New Release Review | Bitter Pill by Jordan Castillo Price

Bitter Pill by Jordan Castillo Price
PsyCop #11
Urban Fantasy
January 20, 2020

About the Book: There’s a new drug on the streets called Kick. The side effects are so brutal, most folks only try it once…unless they’re psychic. Then they do it until it kills them.

Psychic medium Victor Bayne is well acquainted with pharmaceuticals, from the Auracel that blocks his ghosts to the Seconal that offers him a blissful nights’ sleep. But he’s managed to steer clear of street drugs…so far.

Jacob Marks has a medicine cabinet filled with every over-the-counter remedy known to man, but none of them are doing much for his mood—and his long, fruitless days of combing through records at The Clinic are taking a heavy toll.
But their lackluster investigation does have one silver lining: a front row seat at The Clinic when the first Kick overdose comes in. And as scary as the drug might be, if it truly does augment psychic ability, the appeal is not lost on Vic.

Because the very first hit never killed anyone.

Where did Kick come from? Why is it so addictive? And why is everyone at The Clinic acting so darn shady? That’s what Vic intends to find out. And if he’s lucky, he can also expose a shadowy figure from Camp Hell.

Unfortunately, the demons of his pill addiction might prove just as deadly as his long-buried history. He thought he’d managed to ditch that pernicious habit. But what if it was only lurking in the shadows, waiting for the best time to rear its ugly head?

I can’t even explain how much PsyCop means to me. I’ve talked about it a ton before, but when I finished Bitter Pill I actually teared up, and not because it was sad. I was just so happy to be with these guys again.

My boys.

It’s crazy to think about how far Vic has come over the course of eleven books. He’s got a confidence now that he was missing when we started Among the Living. He’s got himself a big boy haircut, his suit, and his man. I’m so proud of him I could burst!

Vic is taking these cases, and he’s running them pretty much lead. He had a tough case, and he did a great job. He was so competent it left the unruffleable Jacob completely off his game. Yet, still Jacob always puts Vic first.

Truly, this review is going to be terrible. All I want to do is gush. I feel like I can’t write a constructive unbiased review, no matter how hard I try. Instead, I’m just going to leave you with this:

“Jacob… if it’s ever a choice between me and you… it’s gotta be me.”
He knew exactly what I meant. If someone’s gotta go… “Why would you say something like that?”
“You have a family.”
He balled my jacket in his fist. “Damn it, Vic, so do you. I am your family.”
We size each other up with our bloody eyeballs, Jacob and me. Each of us aching to throttle the other. Both of us breathing raggedly, waterlogged with emotion. When our mouths crashed together, it was more in desperation than love. A realization that neither one of us was invincible.
And neither was expendable.

And finally, with these closing words:

READ PSYCOP!!