Tom Paretsky--maybe he <em>is</em> Polish--is a plumber with a unique knack for finding what's hidden, including dead bodies. His fiance, Phil Morrison, is a private investigator, so it's a handy skill to have. In this story Tom and Phil are planning their wedding, but it's not going well, especially when Tom's face gets put on the telly as a suspect in a murder.

Tom's committed to finding the true killer before another death gets put on his head. And Phil's determined to make it to the altar--with Tom intact. Though moving in together hasn't been without issues. Tom's a little territorial, and he's slow to adapt to big changes. Like finding out about his paternity issues and building his familial relationships. Phil knows Tom needs nudging, even when Phil goes a bit far.

As with the other books in the series, the sexytimes are on the down-low but Tom's raw wit keeps the pace cracking along and we know how very much he adores Phil. That's totally reciprocated, too, even though Tom has self-esteem issues. Tom's efforts to track down the killer are more personal this time. He's making friends with the kooky family of the grieving widow, knowing that she's the prime suspect. I did like all the misdirection, even if I had picked out the killer in the beginning. The harrowing bits have the appropriate amount of tension, and enough suspense to make me wonder if we'd hear those wedding bells pealing, or not. I loved how it ended, and I really hope to see more of these books in the future.

This ended up being my favorite book in the series. I loved these two together and the story around them was super entertaining.


**ARC provided through Netgalley*

Too many meandering thoughts and UK-culture references that make it hard to understand what the protagonist is saying. I wouldn't recommend this book.

JL Merrow’s Plumber Mate series has been a favorite of mine since the initial book released. Now the fifth installment, Lock Nut, continues the story of plumber Tom Paretski and his fiancé, Phil Morrison, with the same wit and fast paced action one who follows the series will recognize. Phil, a private investigator, has finally moved in with Tom, something that should have little angst and a honeymoon sort of effect attached to it. Unfortunately it’s anything but, as it quickly turns into a veritable minefield of careless and unintended hurtful remarks. Besides trying to avoid conflict with Phil, Tom is still recovering from the hip injury from his last life-threatening job solving crime.

If you follow this series then you know that nothing is easy with Tom, and trouble tends to find him and usually tries to kill him or Phil or both. This time it’s Darren who brings round a friend of his from his former days in the porn industry to ask a favor of Tom and Phil—finding her current husband and delivering a package to him. Tom will use his psychic abilities to ferret out the runaway lover and hand over the goods. Unhappily for Tom, shortly after doing so the man in question is found dead in the canal, and Tom’s face is plastered all over the nightly news as the alleged murderer. As the job heats up, so does the body count, and it’s obvious someone is killing anyone who knows anything about the initial murder. But this case has Tom and Phil stumped, and they race against the mounting body count as they try to catch a murderer before they strike again.

There are two striking elements in a JL Merrow novel that I absolutely love. The first is that her characters speak in the vernacular in which they were raised and live. While I might not always catch every reference Tom utters, or am always able to translate it to American versus English slang, I catch most of it and it lends the story real charm and appeal. I feel fully immersed in the English state of mind when I read one of this author’s works and that makes it all the more fun for me as a reader. The second element has to be the dry wit and bawdy humor employed in these novels. While you shouldn’t be looking for any on-page sex scenes, per se, in most of this author’s works, you can expect heaps of saucy innuendo and rather plain speech when it comes to others asking Tom and Phil about their love life. It makes for some hilarious moments, particularly when Darren and Gary are involved. Quite frankly these stories are so entertaining that the fade-to-black sex scenes are the only kind I could ever see happening. The author has created fully fleshed out characters who are obviously completely in love, so to be honest, the sex just isn’t important—the story stands on its own merits and succeeds without it.

I truly hope the Plumber’s Mate series has a few more installments to come. JL Merrow has created a world of quirky, humorous individuals who take amateur sleuthing to all new heights. With a dash of romance, a touch of tenderness and heaps of fun, Lock Nut is sure to resonate with fans. If you haven’t started this series, I highly recommend it to you.

