can be diverse, quirky, dark and quite often quite steamy (okay, just about everyone book I’ve read from Ninestar is pretty heavy on the sex and usually has a bit of kink) but they are always distinct and original. They also have some of the most gorgeous covers out there.

Gray’s books are an homage to the noir and hardboiled genres. There’s moral ambiguity to the characters and their actions that Gray pulls off without making the characters irredeemably flawed or the story nihilistic. The result is a simmering story of vengeance and passion with a contract killer and the woman who hires them to kill her husband that sucks you right in.

Campbell is a sophisticated and urbane character – sharply dressed, charming and confident – but there’s also an underlying danger lingering in every word and action. Methodical and organized, they research and plan out the smallest detail to create the perfect murder with cold and precise calculation and total confidence in their ability. Beneath the self-assurance and polite veneer, there’s a vulnerability of guilt and rage that they keep tightly leashed which broadens the character and enhances the air of mystery around the motivations and allows Justine to glimpse behind the implacable wall of professionalism.

Justine is a successful art gallery owner who sacrificed a career as an artist to support her husband while he pursued his education. She has become little more than a trophy wife that Richard treats with disdain through infidelity and isolating her from friends and family. Over their marriage, he has insidiously undermined Justine’s confidence and self-assurance through years of psychological, emotional and physical abuse. Despite his efforts she retains a steel core of self that survives his campaign and she finally decides to end things. But Justine wants more than escape through a divorce, she wants vengeance. Once the decision is made, she’s resolved to see it through. That steely core is further stoked through her interactions with Campbell, with her confidence returning and allowing her to acknowledge her own wants and desires.

Murder for hire may seem tawdry, but the characters are sharp and complex, with the narrative and dialogue full of innuendo and charisma that tantalizes. There’s a sizzling energy between the characters from the outset and that chemistry boils over pretty quickly. I found myself completely invested in the two characters and eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.


Love Kills Twice – Rien Gray

The first book is a novella, but it gives enough time and space to introduce the characters and has a nice neat plot to keep things moving along. Though it is short, the pacing is perfect – there’s just enough to hook the reader without bloating the story with angst or unnecessary exposition.

The story starts with a civilized dinner at a nice restaurant where Justine meets Campbell to finalize the contract and details around her husband’s imminent demise (at Campbell’s hands and Justine’s behest). From there the die is cast, and the two are drawn inexorably closer by a simmering attraction that provides more than enough steamy fodder for the reader.

There’s a dark undertone with a murder plot bringing the characters together, but that’s what makes noir noir – and when you mix moral ambiguity, implied violence and sex, you get a pretty explosive result.

Love Kills Twice

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