Release Day Review: The Disciple by Susan Laine

Title: The Disciple
Series: The Wheel Mysteries: Book Four
Author: Susan Laine
Release Date: October 21, 2016
Category: Murder Mystery
Pages: 200

Dreamspinner Press ~ Goodreads

Gus Goodwin witnesses a young man acting strangely at his occult shop—and a day later the same youth is found brutally murdered at a secluded Radical Faerie sanctuary in the mountains. Gus and his private detective boyfriend, Niall Valentine, once again find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery.

First to cross their path is Professor Alex Kittridge, Gus’s ex-boyfriend. Then into the picture stumbles Autumnsong, the biggest enigma they’ve ever encountered, to complicate the already confusing case. As Gus and Niall try to decipher the meaning of the cryptic poems left at the murder scenes, their pasts not yet laid to rest put a strain on their relationship.
Gus and Niall must uncover a slew of secrets within a spiritual group of queer social rebels before the vile killer strikes again—or the investigation could very well end up being their last.

*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.*

Let me start this review by saying, don't make my mistake.  This is Book 4 in The Wheel Mysteries series and you really, really, really, really should read the previous three books first!  This series is about occult shop owner Gus Goodwin and his boyfriend, private detective, Niall Valentine.  It seems Gus has quite the history of ending up involved in murder mysteries.  In this installment, Gus is suspicious of the young man who was acting strangely in his store.  Later that night, the young man's body is discovered.  The detective investigating the murder asks for Gus' help due to his background.  But what comes is more death, mysteries, and ex-boyfriends.

There is a lot of history to Gus and Niall and many other characters in this book that really necessitate reading the other books.  Gus and Niall are engaged and seem to be in a good place in their relationship.  They are comfortable with where they are but still are learning about each other and learning to work through their differences.  In this book, they each face jealousy when each of them has to meet each other's ex-boyfriend, but they're able to do that without unnecessary drama.  The other supporting characters were interesting and varied.  This book included gay, straight, and cross-dressing men. 

I was able to follow along and enjoy the characters and murder case they're investigating, but I would have definitely enjoyed it more had I known the backstory of all the characters involved and referenced. The murder case, which is a focal point of this book, was really well done and engaging.  There were plenty of twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing at who the culprit is.  I found the story interesting and learned quite a bit about the worshiping done by those mentioned in the books.  Radical Faerie's was definitely a new one to me!  This book ends with a glimpse of even more twists and turns to come for Gus and Niall. 

Rating:  4 stars