Another great mystery and another case of miscommunication. If I didn't love these two so much, I might have gotten a tad aggravated with them. *sigh*

Honestly, I think my aggravation stems from the fact that I've always liked Tom and his sense of humor. When he gets so wrapped up in himself and acts like he's not being treated fairly... that just doesn't fit with the part of his personality that I fell in love with. I'm just not used to liking Phil more than Tom, but I guess that explains why Tom loves him so much. Regardless of my on again, off again feelings toward Tom, Lock Nut was a great addition and fitting end to the series. (Although I wouldn't object to checking in on them in the future ;) )

There was a lot going on in this book, especially where the mystery was concerned. I can honestly say that I didn't figure out the who of the "who-dun-it" until close to the end, but I don't want to give anything away. You'll just have to pick up Lock Nut and follow the trail to the bad guy yourself.

There were a couple of HEAs by the end of this one and everything was wrapped up quite nicely. It took Tom and Phil awhile, but I think the journey was worth it.

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile now, then I know that I love the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries series and Lock Nut is number 5. I do think these books are best read in order. Each one focuses on a new, complete mystery, but at the same time, you get to know more about some of the characters as you read the books – especially main characters, Tom and Phil, who are in a relationship. I love seeing their relationship grow and change through the books, which made it seem really realistic. As for the mysteries, Phil is a private investigator and Tom has a “power” of sorts that lets him feel the emotions of a person who has deliberately hidden something; so, say that something is a body – it would probably have a really strong, bad feeling attached to it (and it would feel guilty if the person felt bad). This power comes in handy in each book to help solve various crimes, but it’s not necessarily something that Tom loves.

As the books progress, more and more people find out about this gift and they don’t always understand that he’s not a psychic in the “traditional” sense where he can see the future or find anything (it has to be deliberately hidden). Lock Nut’s mystery surrounds a guy who has most likely been murdered, and Tom was just seen the previous day chasing him around Camden Market in order to deliver a package. Therefore, many believe that Tom is involved…so Tom and Phil do get involved, but in order to find out who the real culprit was, and boy, did I not see this one coming! Maybe it will be obvious to some – I can never say – but I do think the motive will surprise many, and that’s just as interesting as the who, right?

One thing that I really loved about this book is all the mentions of Camden Market – where the deceased used to work – because this is somewhere that I actually visited when I went to London. It was nice to recognize the landscape and picture my time there. If you ever go to London, I recommend checking out Camden Market.

It looks like Lock Nut might be the final book in the series, but I’d really love to hear more about Tom and Phil and all their crazy adventures. I don’t usually care if I have a physical copy of most e-books that I read, but I honestly wish I had actual copies of this series that I could keep on my shelves. I might have to invest in those! Hopefully that will tell you just how much I enjoyed these books! Read them!

Tom and Phil are on the verge of tying the knot and life is good until Darren brings them a case- find a missing husband. Simple, right? Not when it involves Tom and his penchant for finding trouble and dead bodies.
Review

Lock Nut is the fifth book in the Plumber’s Mate series of mysteries that work best read in order to see how Tom and Phil’s romance and the general lives progress.

Tom is his usual fun, snarky, and worrywort self and it’s always a riot being along for his thoughts on everything as he bumbles his way through his life in Hertfordshire with Phil, quirky family, quirkier friends, and a case involving a former porn star, a missing husband, and Tom billed as top person of interest in yet another murder.

Tom and Phil steadily dig up many clues, but each answer produces more questions and suspects. While they work the case, Tom comes face to face with the worry that his relationship with Phil is lopsided and that he thinks he’s not manly enough for Phil or worse, that Phil thinks that. But, then, this is Tom so he’s also privately panicking over planning their wedding, the honeymoon, sharing their home, and having kids while wondering just how does one swing a wedding with one’s parents and also the biological dad his mom had an affair with for seating and such.

I loved all that was going on in this one and the author’s gift for humor sprinkled in with the well balanced elements of romance and suspense. The mystery had a few twists and twisty characters, too. It was a little zany and I had a good time with it and the intervals of the rest of Tom’s life. I adore this series and I dragged my feet as I read this one because I didn’t want it to end. I think this is the last book in the series, but I hope there will be more. Tom’s an easy narrator for the stories and a book character who is easily likable as well as all the other regulars of the series. The setting and situation are just more to enjoy.

