mystery & thriller

Word Count: Click here to reveal103000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Forgive when there is nothing to forgive, and forget when there is. Barbary Fleet, September 1890 Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, September 1890 Deaf since birth, Joe Tanner is destined for a life of misery in the workhouse until Lord Clearwater offers him a place at the curious Larkspur Academy in Cornwall. There, while adjusting to his new life, His Lordship challenges Joe to unlock the mystery of the Colvannick stone row. As Joe sets about his task, he suspects a connection between the standing stones and a series of unsolved murders. The problem is convincing others, and his obsession soon threatens his relationship with his lover, Dalston Blaze. Joe's determination to unearth the truth also jeopardises his place at the academy, but a man's life is at stake, and the only one who believes in the mysteries of the past is Joe — and the killer who is prepared to murder anyone who interferes. The second of The Larkspur Mysteries continues from book one, 'The Guardians of the Poor.' The Larkspur Mysteries are inspired by existing locations and newspaper reports from the time, and combine fact, fiction, adventure and bromance. If you have not yet read the preceding series, ‘The Clearwater Mysteries’, you might like to start with book one, ‘Deviant Desire.’ There are 11 books in the ongoing series including a prequel, ‘Banyak and Fecks’ which can be read first although it is not a mystery. To get the most out of it, you should read it just before you read book nine, ‘Negative Exposure.’

Word Count: Click here to reveal37000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

A gunshot. A bloody note. And a relationship that might not survive…

Now that the war with the Korean syndicate is behind him, all Nao Murata wants is a vacation and a chance to nurture his new relationship with Aki Hisona. They can punish those who abandoned the family later.

After six weeks trapped in a hospital bed, a quiet vacation is the last thing Aki wants. Ready to prove himself to Nao and the rest of the family, Aki’s desperate for some action. And not just the yakuza kind…

When Aki hears a gunshot, he knows the dust has far from settled. Nao says it can wait, but Aki’s unable to understand why they can’t tie up those loose ends.

Between Aki’s constant pushing and Nao’s uncompromising focus on what he thinks is best for them both, are they too stubborn for their fragile relationship to last?

Find out in The Yakuza Path: Wrapped in Screams, the sixth installment of The Yakuza Path thriller series. If you like gritty Japanese crime, complex characters, and a high dose of gay romance, then you’ll love Amy Tasukada’s latest novel.

Buy Wrapped in Screams to get your taste of romantic revenge today!

Word Count: Click here to reveal78000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Mortal-enemies-turned-furniture-breaking-lovers August Morrison and Ricardo Torralba have found a groove that suits them both. They’ve teamed up as hired guns, they live together, and by some miracle, they haven’t killed each other. It’s the closest to normal they’ll ever have, and they love it. But their guns-and-roses future is thrown into chaos when Ricardo’s past comes crashing into their present. What begins as a favor for an old friend—well, “friend,” but don’t tell August—quickly spirals into something far bigger than they anticipated. Now they’re in way over their heads with powerful people on both sides of the law, and it’s going to take more than snark and explosions to see them through. Nevertheless, there will be plenty of snark and explosions, because this is August and Ricardo, and no one would expect any less. In between the smoke and sarcasm, though, they are determined to bring an evil operation crashing down… no matter who they have to work with to get the job done. And no matter who they have to kill. Sniper vs Spotter is the sequel to the apparently-it-doesn’t-want-to-be-a-standalone Hitman vs Hitman, which absolutely was supposed to be a standalone, but August and Ricardo (predictably) refused to be contained. Our audiobook narrator also shares some of the blame, Michael. So here we are.

