DEVIL'S CUT is book 3 in the gloriously maladjusted The
Bourbon Kings trilogy by J.R. Ward. This is a fun
and trashy Twinky sort of book, with no redeeming nutritive
value, but plenty of enjoyment to be had despite its utter
empty-calorie feel. This is the Dynasty TV series come to
life in the current age, with an irredeemable matriarch,
plenty of familial infighting, and superficial glamour
concealing the grimy underbelly of the filthy rich and their
utter disdain for society's rules.
It's like 'Who Killed J.R.' from Dallas. Edward Bradford
Baldwine, who is the oldest son of the Bradford family, is
awaiting arraignment in Washington County Jail after being
arrested for the murder of his father, the patriarch of the
Baldwine bourbon family, William. We can infer from the
hints that Edward probably didn't do it, but who really did?
William was an out and out bastard and embezzled all kinds
of money from the family business. The salacious details of
that embezzlement are slowly dripped out, leading the reader
down a primrose path as we try to figure out what happened
before William's death. Chantal Baldwine is a gold-plated
b#cth, plotting to leverage her pregnancy by her
father-in-law into a hefty settlement as she divorces
William's son Jonathan Tulane. We saw Jonathon's (Lane's)
romance with the estate gardener Lizzy in book 1, THE
BOURBON KINGS. The daughter, Sutton, has an illegitimate
daughter and has now married a rival bourbon maker who
abuses her, in a desperate attempt to maintain her standards
of living in THE
ANGELS' SHARE. Honestly, these people make me shake my
head as I think they deserve everything that's coming to them!
This feels like it's skirting a modern-day morality play,
showing what happens to a person if they abandon all sense
of honor or shame in pursuit of the almighty dollar or
social standing. I don't like any of the characters other
than the honest and kind-hearted black cook who takes care
of her white Bradford charges as they grow up, starved for
affection outside of her purview. Lizzie the estate gardener
isn't awful, either, even though she had the poor form to
fall in love with one of the spoiled rich-boy sons. Even
though I don't like most of the people, though, the story is
utterly compelling, and I eagerly awaited this book 3 to
find out what happened to all the people who deserve their
comeuppance.
Readers of Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood will find the The
Bourbon Kings books to have a very different
attitude. But the underlying writing flair is all Ward. It
sucks the reader in and makes them care about these
unlovable characters, whether they deserve it or not, simply
by being oh so compelling. Ward's DEVIL'S CUT serves us a
generous pour of bourbon dynastic intrigue along with all
the angst, sex, and anger a soap opera fan could wish for.
At first, the death of William Baldwine, the head of the Bradford family, was ruled a suicide. But then his eldest son and sworn enemy, Edward, came forward and confessed to what was, in fact, a murder. Now in police custody, Edward mourns not the disintegration of his family or his loss of freedom . . . but the woman he left behind. His love, Sutton Smythe, is the only person he has ever truly cared about, but as she is the CEO of the Bradford Bourbon Company’s biggest competitor, any relationship between them is impossible. And then there’s the reality of the jail time that Edward is facing. Lane Baldwine was supposed to remain in his role of playboy, forever in his big brother Edward’s shadow. Instead he has become the new head of the family and the company. Convinced that Edward is covering for someone else, Lane and his true love, Lizzie King, go on the trail of a killer—only to discover a secret that is as devastating as it is game-changing. As Lane rushes to discover the truth, and Sutton finds herself irresistibly drawn to Edward in spite of his circumstances, the lives of everyone at Easterly will never be the same again. For some, this is good; for others, it could be a tragedy beyond imagining. Only one thing is for certain: Love survives all things. Even murder.
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