Those who enjoy m/m cozy mysteries or light romantic suspense with a mild paranormal element should really pick this series up.

My thanks to Riptide Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars!

Lock Nut is book 5 in The Plumber's Mate Mysteries series and it needs to be read in order. I've been waiting for this book for almost two years and it was well worth the wait!

Tom and Phil are now engaged, living together and preparing for their wedding, but not everything is going great in their personal lives as Tom starts to wonder if they're moving too fast. Add to that their newest case and things aren't looking all that good for our heroes.

I adore Phil, he's a saint, really. LOL I love Tom, too, he's sarcastic, self-deprecating and so much fun, although his tendency to be overly dramatic in some instances makes me want to scream. They're just perfect for each other, and I love watching them work through their issues.

The case was intriguing and kept me wondering until the very last minute with all the twists and turns the author threw in. It was all so convoluted that while I guessed about some of it, I never could've imagined it all.

Overall, this was a great addition to the series! It was filled with Ms. Merrow's unique brand of British humor—which I adore—intrigue, suspense and a fantastic array of characters I can't get enough of. Tom and Phil are amazing as always, but it was great catching up with Dave, Gary and Darren, too. I really hope this isn't the last we've seen of them.

Very recommendable!

*** Copy provided to the reviewer via Netgalley for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

As they merge the rest of their lives, working together should be a natural progression of things for recently affianced Tom Paretski and Phil Morrison. And, that seems to be the case, at least, until a favor for a friend of a friend results in yet another dead body. Now, with tensions rising at home as well as in the field, their happily ever after may not be as certain as they thought.

In this final addition to The Plumber’s Mate Mysteries, Tom and Co. (i.e. the survivors to date) are all back and gearing up for the wedding we’ve all been waiting for. With his best friend and sister both happily married to the respective loves of their lives, and his own nuptials fast approaching, Lock Nut sets out to be the perfect ending to a series that has been somewhat, if comically, less than kind to its main characters. Not to change a good thing however, the author still has a plenty of torture in mind for Tom after all.

As was the case with the previous story, there were a few specifics in Lock Nut that felt incomplete. These were mainly questions raised during the course of the narrative that never seemed to have been fully answered. Although my overly picky sensibilities were incapable of ignoring them, they don’t really impact the outcome in a meaningful way, leaving the mystery itself, along with happenings of all the characters, to carry the plot as they should.

The whodunit half of Lock Nut kept me guessing for quite a while, which I enjoyed a great deal, even though I wasn’t entirely convinced of the villains’ cleverness so much as their good fortune via the mistakes of others. There was also an “ick factor” regarding a younger character’s age that I agreed with Tom’s initial reaction about, but it wasn’t anything explicit (or even immediate) and things worked out in the end.

Overall, Lock Nut delivers the HEA that the author has been teasing her audience with for a long time. Tom and Phil’s relationship is more comfortable and sincere than ever—which, of course, allows Tom to find even more things to worry about. Though certainly not perfect, there’s an ease to their interactions, and the taunting and poking they aim at one another was among my favorite aspects of the whole story. This no-nonsense sort of affection between them works very well, and is responsible for making Lock Nut a good way to say goodbye to a bunch of characters I’ve come to like quite a lot.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
At this point in the series we know the characters well, we know the ins and outs of their lives, and as the reader, we are just along for the ride. And a fun ride it is. Tom is something of a celebrity these days and even through Phil is the PI, Tom has been asked to investigate a man’s disappearance. Unfortunately, the man eventually turns up dead and once again, Tom and Phil find themselves trying to solve a murder.

On the home front, Tom is having all sorts of doubt and insecurities about himself and getting married. The road to the altar isn’t a smooth one but I like that Phil and Tom aren’t perfect and seeing them have to work at their relationship.

