I was pretty quick about getting my hands on Sticks & Stones, the second novel from Medeleine Urban and Abigail Roux featuring FBI agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett, and I was not disappointed by the results!
This time around, it hasn’t been long since Ty and Zane reunited at the end of the first novel, but in their healing period they’ve been assigned to desk duty. It’s clear that they are still both struggling in their own ways. Zane is mentally tanking it, and it shows in the test run of the psychological exam that would allow him to return to field work. Ty really isn’t doing much better either, but he’s more attuned to Zane’s struggles than his own. At least he’s had a past that familiarizes him with trauma. In the wake of failing the practice test, Director Burns orders the partners some mandatory vacation, which the two begrudgingly go along with.
In a bit of a spur of the moment decision, Ty invites Zane to go visit his reclusive home in West Virginia. Zane doesn’t read too much into it and agrees to go along. He’s promised some good food and some extreme hiking. Meeting the rest of Ty’s family is an adventure. A lot of them are reflected in Ty, but he can also see where they’ve shaped him in ways that maybe aren’t the healthiest. Ty’s mother is strict but extremely caring. His father is no-nonsense, and shares Ty’s odd sense of humor. His brother, nicknamed Deuce, appears to be the wildcard as the psychiatrist of the family, but he and Ty are very close. So that means it doesn’t take Deuce long to figure out something more is going on between Ty and Zane than just your average FBI partners.
The hiking is extreme, especially for someone like Zane who is used to the flat lands of Texas and big cities, but he keeps up just fine. They hear word from another hiker about a supposed “hidden treasure” along the trail they chose to follow, and that silly story comes to bite them in the ass soon after. A trio of degenerates have booby trapped the trail, and likely killed several presumed missing hikers, when they come across Ty Zane, Deuce, and Ty’s father. At first, Ty goes undetected, but the traps set by the trio have triggered some severe PTSD episodes and eventually gives himself up. Luckily, our guys are smart, and even though there’s a bit of an unhinged play by Zane, it just makes it more clear how much he cares about Ty.
Given that there’s two more novels in this series, I think it should come as no surprise that they are still a part of the land of the living by the end of the novel, though through some truly wild events Ty does have a brush with death. After everything they’ve endured, it’s helping to mend the broken relationship with his father. And while his brother has always been by his side, he warns Zane that Ty’s never been this serious about anyone. Though that does spark some fear in him, it doesn’t stop him from staying by his side. For Ty’s part, he comes to realize he might just be in love with Zane. I, personally, cannot wait to see what the next novel has in store!