Books Tagged With who - occupation - private investigator

Word Count: Click here to reveal57000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: As he approaches his fortieth birthday, Justin Warfield feels alone, drifting like the sand that blows along the beach near his family’s hotel. He has done exactly as his father wanted. Married the right girl and carried on the family tradition of running the Warfield Hotel. On paper things seem perfect, but happiness hasn’t been a part of his life for a very long time. Marcus Drummond once spent a summer with his best friend Peter at the Warfield Hotel and fell hard for Peter’s much older brother. Five years later he’s back, and this time hopes that Justin will see him as more than his kid brother’s friend. Sparks fly when the two meet again, but there are a few things standing in their way. The closet that Justin has himself buried in and someone on a killing spree, dumping bodies on the Warfield beach . . . victims that indicate Justin may be involved in some way.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50750 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Something’s definitely fishy about this case… On my last stakeout for Quest Investigations, I nearly got clotheslined by a grove of angry dryads. I expected my bosses to reprimand me, but instead they handed me my first solo assignment. Me! Matt Steinitz, the only human on the Quest roster! Okay, so the mission isn’t exactly demanding. Obviously, the bosses wanted to give me something they think I can’t screw up. I’m determined to show them what I can do, however, so I dive right in with no complaints. At first glance, it looks as simple as baiting a hook: A selkie’s almost-ex-husband is vandalizing his boat with unwanted deliveries of deceased sea life. All I have to do is document the scene, tell the ex to cease and desist, and present the bill for property damages. Boom. Mission accomplished, another Quest success, and as a bonus, I get to keep my job. But then things get…complicated. Suspicious undercurrents muddy up my oh-so-easy case. Nothing is as clear as it should be. And the biggest complication? My inappropriate attraction to the client, who may not be as blameless as he claims. Turns out those dead herrings aren’t the only things that stink about this situation. Dammit.   Five Dead Herrings is the first in the Quest Investigations M/M paranormal mystery series, a spinoff of E.J. Russell’s Mythmatched paranormal rom-com story world. It contains no on-page sex or violence, and although there is a romantic subplot, it is not a romance.

Word Count: Click here to reveal52000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Wade When my little brother was fifteen, he kissed a boy. Someone from our werewolf pack saw him and told Alpha, and that was the end. The end of his life, because wolf packs have ironclad rules and one of them is, Thou shalt not be gay, ever. Shawn died. And the extra gut-punch on top of losing my brother was that the man who obeyed our Alpha’s order to kill Shawn was Dustin, our Fixer, a man I’d thought was my good friend. The man I’d secretly had a crush on. Once Shawn was dead, once Alpha let me loose, I ran fast and far. I wanted to kill Dustin, to smear his guts out on the ground and dance on them, but he had four inches, thirty pounds, and fifteen years of fighting experience on me. He was pack Sixth to my Fifteenth. In a fight, I’d always lose. Still, as I made a new life a long way from the pack, I vowed that one day, I’d find Dustin and end him. Then, one spring night, I woke to a very familiar wolf peering in at me from the fire escape. I had my shot at revenge at last. Dustin Pack Fixer is a title, a job, an avocation. It’s also a prison, bound by vows to your Alpha and one sole commandment: protect the pack. My father, who was Fixer before me, taught me all kinds of ways to cover up evidence that might reveal werewolves. I could pick locks, alter photos, confuse, drug, blackmail, and eliminate threats. I was up on all the new technology that was growing by leaps and bounds here in the 1970s. I understood video, knew what a motion detector could do. And I used my skills to kill an innocent boy. Well, that’s what my Alpha thought I’d done, what he’d commanded of me. What Shawn’s brother Wade believed, when he escaped our pack and vanished. In fact, Shawn was still alive and I was no longer Fixer. But it took me seven years to find Wade, to give him the good news. Question is, will he kill me before I can tell him he still has a brother? Fixer is a hurt-comfort, second chances prequel novella set in the 1970s, thirty-seven years before the events in Unacceptable Risk.

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: When the eligible Eddy Hawkstone enlists Jack Merrit's services to recover a stolen book, it seems like a straightforward task. However, the clues lead Jack into the turbulent world of the music hall, where he uncovers the unnerving tale of his father's death at the feet of Marie Lloyd. Desperate to prove himself to his mentor, Jimmy Wright, Jack finds himself entangled in a web of sexual temptation, loyalty, and fraternal bonds, all while grappling with his emotions for Larkin Chase. To triumph, Jack must confront the shadows of his past and embrace the realities of the present. The path is fraught with danger and self-discovery and leads him to a twisting theatrical climax worthy of a melodrama. Follow the Van is the third book in the Delamere Files series. The books should be read in order.

