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  • Headcase

  • Necessary Evils, Book 4
  • By: Onley James
  • Narrated by: Liam DiCosimo
  • Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

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Headcase

By: Onley James
Narrated by: Liam DiCosimo
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Publisher's Summary

Asa Mulvaney is half of a psychopathic whole. He and his twin brother live together, party together…kill together. In the Mulvaney family, murder is the family business and business is good. So, when an experiment separates Asa and his brother, Asa is forced to navigate the world on his own for the first time in his life.

Zane Scott is a small-time crime blogger and amateur sleuth, but he dreams of a byline in a major paper someday. When he winds up at a boring fundraiser beside Asa Mulvaney, they share an intensely passionate encounter that leaves Zane with an ache in his chest and a story idea that could make his career dreams a reality.

At a nearby college, a cluster of suicides isn’t what it seems. When Asa’s father asks him to look into it, he sees the perfect opportunity to see his little crime reporter again. And Asa needs to see him again. Zane’s suspicious of Asa’s motives, but he won’t say no to a chance to peek behind the Mulvaney family curtains. 

As the two unravel a sinister plot, Asa’s obsession with Zane grows and Zane finds being Asa’s sole focus outweighs almost anything, maybe even his career—which is good for Asa because loving a Mulvaney is a full-time job. Can he convince Zane that he’s worth navigating a family of psychopaths and his pathologically jealous twin, or will Zane learn the hard way that the Mulvaney boys always get what they want? Always. 

Headcase is a high-heat, intense, lovers-to-frenemies, psychopath romance with an HEA and no cliff-hangers. It features an obsessive, calculating psychopath and a wannabe reporter who will stop at nothing to earn himself a major byline. As always, there’s gratuitous violence, very dark humor, enough killers to fill an auditorium, and enough heat to melt your audiobook player. This is book four in the Necessary Evils series. Each book follows a different couple.

©2022 Onley James (P)2022 Onley James

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Tied for Favourite

Again, thank you Liam DiCosimo for effortlessly bringing the characters and story alive.

I really love Zane and Asa, their forepl—roman— consensual sexually charged headgames were tops and Asa is a very good Dom. Theirs was more a story about two rather calculating people with compatible sexual expressions connecting, navigating through their idiosyncrasies, and learning to communicate their other needs too. Kudos for the polyam discussion even if they never choose to go there, I appreciated that, and was pleasantly surprised by Asa's circumspection and lack of jealousy.

So, a long spoilery post about Thomas, August, and Asa. Turn back now or bear with me.

Asa is tied for my favourite Mulvaney with August but for the opposite reason.

Out of all Thomas' children I think August is one of his most self-aware and Asa one of his least. What this means is that Asa has internalised Thomas' philosophy on psychopathy while August is intensely intellectual about the reality of his own neurodivergence.

August understands his psychopathy and autism and knows it doesn't make him better or worse, certainly not more evolved, just that his brain chemistry is connected differently. He apologises immediately when his reactions are outsized and cause hurt, and not just to Lucas. He actively seeks outlets and coping mechanisms that harm no one. He forgives himself without shame for his own intrusive thoughts, callousness, outbursts, and violence because these are things he can't change and can control. However, he's also extremely afraid of having a psychotic break and hurting innocent people because he knows it's something he may have no control over. He has grace and compassion enough to forgive his mother and understand how the system failed her more than she failed him. To me it makes sense August has the deepest social connections outside the Mulvaney family and that he'd transition to caring for children well. He's a freaking gorgeous person and Lucas stood no chance the moment he unironically called himself Batman (the nerd). August would've been fine without Thomas' guidance no matter what either of them thinks (there just would've been less books).

Asa, on the other hand, shows us how machiavellian Thomas' philosophy can be because he mirrors (heh) the worst of it. Asa is one of the few I'd say benefited from early intervention because he's an instinctive learner who perhaps wouldn't understand he had a serious neurodivergent condition until told. Asa's very calculating and intelligent but he struggles with processing how the minutiae of his instincts can be part of a manageable whole. For example, him amusingly revelling in his own (borrowed God complex) 'thinking thoughts' without recognising them as a relatively harmless intrusive symptom of his neurodivergence. However, the sadism coupled with an undiagnosed psychopathy doesn't necessarily mean Asa would inevitably physically hurt innocent people (unconsensually). Although Asa is more chaotic neutral than his brothers, and therefore perhaps could've gone either way, Asa's perception of himself is marred by the belief that his psychopathy is a evolutionary upgrade that would've led to no possibility but him killing others if not for Thomas. He internalised and reflects back a flawed image of himself that couldn't exist without Thomas' intervention. Really, a lot of Thomas' frustrations with Asa and Avi are of his own making.

All this is to say, August doesn't think that paths outside Thomas lead to him becoming a heartless serial killer but Asa 100% does and you can see the damage the belief has caused. What I love, though, is you feel Asa subconsciously rejecting Thomas' hold over his autonomy and seeking solace in Avi and Zane because he instinctively knows they understand him best. This book is full of Asa subtly rebelling against Thomas' influence while also capitulating to his philosophy and demands, and also of Asa leaning into Thomas' infantalizing view of him while also being internally critical of it.




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  • Overall
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Asa and Zane!

Headcase is book four in the Necessary Evils series. An MM romance series that follows the seven psychopath Mulvaney brothers and the seven men they want to protect.

Asa is one half of the Mulvaney twins. He and his twin Avi do everything together. They live together, kill together and at times share their sexual conquests.
Until Thomas, their father needs to Avi on a business mission they have rarely been separated and never for this length of time.

Zane is a crime blogger and looking for his big byline break. He gets an invite to a boring fundraiser in hopes of getting closer to Thomas Mulvaney as he's convinced there is a story there. Until he comes face to face with Asa.

Asa is very controlling and possessive. He exhibits a primal dominant energy, one that plays a big part in his and Zane's sexual interactions. Zane hopes to land his biggest story yet, but can he have the story and the psychopath he's fast become enthralled by.

It's so hard to become addicted to the Mulvaney psychopaths. Each book has me wanting more and this one was no different. Again Onley has given us little breadcrumbs for the books/brothers stories to follow. Next up being Avi and Felix, which I'm definitely looking forward to reading!

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