What can I say about Saint Brothers #4, What's Left of Me, that could even come close to what I'm feeling? Those who follow me on SM or my reviews know that my life was turned upside down with the passing of my mother back in January. Some days are better than others, but to be perfectly honest, my stress levels and anxiety grow with every day as I try to navigate a new path forward as I attempt finding a job that allows me time to still care for my dad. This admission has nothing to do with Davidson King's book other than the story has given me an outlet for moments of relief and yet the stress makes my reviewing brain more clouded. So I want to put that out there in my hope this review comes out clear. The fact that it does give me moments of relief speaks the loudest to my enjoyment of this story.
Though I am part of the author's FB group, I always try to stay clear of her teaser Tuesday posts when I can, sometimes you just have to have a peak but in general, I like to be completely taken off guard when reading. Boy was I ever! I knew there was a serial killer element to the story waybackwhen, but I had no idea just what that would entail. I won't go into specifics, having been so unaware heightened the fear factor for me and I would never want to rob any reader of that same "WOW!" moments.
Before I talk about Noel and Phoenix, I want to mention that, even though What's Left of Me, is laden with dark moments, violence, and fear, I personally think the author's #3 Mine to Keep, is still the darkest and most soul-crushing entry as it dealt with both the subtlety and in your face effects of stalking. Having said that, just as I'm writing this review, I realized that the entire Saint Brothers series plays heavily into the psychological side and after effects of the crimes. Not sure how I missed that before this moment, because it's so clear to me now. Hindsight can be our biggest moment of clarity.
So, on to the men at the center of this amazing and disturbing story.
Phoenix. I loved how the author dealt with his fears. Through his inner monologue we have a fuller picture of what the serial killer did to him, or more significantly, what impact the vitriol he hammered into Phoenix has left on his psyche. Through his interactions with his sister, Hazel and gradually the Saint brothers, we see how it has affected his day to day emotions. As drawn to Noel Saint, Phoenix is, I think it's actually the interactions he has with the brothers' partners that begin to ground him and see that healing and overcoming trauma is doable. Don't get me wrong, this is a Phoenix and Noel story, but the author's use of the partners, though small in page-time, is huge in healing.
Noel. Him and his brother, Nick(the Saint star in Mine to Keep) are the computer nerds of the operation and the frustration with the non-tech family members are front and center of the humorous scenes of the story. Won't lie, there are not many comedic moments but these family funnies help balance the darkness and left a calming effect on me. I really love how he relies on Dr.Aziza when it comes to making sure Phoenix is protected and the best ways to approach certain factors. This is not something you often see in stories about revenge and physical protection, generally those who are doing the protecting are all about the do-now-think-later but not the Saint brothers, they get the importance of the survivor's mental health(I said "survivor", I don't like "victim"). Again, don't get me wrong, they are all about the doing but not without the thinking, for the most part😉.
Put these men together and you have a very powerful and rewarding love story that rounds out this psychological suspense thriller, creating a whole package of entertainment. What's Left of Me is oh so disturbingly yummy.
One last thing, for those wondering about reading order, I highly recommend reading Saint Brothers in order of release. Yes, each book is about a new brother and a separate crime but because the past entry's relationships play a huge found family part of each new story, everything just falls into place more realistically when read chronologically.