Word Count: Click here to reveal85,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! Fifteen years ago, NYPD officer Joseph McSwain, was gunned down while trying to stop a robbery. His murder was never solved. Until now. For his son, Hell's Kitchen private detective Jimmy McSwain, his father's death has defined him, defied him, and denied him his chance at happiness. But the shooting death of a young officer named Denson Luke has re-ignited the investigation into the mysterious Blue Death conspiracy. Jimmy still must earn a living, so he cannot ignore a family in distress. New neighbors Carmen Ramirez and her young son, Sonny are clearly running from danger. Overnight, their case becomes one involving a missing father, a Chinese crime syndicate, and an abduction which threatens to overwhelm Jimmy's mission of solving his father's case. His relationship status with Frank Frisano on and off again, Jimmy tries to do double duty, jeopardizing his own safety. It's only when another murder occurs that Jimmy finally finds the path that has eluded him. His investigation finally leads him back home, where a devastating family secret overshadows all he's learned, and the cost to the McSwain family may never be repaid. Jimmy realizes the blood on his hands will forever haunt him.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal75,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! Jimmy McSwain returns, but the question lingers, now that he has finally solved the fifteen-year-old murder of his NYPD cop-father, Joseph, who has he become? Busy concentrating on family issues, Jimmy hasn’t taken a new case in nearly three months, and when a call comes in from Philip Connelly, who wants proof of his wife, Myra’s, cheating, Jimmy is torn. Take the case, or say no. He rejects it, only to learn a week later that Philip has been found dead in a park on Staten Island. The police believe it was suicide, but Myra—a self-admitted adulteress—is convinced he was murdered. Jimmy agrees to take the case. But it seems his decision to rejoin the world has also affected the other areas of his life: his sister is facing a health crisis, an old friend from his father’s past has resurfaced, and his lover, Captain Francis X. Frisano, is working a difficult case in Chelsea where gay men are being attacked. If that wasn’t enough, Jimmy is on the hunt to bring down his new nemesis, the criminal mastermind Mr. Wu-Tin. A fire at one of his warehouses stirs fear in Jimmy that the man is trying to destroy evidence of his crimes. That’s when life throws him a twist, and suddenly Jimmy feels that just as he’s hoping to find answers, new mysteries emerge about whether the path he’s on leads to a fresh start, or a fresh kill.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal70,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! The dual forces of good and evil take center stage in this, the fourth installment in the Jimmy McSwain Files, one that finds the tortured, sexy detective battling an unforeseen enemy: happiness. Yet murder will soon rear its desperate chill, hurtling Jimmy into the highest society and the lowest of lives. Winter is nearly upon Manhattan, the holidays right around the corner. Jimmy is hired to escort the infamous tabloid favorite Serena Carson to a charity benefit, intent on guarding her from an abusive ex. Yet the job takes a brutal turn as Henderson Carlyle, the privileged, spoiled lothario, is found sliced to death outside of Serena’s brownstone. The cops warn Jimmy away from the case, including his former lover, Captain Francis X. Frisano. Jimmy has his hands full anyway, as his visiting cousin Kellan was found beaten by one-time family friend, Mickey Dean, a Hell’s Kitchen thug with a dark past and even darker threat. As the snow falls and answers remain buried, Jimmy finds himself thrown into the midst of two conflicting cases, one of which will expose a dormant clue to the long-unsolved murder of his NYPD cop, Joseph McSwain. Complicating matters is a new man in Jimmy’s life, who promises Jimmy security and safety, neither word easy for him to accept. When fate sends Jimmy’s world into turmoil, he realizes there’s a devil at work in a season usually owned by angels.

Word Count: Click here to reveal48,300 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealLesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: The final book in The Cassie Tam Files is here! With Angel Tanner, the android that runs California’s criminal underworld, pulling the strings, PI Cassie Tam finds herself thrust into a conflict with New Hopeland’s biggest and baddest. But working with the murderous AI may be the only way that Cassie can get to the bottom of her home’s greatest mystery: What is New Hopeland City? As she struggles to balance her dealings with allies and enemies alike, Cassie is left with a difficult choice. She has always straddled the line between light and dark. Now, the time to decide which side she’s on is drawing close…if she can figure out which is which.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: There's nothing scarier than the truth... Noel's got issues. Like, he doesn't know what to call his lover. Are they boyfriends? A fling that got out of control? Something more? Even worse, he may sometimes get waylaid by a random ghost or two. Or else he's losing his mind. Now Adam? He's stable and solid and warm; the kind of guy Noel never knew he wanted. He's also the historian on Haunts and Hoaxes, which gives him a professional interest in Noel's "special talent". When the ghosthunting crew turns up something weirder than normal at a Louisiana plantation, Adam convinces Noel to check it out. Instead of finding a haunt, they uncover a mystery. Noel used to be a cop and he grabs the chance to investigate something real. DNA is evidence. No matter what Adam says, the ghosts don't prove anything. But the past is done hiding and the spirits are going to have their say. Noel better figure out how to listen, because Adam's job, their relationship, and even his sanity are at risk.