Word Count: Click here to reveal21,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Information not available

Summary: After escaping the death grip of Leather Head, Gable needs a weekend getaway in Palm Springs with best friend, Shawn. In New York, Andrés and Tyler take that trip to the West Coast they’ve talked about for so long. In Arizona, Granger and his much younger boyfriend Liam head to Palm Springs to celebrate Pride weekend and decide to stay at a gay nude resort known to be the wildest in town. After a narrow escape from the police, Leather Head battles the inner demons from his past that have molded him into the monster he is. But this doesn’t stop him from looking for more of what feeds his dark soul, even while on the run. Fate draws all of them together for a climactic weekend in Palm Springs. For some, it was the wild weekend they needed. For others, things turn so dark that they wonder if they will get out alive.

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

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

Summary: Lornyc is good at keeping secrets, because secrets can get you killed. Lornyc thought it was bad enough that the Cerulean Cult had made him a living god, but now they’ve set loose an entity that is tearing  through the dimensions with the potential to cause chaos. He wouldn’t have thought it his problem but the guardians of the multiverse, the Valen, have decided otherwise. Along with Methian and his own Valen Caveer Guards, Lornyc faces a race through multiple alternative realities if he doesn’t want to be extinguished. Previously published, this second edition has been edited and reworked for release.

Word Count: Click here to reveal35000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: What started as a vacation for Stiles Long, Michael O’Leary, and Lizzie Ferguson, soon turns to murder? Aboard the ocean liner, the Mauretania, every luxury is at their fingertips. Sumptuous food, comfortable staterooms, dancing, card games, and anything else your first class heart can expire too. What the trio did not expect was a face from a past assignment to follow them on their cruise. James Stark was the lowest of men. A blackmailer with a heart of ice. But who hated him enough to kill him? The list of suspects all circle around the same dining room table, including Stiles, Michael, and Lizzie. They have less than two days before they dock in Liverpool to find the killer. If they don’t, he’ll walk off the boat Scott-free. Nights of romance, declaring love, dancing in the ballroom, playing cards, a storm that nearly takes the life of one of our trio, and a murderer among them, all makes for an adventure on the deep sea.

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 reveal127000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: “There’s no deal unless you tell me who killed Lucretia, Thomas! For the love of God, I have to know—” “She was shot by an assassin.” “But who was this assassin? Who shot her?” he demanded again angrily, leaning forward over the table. “I did,” I said, after a suitably dramatic pause. He threw his head back and laughed loudly, his arms crossed on his chest. “You?” he said once he’d regained his breath. “You? Thomas Haupner, the violinist? The would-be army officer from some stupid, derelict relic of the British Empire, a trained assassin?” After returning from a secret mission in occupied France for His Royal Highness, George, the Duke of Kent, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Haupner is looking forward to a cup of tea, a hot bath, and the sleepy head of his American lover, Major Henry Reiter on his shoulder when he wakes up the next morning. However, along with items Tommy has recovered for the duke, he has also discovered a secret stash of documents, which, when opened, prove to be a poisoned chalice. Tommy and Shorty find themselves caught up in a dangerous web of lies, enemy agents, assassins, and traitors. In an effort to save the reputations of not only their friends, but men and women high in both society and in the government, they themselves become victims of I.K.S., a former World War One international extortion ring, which has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of bomb-devastated London.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50K (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Derek “Crash” Wheeler never really wanted to make detective. He was a good marine and a great beat cop, but now he has to deal with cases like the one that just landed in his lap. Multiple deaths. Probably a serial killer. And if that isn't bad enough, now he has a crazy ex-profiler calling and texting, acting like he knows exactly what’s going on. Matthew Herrera has more than one clue about Derek’s case. He worked on a serial murder case once that took everything away from him, and while the perpetrator went to jail, Matthew knows the case isn’t over. This murderer likes to play games, and he doesn’t work alone. Racing against time, Derek and Matthew have to learn to work together to solve this case, and they find they have a chemistry they can’t deny, even if it feels selfish to indulge. People are dying out there, and it will take all their skills to work out this puzzle before it’s too late, or before one of them becomes the next victim.