Once again with this series I’m faced with a mystery I have lots of theories about, but I didn’t really guess it right. I like that it isn’t entirely obvious who did it and that I am surprised once the truth is revealed. Or maybe it was obvious and I’m just not smart enough to see it!

Being with Tom and Phil is a blast. I love the language and Tom’s very British humour. I’ve had the pleasure this year of leisurely reading through The Plumber’s Mate Mysteries series. Lock Nut is the final book and another great story. Not sure if it is the final forever or the final book for now. I’m one reader who would happily spend more time with Tom and Phil and would love the author to write more books in this series.

4.5 Stars

“Plumber’s Mate Mysteries” series is among my favorite of J.L. Merrow’s books and “Lock Nut” is another win for me. This fifth installment to the series gripped me from start to finish. The usual banter and snarky retorts between Tom and Phil amused me no end. Having followed their relationship developed from first book to this one, it’s nice to see these guys were still fine-tuning as a couple and how to fit into each other’s family. Just like any regular couples in real life; lending believable air to the story.

I loved the dynamics between the Morrison/Paretsky duo either personally or professionally. Tom’s shortcomings aside (his hip was prone to act up when tired, he couldn’t shoot nor know self defense to name a few) he and Phil complimented each other, even in solving cases - as proven in this entry. I gotta admit it also took me a while to guess who the bad guy was; the mystery was rather convoluted to my simple mind. Bravo to get my mind in a spin, Ms. Merrow! :)

“Lock Nut” is an awesome installment; it’s fun with a dash of fade to black smut, cleverly done, and a step forward on the relationship front. I’m really looking forward to the next book (while at the same time worry these guys would get more than they were planning on their honeymoon *wink*) and fingers-crossed it’ll be another hoot of adventure that’s fun to read.


Advanced copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Plumber's Mate series in all its quirky English wonderfulness - the small town and all its inhabitants beautifully crafted by JL Merrow, the bloody wonder that is Tom Paretski, his relationship with former school bully / fiance Phil, Tom's family and friends, Dave and his new sprog, and all those murders!

However, after initially finishing Lock Nut, I felt a sense of disappointment. Of all the books in this great series, the murder/mystery here left me uninspired and few of its personalities grabbed my attention. But I freely admit this issue is all mine. After pondering it, I realize the joy of this series, for me, is the interaction between its characters and as the series continues, the murders become less and less central. I miss Tom's sister Cherry and the exceedingly loud Reverend Greg, the relative absence of Darren, Gary and Dave (beyond a few scenes), Tom's parents and his newly discovered sire, etc. Also at 330 pages, at times the pace of the story feels glacial.

As always, I adore Tom's POV and would pay good money to hear him discuss the phone book with Phil. I love the slow evolution of Tom and Phil's relationship and the ending of Lock Nut with the long-anticipated wedding is all kinds of wonderful. But is it too much to long for another book in the series, and perhaps a murder or two during their honeymoon in Italy? My rating for Lock Nut is 4 stars - 3 stars for the murder and 5 for the rest.

Weddings! Got to love them because we get not one but two! Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself here but it’s so hard when I have been head over heels for this series. Author J.L. Merrow has lured me into to her wonderful world with her British wit and lovable characters. Tom and Phi are a great couple and the situations they, or mostly Tom, find themselves in are laugh out loud funny, mixed with mystery.

So like I said, we get two weddings. Cherry’s and of course, Tom’s. I’m not going to give either one of them away other than to say my favorite was the one the book ends on. And weddings aren’t the only thing we get twos of. Two little people and two deaths. Not of the little people of course since one of them is Darren. Can’t kill off Gary’s hubby. However, the second little people is a friend of Darren’s from his porn days. Lilah is missing her husband and she wants Tom to find him and give him a package. Simple enough, right. Of course not! It’s a mad chase through a market before Tom can finally hand over said package…only to find himself the main suspect when the runaway husband turns up dead.

Lot’s of characters in this one so it was so hard to figure out who the killer was. And was I surprised in the end? No, not really. What did have me surprised was Tom not finding the dead body. Shocker! I missed out on him once again stumbling (literally!) over a corpse. Or so I thought and let me just say EWWWW! when dead body number two comes into play. Consider yourself warned.

