This is by far the worst of the series but that might be my bias. This felt preachy af even while one of our main characters disavowed everything Christian. But also Ashe continues to not seem to really know his own characters and springs new things about them 5 books in. Even though Hazard is an idiot and a meathead, it would have come up before that he'd been to a conversion therapy camp. Somers would have definitely known from school he'd been because it's a small town full of small town gossip and there's no way everyone knows Hazard is gay but didn't know his parents sent him away for months during school to a camp. Also, having PTSD from this that isn't triggered at all until some random event in a random case and then suddenly it's all he can think about? I personally don't have any experiences with PTSD so this might be how it works but it just seems like it would have come up in one of the previous books. Also also making Evie a major character (in the way babies are characters) 5 books in is weird and suddenly having Hazard, an idiot and meathead, being all into fatherhood is WEIRD NONSENSE.
I didn't realize until this book that Ashe has such traditional views on marriage, religion, and family albeit through a gay lense and it really bothers me. These two men can build a life together without it being about babies and marriage.
But also on the flip side of that - what is with all the PDA? I don't like it no matter what type of couple you are, but a gay couple in a small Midwest town sucking each other's faces off just seems dangerous. There are literally KKK-style hate groups that are major players in this town that would have no problem killing them for this. It's not normal. Not to mention they're in a public park in police uniforms during their work hours in one of these scenes, so it's just simply unprofessional. Hiding constantly in MM books isn't really fun to read about but, in this scenario, it's just more realistic than what these two are doing now that they're dating. They even kiss in front of the whole church DURING SERVICE towards the end of the book. Have some decorum, guys.

While I am continually impressed that Ashe can write these giant 300-400+ page books in a matter of months (I think all these books came out during a single year period?) and that the writing is still fairly good and captivating, maybe he needs to slow down a bit and actually map out what he wants this town to be and who he wants these two men to be with their background trauma, etc. so we aren't, as readers, constantly going WHO ARE YOU? when a random new fact about them is suddenly sprung on us that changes their entire personalities. Unless Hazard is bipolar or schizophrenic, he doesn't make sense on these pages as an actual person. Somers is slightly more realistic but still does things out of left field, going against his own thoughts we were given earlier.

Just so many problems. I was reading this far because I do feel Ashe is a decent writer and the books were exciting enough to keep me reading, but each book is more frustrating than the last and I'm going to have to call it quits. There are too many other books in my TBR that I don't need to be here longer just to complete the set.