Crash & Burn (Cut & Run, 9) MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, August 9, 2016

Crash & Burn is the ninth and last installment of the iconic Cut & Run series. With this book, Ms. Roux ends the saga that started as a collaboration with her co-author, Madeleine Urban, and became a solo effort following book 4. We learn, in the author’s notes, that the original division of labor between the two authors was that one wrote Ty, the other wrote Zane. Starting with book five, Ms. Roux took on both and, I must say, the transition was pretty much seamless.For those who don’t already know, Ty and Zane are Federal Agents (FBI), both of whom are gay, though initially, deep in the closet. In the first book, Cut & Run, Zane is just coming off a profoundly disturbing and unsettling long-term undercover operation, posing as the lover of the head of the most notorious drug cartel operating in South Florida. Lots of people want him dead. Ty is the hand-picked right arm of Director Richard Burns, a close friend of Ty’s father - their friendship was forged in the crucible of Vietnam. Burns is virtually a father to Ty. I suppose the partnership between Ty and Zane was supposed to be the pairing of opposites. That turns out not to quite be the case, as we discover in Crash & Burn. Burns was not a good guy.That’s the beauty of this final book in the series: it turns out that not much was as it seemed throughout the first eight books, and all is finally revealed. The talented Ms. Roux handles this wrap-up with energy, aplomb and polish. I worried about how she would handle it, aware of the risk that this final book could devolve into a less-than-satisfying compilation of flashbacks, but she avoids that trap most adroitly. All the action in this book is action moving forwards, and the past is explained and illuminated only by what is happening now. Behind-the-scenes manipulations, unforgivable motivations and a callous disregard for human life (even of those you’re supposed to love) all rear their ugly heads as Crash & Burn races to its exciting climax.For many of us, Cut & Run was our introduction to a whole new world of possibilities in gay fiction. Defying all romance traditions, this whole series is an amazing epic consisting of national and international crime thrillers and deadly high-speed action. Good thrillers, I might add, with impressive villains, rogue agencies, drug cartels and players who, until this very last book, don’t reveal whether they’re heroes or villains. The fact that the men are gay? That’s a side issue. These books were not gay action thrillers, these were action thrillers that just happened to feature a powerful, smart and occasionally ruthless (when required) pair of gay men. They not only learn to get along, but to build a life together, share a love that ripens from the violent lust of their first encounters into the mature affection and passion of people who have been together for a long time and love and trust each other without reservation. As we journey from book-to-book, we get to know their histories, their families, their dreams (both individual and shared), their friends, their strong moral code and we get to watch them grow and develop as agents, men, and as a committed couple.I’m working really hard not to give away any spoilers in this review, but let’s just say Ty and Zane get to finally express their commitment to one another in a most surprising and moving scene set in the Baltimore Harbor. It’s a gem of writing, and the culmination of more than 8 years of adventure, danger, death and love.It almost goes without saying that Ms. Roux is an extraordinarily talented author. The characters she has created are so vivid and real, they jump off the page at the reader. More than once, I had an almost irresistible desire to duck to avoid a punch or bullet that seemed to come out of my Kindle, right at my face. I survived. So do Ty And Zane.Some long-time characters do not, however, in the final conflict between Ty and Zane, Ty’s former military team (The Sidewinders), the CIA, the NRI, the Cartel and even the Miami police. And some characters whom you will assume to be dead, miraculously end up in a hospital healing, slowly, but healing nonetheless.Aside from Abigail Roux, not many authors could have come up with the colorful Appalachian family that loves their son, Ty, unconditionally, including his grandfather, Chester, who, even at an advanced age, trounces evildoers with the garden shovel he keeps on his person at all times. He’s the crazy old coot who always speaks the truth, regardless of the consequences.Add to that a whole platoon of former Force Recon soldiers who served under Ty in some dangerous, secret operations in unnamed foreign countries, and who still function as a multi-talented, perfectly-trained and -tuned family of soldiers who protect each other at the risk of their own lives. These are men who come running to help, even when they haven’t been asked. They’re so cool, so complex and so powerful, that Ms. Roux has spun them off into their own series, the “Sidewinder” books. They’re back for the grand finale of Cut & Run.Despite all the macho posturing, marine loyalty, guns, bombs and physical conflict, Ms. Roux is also a great master at weaving moving moments of love and affection into the heart-stopping action. It is nothing less than beautiful to see the attraction that started out as fistfights between these two powerful, independent men, grown into an exquisite, uncomplicated and utterly unbreakable love. If it doesn’t move you, you may not have a heart.There are many ways that Ms. Roux could have ended this brilliant and path-blazing series. She could have just let the clock run out, killed one of the beloved characters off, or just phoned in one final thriller. Thankfully, she did none of those. Instead, she delivered a brand new, fresh, thriller leavened with a perfect balance of love, friendship and commitment that evokes thrills, fears, anger, disappointment, tears and even occasional laughter. She created a “perfect ending” by making the final book in this series one of its best.Thank you, Ms. Roux for eight years of wonderful reading, brilliant characters and a perfect ending.