Word Count: Click here to reveal18,500 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Noel Chandler had a good reason for leaving the L.A.P.D. for New Orleans, but when he walks into a burned out Garden District mansion, he discovers there are some things he can't outrun. The spooks can find him anywhere. As the resident historian for the cable show Haunts and Hoaxes, Professor Adam Morales keeps an open mind about the supernatural. Or that's what he tells himself, until he meets a man who puts that principle to the test. Noel's smart, sexy, and has killer cop instincts. One glance from his bedroom eyes has Adam ready to believe anything. But is Noel haunted, crazy, or just another hoax?   Haunted can be read as Book 1 of Haunts and Hoaxes or Book 2.5 of Hours of the Night.   ⚜Haunted is set in the Hours of the Night universe but follows new, separate characters and can be read as a standalone.

Word Count: Click here to reveal55,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: NEW REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! When Jimmy McSwain is hired to find missing heir Harris Rothschild, he finds that identities can be altered and lives can be changed--or taken with the simple pull of the trigger. Jimmy McSwain is a New York City private detective, operating out of Hell's Kitchen, the rough and tumble neighborhood he grew up in. At age fourteen, he watched as his NYPD father was gunned down. Now, at age twenty-eight, gay, Jimmy has never given up pursuit of whoever killed him. But a PI must make a living, and so he's taken on the case of missing heir Harris Rothschild, whose overbearing father doesn't approve of his "alternate" lifestyle.Tracking down Harris is easier than expected, but the carnage that follows isn't. With a shocking murder on his hands, and a threat coming from some unforeseen person, Jimmy's caseload is suddenly full, and very dangerous.

Word Count: Click here to reveal90000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Home From Nowhere The Clearwater Mysteries Book Seven After their wild and dangerous adventures, Archer and his crew are happy to take on a cosy mystery. Two new staff join Clearwater House. One of them, Jasper Blackwood, comes with an enigmatic, limited edition songbook that suggests he is no ordinary lad from the workhouse. When Archer investigates Jasper's past, he soon realises that his origins, if known, will cause a scandal for one of his closest friends. The question is, how to reunite father and son without disrupting their lives? In the space of one week, Jasper's life changes in ways he never expected, and when he meets Billy Barnett, what was once a shameful longing for the companionship of another man, quickly becomes his reason for living. 'Home From Nowhere' begins on the day Artful Deception ends. This is a comfortable, low-heat mystery set against a young man's coming of age in 1889 London. It can be read as a standalone novel, but it's best to have read the previous books in the series first. As with the other Clearwater Mysteries, you will find a mix of fact and fiction, alternating between upstairs and downstairs in a Victorian household.

Word Count: Click here to reveal85,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TWO MEN WHO WORK TWO SIDES OF THE MORAL CODE OF CRIME COME TOGTHER? TODD GLEASON, CON MAN, MEETS JIMMY McSWAIN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, IN A GAME OF WITS THAT CHALLENGES THEIR OWN TAKE ON JUSTICE. For Todd Gleason, there was something alluring about Jersey-born Angela Delvecchio that caught his attention. They had a fun night, but that’s all, right? On his train ride back to the city, Todd overhears two men of questionable repute discussing the death of a friend of theirs—and the money she left behind. Sounds like an opportunity for an intrepid con man. Fresh off a case of dueling cheating spouses, Jimmy McSwain sees two locals arrive at his uncle’s pub. Known in Hell’s Kitchen as usually up to no good, Jimmy finds himself more intrigued by the man following them. But their chance meeting may force the two of them to work together on a spiraling conspiracy. Kerry-Anne Conklin was rich, beautiful, young--too young to die. Did she have more enemies than money? It’s a tough world out there. New York has its villains. New Jersey has its scams. Both have their bodies. Told in alternating chapters, JERSEY SCORE is fun, dangerous, suspenseful, and fast-paced. It’s a story that could only come from the singular mind of Adam Carpenter and Joseph Pittman.      

