No Tears for Darcy

3.5 Stars

I really thought the storyline was enjoyable for this book. It was interesting, had plenty of twists and turns and kept you guessing. But the characters... I seriously disliked pretty much every single character in this book.

Cameron, one of the main characters, was the most clueless, moronic person ever. He literally had zero clue what was going on around him at any point in time. A forensic accountant with some sort of police division, he had no self-awareness or self-preservation, and was dating Jim, who was, for all accounts, one of the “bad guys”.

Jim... Jim was horrible all around and obviously karma caught up with him ’cause he was dead before this book even started. Lol. He was a horrible person to Cameron when they were dating and we heard all kinds of stuff come to light about their relationship and the sordid details of what happened during that time. We also learned how far down the rabbit hole Jim’s deceptions and lies went.

Darcy.... who the F was Darcy? This chick was totally insane. She was all over the place. All up in Cameron’s business and super sketchy in everything she did. She lied, stole and was just a bad human being all around and it sounds really, really bad but she really kinda got what was coming to her.

Pete was one of the other main characters. There was not really a whole lot to him. There was not a huge connection made between Cameron and him. There wasn’t a whole lot of character development between the two men and it ended up being a really slow burn with minimal physical actions going on.

Steve... Steve was a freaking weirdo. He just showed up all over the place. His character wasn’t really defined or explained well. He was there and yet he wasn’t. He was basically the handyman for the whole town, saw and heard everything but seemed to stay in the shadows.

Will... Now, there was a character who totally took you by surprise. The town cop, he seemed to have his hands in everything and was all-seeing/knowing about everything that went on in his town.

The book was structured well. The storyline was paced out well. It was a big question of who-done-it mystery. And with all my character dislike I actually still didn’t see the ending coming and who was behind it all. A crazy story that was written well.


Audio - I think that for a first narration outing Brock Hatton did a decent job. I wasn’t super impressed but at the same time it wasn’t horrible. At the beginning there were a few odd accents he vocalized for some of the characters that seemed to dissipate over time. The characters did have pretty separate voicing which I appreciated and which helped differentiate them in the story. He put in a good effort and I think over time, once he gets a few more Audiobooks under his belt he has a chance at becoming a great narrator. I am interested to see what he comes out with in the future.

*** Audiobook copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

Reviewed by Jenn for Diverse Reader

I love a good romantic suspense book and this is a good one! Vicki Reese takes us to a small town full of secrets in Pennsylvania where we meet Cam and Pete.

Cam, a former forensic accountant owns and operates his deceased mom’s vintage clothing store. After his business is broken into he meets Pete, a Philadelphia detective on medical leave. Pete sets out to find who broke into Cam’s store and ends up stumbling onto something much bigger. Pete and Cam also find themselves drawn more and more to each other.


I really loved the backdrop to Cam and Pete’s story, a small town full of big problems. The secondary characters and the mystery itself are both done really well. The cast of characters have you guessing “who done it?” most of the book, which I loved. This Is definitely a slow burn, without a lot of heat. The connection between Pete and Cam and the suspense aspects more than make up for that though. Definitely a good read!

No Tears for Darcy is a riveting suspense/ thriller that keeps you turning the page.
I immediately fell in love with Cameron and wanted to hug him. He lost his father to a hit and run, then his mother got sick and passed away. If that’s not a lot to endure, he found out his boyfriend was possibly cheating and then died on the day they were holding his mother’s Memorial.

Pete is a cop from the city that owns silent partnership in a new business in town with his brother. He is on leave from being shot in the leg and came home to recuperate. He is with his friend from the academy Will who is the chief of police in town when they were called out to investigate a break-in at Cameron’s shop.

There are quite a few twists in the story but I won’t call this a mystery. I guessed the perpetrator pretty quick but not all of his involvement. Still, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are well rounded. The story intriguing. And the twisted nursery rhymes chilling. The sex is all off the page but still sexy. I highly recommend this book. It’s on my favorite list.

**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by DreamSpinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**

No Tears for Darcy is the first book by author Vicki Reese that I’ve read and I loved, loved, loved it! Cameron has returned to live in the hometown he grew up in because of his mother’s death. Cameron has a good life but it hasn’t been easy. His father died when he was a boy, then his mother died, and his boyfriend died the week of his mother’s memorial. Cameron continues to live life and try to make it better. Then his store is broken into and trashed. Life is hard. What I loved about Cameron is that he didn’t use any of these events to give up on life. He adjusted, made changes and kept going. Honestly, with everything that happened to Cameron, this book could have been so heavy but it wasn’t.

Cameron meets Pete when he shows up with Will, the police chief and Cameron’s friend to investigate the store's break-in. But, Pete is more than he appears. He’s in town recovering from a bullet on the job, and he’s instantly taken with Cameron. There’s a spark between the two men that jumps off the page and you can feel their connection. Pete is smart and resourceful. He quickly notices patterns in the events in Cameron’s life and begins investigating. He’s able to see the bigger picture, and able to avoid becoming a victim, though not easily.

This story is interestingly told from three perspectives, Cameron, Pete and the “bad guy”. You don’t know who he is, but if you’re paying attention to the story, you do. There were only two things that kept this from being a 5-star rating for me and the mystery part is one of them. I loved having the point of view of the bad guy and not knowing who he is, but it really is written in a way that you know who he is. I would have loved to had the added mystery of trying to figure it out, but that’s just me. Otherwise, I think the bad guy and everything surrounding him was really well done. The characters were terrific and easily likable, the mystery was really well woven, the supporting characters were terrific and really added to the story. The other reason I didn’t give a 5-star rating, is because I would have liked a little more story, or just an epilogue that let me see the two MC’s living life and still being together once all the action is gone.

Though the relationship happens quickly between the two MC’s, it never felt rushed. I would classify this as a very strong HFN ending that feels like HEA will happen. I would have just loved more of the MC’s relationship outside of the mystery and danger. This is a book I would highly recommend!

Rating: 4.5 stars!