First - over 5700 locations (I like to include this info in my reviews because it is something I would like to know before reading)Second - After reading the book, make sure you swipe all the way to end past the Author's Notes, About the Author, Also By, and publisher info as there is an epilogue starting at location 5710 (at least that's the number on my app). It's actually luck that I even saw it as stopped reading after the auhtor's note and my app took me straight to the review page on my iPad, but I went to double check something for my review on my iPhone and when I slid the location bar all the way to the end I saw there was a little surprise epilogue.Now for the review (including my thoughts on the whole series):Crash & Burn is bittersweet for me because this series is one of the best in this genre. Ty and Zane and their Sidewinder friends are some of my favorite characters of all-time. Throughout the series they have gone through so many ups and downs and have faced separation and death I don't know how many times, but yet they always managed to find their way personally and professionally (and illegally ;) ) because when push came to shove Ty and Zane had each other's backs. They were times when they fought with each other, but they always fought together, you know. They deserved their happy ending.I'm not going to summarize this book because 1) I'm sure other have done it already and 2) I think series finales are best left unspoiled for awhile so everyone can experience it for themselves. I will say there were times I gasped in shock and times I smiled and even clapped with giddiness once.The writing and plot development of each of the books has been wonderful from the beginning all the way through to this one. I never really knew what was going to happen next. What's funny is that I usually try to guess how the storyline is going to go with police/crime type plots, but I actually just realized the only time I've tied to predict what will happen next is when I finished reading each of the books because when I'm reading I'm too busy submersing myself into the story. I love when a book and it's characters let you onto the roller coaster ride and not just be a distant spectator.Was this my favorite of the series? No. But it was still a thrilling ride and an exciting, yet well deserved wrap up of the series. I really don't have a favorite because I think they all have been great, but Armed & Dangerous was fun because Julian and Cameron from Warrior's Cross have guest starring roles. Stars & Stripes was the first time we really get to see Ty and Zane in a more open and comfortable place in their personal relationship, so that was nice. But Touch & Geaux had some really fantastically written rough and raw emotional scenes. Fish & Chips was probably the most humorous.Do I recommend it? Yes. But you really need to read the series from the beginning IMO to understand how these characters tick.I also recommend ... Warrior's Cross about Julian Cross and his boyfriend Cameron. And the Sidewinder spin-offs, Shock & Awe and Cross & Crown, which focus mostly on Nick & Kelly. I am excited to see there is a book 3, Part & Parcel, coming soon according to the "Also By" section.The good news is that there is no cliffhanger for Ty and Zane's story. We get a satisfying end to a big chapter (pun intended) in their lives and a nice glimpse into a hopeful future.The bad news is there's a cliffhanger ending for Nick and therefore Kelly. I'm so relieved to see there's another Sidewinder book coming soon, so I'm not left with unfinished business on that front.Thanks for such an amazing journey with Ty and Zane, Abigail!

If you are like me, you've kept up with Ty and Zane religiously. Even past the entire train wreck that was Ball & Chain. So I want to take a moment to praise this series as a whole. Despite anything that has happened, I fell in love with Ty and Zane and I would take anything they had to give. Their story, their pasts, their character, they were all so REAL. His family and his friends, their whole world is amazing.That said, I have to get to the bad news. Crash & Burn, was a very big disappointment. The plot twists that were thrown at us were very hard to swallow, I felt like Ty, angry and indignant about the whole thing. I could believe any of it. But the reactions....those were honest and real. Ty's deep sadness and Nick's struggle and the whole group fighting for each other. We even get another glimpse of Julian and see him interact with Liam.Was it a satisfying end? No, but then again, no ending of Ty and Zane's would really be a satisfying ending. But despite the plot twists, I believed in their reactions to it. It is worth the read.

Un dernier tome excellent et sensationnel qui nous happe dès les premières pages et nous tient en haleine dès le début. On entre rapidement dans le vif du sujet et les révélations se succèdent les unes aux autres, nous faisant passer par une multitudes d'émotions! Si les tomes précédents étaient déjà intenses, celui-ci est carrément explosif! Entre les complots, les trahisons, les révélations et les pertes, l'auteur ne nous laisse aucun moment de répit. Une fois le livre terminé, c'est assez dur de se dire que c'est le dernier et qu'on ne reverra plus ces personnages hauts en couleur. Heureusement, il reste encore le tome 3 de Sidewinder que j'ai vraiment hâte de lire! Mais une chose est sûre, Ty & Zane vont me manquer!

This series has monopolised my life for a couple of months.Ty and Zane have been in my thoughts daily - and so much so that I often found myself put aside all matter of personal things just so I could get back to reading in order to follow along with the twists and turns that dictated their lives.Highlights were many, but for me the most profound moment was the realisation in New Orleans that Ty and Zane had crossed paths before.. they truly were meant to be.I loved them.So much.I also loved all the additional characters, all of the Sidewinder men, Deuce, Earl, Mara, Chester, Harrison..Exceptional.And already, I want to go back and read it all again.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this series, as a whole. Ty and Zane were tremendous characters and we learned so much detail about those people around them, by the characterizations painted by the author, Abigail Roux.This book sees our now engaged crime fighters taking on what will hopefully be their last battle. They just need to bring down a drug cartel and find a mole within the FBI. Easy work for these two! :-)The author does a great job of bringing the story to a conclusion. I thought we'd see them retire to the ranch in Texas, but the author left us wondering what would become of them after the series closed. Throughout the nine books you come to learn so much about these two, you think you know them. It's sad to see them go!

Good ending ....

This is the last part of Ty and Zane's story, and it's the end of a journey for the reader.I read this book while supposedly preparing for my bar exam. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath as the pages went by. The characters who had started out as distraction from real life had become dear friends, and I suffered with them wherever they went, be it Baltimore, West Virginia, Texas, or Miami. I could not have wished for a better journey.Slight spoilers ahead!This book is where loose ends are tied up. From Richard Burns' murder to the de la Vega cartel's hunt for Zane, from Liam Bell making another appearance to the search for the mole inside the FBI. People die, buildings explode, and smack in the middle are Ty and Zane with their friends and family. There is heartbreak, there is betrayal, there is distrust, there is the twenty-years-old bond between men who have walked through fire. Putting down this book is near impossible, and it the ending our beloved heroes deserve.