Back to the wedding, at least Tom and Phil’s. Sighs! However, being that this is Tom we are talking about, things can't completely go off without a few hiccups. Plans for the honeymoon, the venue, the plans, two dads (There’s another two!) are all looming of the guys and Tom is feeling a bit overwhelmed. Did I mention the honeymoon? Snickers! Now that bit was funny and saw it coming a mile away. And of course, all this planning is going on smack dab in the middle of the guys trying to solve another mystery. Man, I love it!

Tom and Phil have come full circle now from a crush on a bully to a happily married couple. In some ways it feels like the series has come to the end and yet, there are plenty of hints about Tom’s abilities getting stronger. Will there be another book in The Plumber's Mate Mysteries series? OMG I really hope so because I just don’t want the fun to end! But if there isn’t, it certainly ended on the sweetest note. Congrats Tom and Phil!

I received this book from The JeepDiva with the express purpose of an honest review. The opinions, contents, and rating of this review are solely mine

reviewed by Jac

I love The Plumber's Mate Mysteries series, and I was both excited and sad to dive into this; I wanted to know how it'll end but was so sad that this will be it. I got what I expected: captivating and gripping murder mystery with plenty of viable suspects, who were such intriguing characters that it was a joy trying to work out who was lying. It was nice to see the old acquaintances, too, and I especially like Tom's friend Detective Dave. His witty comments just always crack me up.

My only complain about Lock Nut was the focus on the murder mystery more than before. There wasn't that many moments between Tom and Phil that didn't revolve around solving the mystery and the steamy moments were off page. I wanted to see more Tom and Phil together and certainly expected a little bit more romantic scenes to be on page, so I was a bit disappointed because of the lack of it. However, it doesn't change that I enjoyed the gripping story and loved to see Tom and Phil's relationship to develop even more, so this still was a five star read for me.

I highly recommend Lock Nut and the whole series: it's full of captivating mystery, cute and realistic romance, witty humour, and authentic English town setting. I'm going to miss Tom and Phil, and their adventures - and surely I'll re-read the books because they're just that good.

Tom and Phil are trying to plan their wedding but Tom becomes a suspect when a missing husband turns up dead. I enjoy being a part of Tom and Phil's growing relationship. Tom's sister and her fiance are fun secondary characters to get to know.

I may have already mentioned it but I requested this book from NetGalley because I thought it sounded interesting and when I got approved and was ready to read it, I noticed it was the fifth book of a series. Bad luck? Au contraire, I’d say! This mistake made me discover one hell of a book series I have fallen in love with. There’s always room in my heart for more fictional characters to love and cherish.

This book was really sweet (besides the murders) and, surprise surprise, Phil wasn't a bum in this one. After four books of him being the broody melodramatic man our Tom loves, I was ready to slap him if he dared do anything to upset my boy. He did, of course he did, but it wasn’t like in the first books when their love was just beginning. I forgave him almost immediately.

Cherry and Greg got married, left for Scotland for a pretty cold honeymoon, so now it was Tom and Phil’s wedding countdown. With only a few months to spare and a lot to plan, Tom is overwhelmed and overthinking. This led to some misunderstanding but not something to be worried about. Tom and Phil are super in love and it shows. There weren’t the steamy scenes we got in the first two books and I was weirdly okay with that, with only imagining how they had fun when nobody was around. I knew they were all over each other and that they loved each other so much they wanted to protect the other from harm.

There's nothing easy about this protecting from harm business when they are always involved in murder investigations, though. First one man dead, then another, and Tom and Phil are once again among suspects they want to trust but can’t, seeing as it could lead to them getting badly hurt, again. Like that never has happened in the past.

I love the idea Phil has about Tom’s abilities being evolving because he’s using them more. I want him to stop thinking himself a fraud and try experimenting at home to see to what extent he can find what’s hidden. This will help him in the future and it will make their lives much easier when someone hires Phil for a job.

