Psycop – A Guilty Pleasure Binge Read

As a teenager, I was mildly obsessed with the Stephanie Plum series, which featured a chaotic detective (private eye?) who solved crimes and was torn between a hot Italian cop and a hotter brooding guy named Ranger. At one point I even went to the library’s book club when the newest book came out, which was me and a bunch of middle aged women. I got invited to their Jazzercise class. It was awesome. Anyways, Psycop feels a bit like that, but spooky and gay. I was really into thrillers growing up – David Baldacci had me in a chokehold before college – and it’s been nice to reconnect with that part of my reading history. Psycop isn’t building my brain up or pushing me to consider anything serious, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. This review covers my thoughts on the first three books in this series, all novella length. 

Comparable Media: Steaphanie Plum, Magic for Liars, Bones

Elevator Pitch:
Victor Bayne is part of a supernatural investigations unit. He can speak to the dead, which is mostly a pain in his ass except when it helps him do his job. That’s why he’s addicted to psychic suppressants. His partner just retired right in time for a murder scene to pop up that is mysteriously free from voices. Also on this case is Jacob Marks, a hunky mundane cop who recently jacked Victor off in the bathroom while they were at the retirement party for Victor’s old partner. Each book follows a new crime or mystery to be solved, often with a brand new cast member to spice up the dynamic for the book. 

What Worked for Me:
This is a phenomenal example of what mindless cop stories can be. You’ve got to check any sense of realistic dynamics at the door, but it’s just a lot of fun. The supernatural thriller elements are engaging, the characters feel fleshed out and interesting, the sex scenes are well written (though they have no interest in justifying themselves with being connected to plot or character arcs). The writing moves fast, and each entry is at novella length meaning I can chew through a single volume in the space of a day. They’ve been a delight for something light and fun to read after a challenging day at work when I don’t have the energy to devote to something more intense. I probably should care a bit more that the series doesn’t seem interested in exploring the sad realities of the US Police state (studies vary in the exact numbers, but it’s likely that at least 1 in 5 cops are domestic abusers), especially with all the shit that went down in my home city of St. Paul this year. I just can’t bring myself to apply a critical lens to Psycop, especially when half the time the villains seem to be supernatural entities that Buffy killed in Season 1.  

This series has a great balance of humor and horror – though it’s more spooky thriller than horror story. Our lead is super chaotic, and I was so happy that he wasn’t a hollow shell for me to fill with my own personality. He spends about half the story high on drugs that keep dead people from harassing him, has communication issues, and has a delightfully sassy interior monologue that he keeps bottled up. Our villains – so far – are a great mix of supernatural and mundane. It seems like a balance between criminal investigative books and thrillers focusing more on existing as a psychic in a world where governments and private industry are excited to take advantage of those with powers. Victor, or the people close to him, typically end up directly involved with the crime and put in mortal peril. Great stuff.

Finally, despite the short length of the books, Price has developed a surprisingly thorough supporting cast over the first few entries. There’s his ex-partner, his new boyfriend and his psychic partner, a few other assorted psychic and mundane characters orbiting Victor’s life, and all of them feel really delightful and real. I’d also like to acknowledge that Price does a good job of being consistent about acknowledging race and ethnicity for all characters, not just the non-white ones. A lot of series assume whiteness unless stated otherwise, and Price makes it immediately clear that she’s not going to continue in that tradition.

What Didn’t Work For Me:
My biggest real complaint about this series is the core relationship. Jacob is a hunky guy; the ‘stereotypical jock with a heart of gold’ romantic interest, and he’s probably the least developed (so far) of anyone in the series. Price kind of handwaves why they’re interested in each other, but their dynamic settles into something comfortable as the books progress. There’s a few raised eyebrows from some moments where a gay sensitivity reader could’ve gone a long ways; no, fucking in a shower without lube is unpleasant, and body wash isn’t going to do the trick. It doesn’t help that Victor is a bottom, which is overwhelmingly the norm in single-POV stories that make some of these elementary mistakes. 

There’s enough good stuff happening that I can overlook these moments, but my fingers are crossed that these orange flags don’t intensify. My trepidation has faded a bit with each book so far. In the first, it really felt like Victor could have been a straight woman without much changing, a feeling which has faded without totally vanishing. This is, at some level, just part of the package when you read a lot of gay male leads in today’s publishing world. However, I’ve had enough novels where the author doesn’t fumble through basic issues around the experience of being a gay man that I’m more sensitive to it than I used to be.

Conclusion: addictive and readable spooky thrillers. Avoid if you don’t want to read very explicit sex scenes.