Word Count: Click here to reveal64700 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Jack and Ollie have been enjoying their life together, even though they've still got some things to figure out. Trouble comes when a routine investigation turns out to be a hell of a lot more dangerous than expected. Jack gets hurt, and Ollie's furious for him for not waiting for backup. Can they actually work together and maintain a relationship, in the dangerous and clandestine world they inhabit? 64,700 words takes place after "Men Like Us"

Word Count: Click here to reveal66400 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealLesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: New Hopeland City may be the birthplace of Tech Shifter gear, but it isn’t the only place that likes to blend technology with folklore. Now, a new nightmare is stalking the streets… When PI Cassie Tam is attacked on the way home one night, she expects the police to get involved. What she doesn’t expect is to be forced into acting as bait to lure out a lunatic in a tech-suit that’s literally out for blood. But past actions have consequences, and doing so may be the only way she can get a clean slate from the city’s law makers. If only that didn’t mean having to face down a wannabe vampire.

Word Count: Click here to reveal65600 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Questioning (Click here to hide)

Summary: Ollie Boyd enjoys Jack Finley's company, likes to make him laugh, and wants to work with him...and maybe something more than that. It sure is confusing to have these feelings for another guy, and in the homophobic 1950s, it's not really safe. Jack Finley finds time for Ollie, sure, but he's just humoring a friend. He's a tough private eye. He's certainly not indulging secretly in a crush, no matter how attractive or charming Ollie might be. Jack's smart and careful, and he's been around the block. It's hard enough to be who he is without taking on extra trouble. But now Jack needs some help, after a botched Good Samaritan act leaves him broken in body and spirit. Ollie wants to be the one who's there for him. He also wants to figure out these feelings—even if they mean he's in pretty deep trouble. A whole lot of bumps in the road—including blackmail and murder—might take these two down more dangerous streets than they'd guess...together. 65,600 words

Word Count: Click here to reveal50000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Coming back to New York to see her ailing father, Lizzie Ferguson did not expect to find him healthy and newly married to a much younger woman. She, also, didn’t expect to connect with an old lover and childhood friend or be accused of killing her father. But, life has a way of knocking you to your knees when you least expect it. Stiles Long had always regretted that the killer, from his first case as a Pinkerton Agent, had got away. Now, in New York it was happening again. The Hotel Astor Bar was a meeting place for men who enjoyed the company of men. And, some of them were being brutally murdered. When one of the suspects from the original case appears at the hotel, Stiles is torn between his desire to stop a killer and kiss the man senseless. [embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyVKUkxX7lQ&feature=youtu.be[/embed] Two different cases, but some of the faces overlap from one to the other. Stiles and Lizzie are in a race to discover who the killers are before another body gets added to the count.

Word Count: Click here to reveal95000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: ⚜It's Mardi Gras, cher, but this year le bon temps kick off with murder... For generations, the White Monks have treated the vampire Thaddeus Dupont as a weapon in their battle against demons. However, when a prominent matron drops dead at a party, Thaddeus and his lover Sarasija are asked to find her killer. Their investigation leads them to an old southern family with connections everywhere: Louisiana politics, big business, the Church, and an organization just as secret as the White Monks. Meanwhile, an esoteric text containing spells for demon-summoning has disappeared, Thaddeus is losing control of le monstre, and Sara is troubled by disturbing dreams. These nightmares could be a side-effect of dating a vampire, or they could be a remnant of his brush with evil. As the nights wear on, Sara fears they are a manifestation of something darker - a secret that could destroy his relationship with Thaddeus.

Word Count: Click here to reveal81000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Someone has it out for Rialto.  Ian Banner is loving his hectic life. He’s newly married, ready to start a family, and opening a new restaurant. All his dreams are coming true. The last thing he needs is a problem with his restaurant. But when one attack after another comes, he grows convinced he has another enemy. Ian tries to handle things by himself, but his friends are soon drawn in when the attacks become violent. That’s when Ian realizes the target isn’t Rialto. It’s him. Rialto is the final installment in the Unbreakable Bonds series and features sexy times, Daciana snuggles, overprotective family, fire, and of course, code names.

Word Count: Click here to reveal21800 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Lesbian, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: Life in Bellasford is seldom peaceful for succubus, Rose. A fun night out to celebrate her girlfriend's birthday takes a sinister turn as a mutual friend is found near-dead, drained of her life energy: the hallmarks of a succubus feeding. With the Succubus Moon drawing near, suspicion falls on Rose and her long-missing mother, Ella. Investigation leads to more victims drained of energy and no clear suspect in sight. Racing against time, Rose, Lisa and their friends Alexis and Jamie seek to unravel the mystery before more innocents are attacked or something worse happens. They know the energy is being taken for a reason and could place a great deal of power at their adversary's fingertips. Rising Moon is a F/F romantic urban fantasy novella of around 22,000 words, which contains strong steamy content and language.