The ending was precious. Nothing over the top with forced tears or forced emotions. You find yourself truly invested in the lives of those two men and the feelings you are having are authentic. You are really happy they found each other again even if when they met at first one was the living nightmare of the other. The part where Tom reveals something hard about his past as a bullied boy, broke my heart. I think Phil needs to know this, not to make him feel guilty but I think he needs to know this part of Tom’s past. I think it’s important and I wonder why Darren, having witnessed the speech, didn’t say anything about it. I wonder if we’re going to come back to it in the next book. Because there’s going to be a next book, right? I need Tom in my life! I need more of him!

I've thoroughly enjoyed all the books in this series, 4 stared each one of them... I've gotta say, this is the best of them all!

Who couldn't love Tom? And to see the way his character changes through the books, how he gains self confidence, is so much fun to watch. A few very dramatic things happen in Tom's life and to see them all reach their conclusion here *sigh* I'm very satisfied!

Getting to know Phil through Tom's eyes over the course of this story is also quite the journey, am I right? Kinda like him, kinda peeved with him - but he's definitely intriguing.

It's one of the best first person pov series ever and Tom's very British sense of humor just keeps me chuckling and laughing out loud. So great. Sometimes I'm asked if this series is difficult to understand by non-English (and even some English) speaking folks, because of the vernacular or unfamiliar words. I've got to say that J.L. Merrow does an amazing job of creating the feel of the small English town where Tom and Phil have their adventures. The colorful cast of characters and Tom's absolutely adorable personality keeps it all well within the scope of what we non-Brits can enjoy.

If you haven't read this series yet, please give it a try, you won't be disappointed. It's funny and sweet and the mysteries are great... this is definitely on the top of my list as one of the most enjoyable series ever!

I find it really hard to review books that are part of series like this one. There's never much more that I can find to say beyond I love the characters (obviously, given that I've reached the fifth book, when normally I don't have the attention span for more than three) and that the story is still keeping me interested (not hard in this case, given it's really more like five standalone books almost).

In Lock Nut, newly (ish) moved-in-together Tom and Phil are hired by Lilah Parrot to investigate the disappearance/running-away of her husband, Jonathan, to pass a package on to him. They track him down to Camden Market, where they hand on the message, and at that point they believe their job to be completed, until Johnny shows up dead the next day, with Tom as the main suspect. That part of the plot doesn't last long, despite its being centered in the blurb, although it's not entirely clear how Tom's name gets cleared (besides Dave kicking up a fuss). Tom and Phil, as is to be expected, then take it upon themselves to track down Johnny's murderer.

At this point, five books into the series, I'm not really here for the mysteries. Sure, they're diverting, and well-written, but it's probably safe to say that if it weren't for Tom and Phil, I wouldn't necessarily have felt the need to continue the series. After I finished Lock Nut, I went all the way back to the beginning and skim-reread Pressure Head. I really love how far they've developed together - there are some fairly big timeskips between books, but J. L. Merrow still manages to make their development seem organic and not like it's all happened between books. A lot of it still happens on the page.

To be honest, there wasn't much, if anything, I actively disliked about this book, and like I said, by this point in a series, the only thing I can repeat is that I love the characters and the stories are still keeping my engaged. Besides that, all I really have more to say is that I wish I didn't now have to wait months to even hear if there'll be a book six.

This book is for whatever reason twice as long as other books in the series (well just under). However, it didn't feel slower paced and it didn't feel like it dragged at all. The story was good even if (because it was twice as long) I had figured out the mystery much sooner than I had in the other books. Having read through the published (or soon to be published) books in the series I'd say the biggest thing missing are POC. (There are very few, they are very background and seldom speaking).

I loved this latest in the Plumber's Mate series! Tom and Phil are gearing up for their wedding, but Tom's spidey-senses are required to help an ex-porn star friend of Darren's whose wayward husband has been pushed into a canal.

There's a real feel-good atmosphere to this book - there's danger, but none of the angst that the couple has gone through in the past. I loved having the opportunity to cheer them on through this rather bizarre investigation. I do hope we'll see more of them, although if this is the last in the series, it makes a great finale. Funny, heartwarming, with just that welcome touch of the slightly weird.