Word Count: Click here to reveal104000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: “The greatest gift one man may give another is his trust.” Barbary Fleet, 1890. Standing stones, messages written in symbols, and the language of the deaf. It falls to Lord Clearwater to unlock the mystery of Dalston Blaze and his deaf friend, Joe Tanner, two young men arrested for committing ‘unnatural offences’ at the Hackney workhouse. Dalston hopes for a prison sentence. It’s the only way to save his life. Instead, he is bailed to the Larkspur Academy on Lord Clearwater’s Cornish estate, where there is only one rule: honesty above all else. For Dalston, this means confronting his past, learning to trust, and admitting his secrets. Joe is the key, but Joe is missing, and his location is locked deep inside a memory seen in sign language, and clouded by eighteen years of workhouse life. If Dalston remains silent, the immoral workhouse master and his sadistic schoolteacher will continue to inflict pain and suffering on all inmates of the Hackney workhouse. If he tells the truth, he and Joe will die. The Guardians of the Poor is a combination of mystery, adventure and male romance, set in 1890. It draws on first-hand accounts of workhouse life at the time and is the first of a new series of mysteries set in the Clearwater world. The Larkspur Mysteries Beginning in 1890, The Larkspur Mysteries follow on from The Clearwater Mysteries series of 11 novels. It’s not necessary to have read the Clearwater books before you embark on the Larkspur series. However, if you enjoy mystery, romance, adventure and a mix of historical fact and fiction, then begin the journey with ‘Deviant Desire.’ (Or the non-mystery prequel, ‘Banyak & Fecks.’) Lord Clearwater has created a unique academy for disadvantaged young men. The Larkspur Academy is, ‘A non-academic institution with the aim to provide deserving men the opportunity to expand talent, horizons and knowledge for the betterment of the underprivileged and general society.’ It’s not a school. There are no lessons, no teachers, no schoolboys and no rules. The series exists in the established Clearwater world of the late 1800’s where homosexuality is a crime everywhere but on Clearwater’s country estate in Cornwall. The series is ongoing. Each story involves male bonding, bromance, friendship and love. Mystery, adventure and a little comedy play their parts, and every story is inspired by true events from the past.

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! It’s been a long summer away, but Jimmy McSwain has returned to the city he loves, uncertain of what the future holds. It doesn’t take long for tomorrow to come calling. Not just one case, but two. Jimmy has often done work for his sister Mallory’s law firm, and this time the new partner and his handsome associate want to hire Jimmy to solve the mystery of twin brothers. One of the twins lies in a coma, while the other has gone missing. Chaz and Baz Portnoy have spent their lives switching their identities, a game to them. Rebecca Portnoy, Chaz’s wife, can’t tell them apart either. Aiding Jimmy in this confusing case is Brenden Hendricks, the young lawyer who just happens to have a strong attraction to Jimmy. Then murder rocks the family. Meanwhile, there’s Jimmy’s lingering obsession with the criminal mastermind Mr. Wu-Tin, the man responsible for Mallory’s shooting. Jimmy is determined to bring him down, and the NYPD knows that. Brought in to assist the Special Task Force, Jimmy feels he’s being manipulated, but this is his best lead. The problem is his partner assigned to the case: Francis X. Frisano, the ex-lover who betrayed him. Jimmy must weigh what’s most important, his wounded feelings or the safety of his family. Of course, there is no choice, and soon Jimmy and Frisano are setting up traps for Wu-Tin, even as the criminal is setting his empire ablaze. Complex, confounding, the duality in his life will test Jimmy’s loyalty. But he knows by solving both cases, he’s got a second shot at a new life. He’s not the only one.      

Word Count: Click here to reveal51,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Several months after their first brush with death, Dannel Ortea and Osian Garey are back with a thrilling murder investigation in the second London Podcast Mystery Series novel. While helping their flamboyant neighbour with his play, Dannel and Osian discover more than a ghost haunting the stage at the Evelyn Lavelle theatre. It's all fun and games until a friend is found kneeling over a dead body. Is he the murderer or an unfortunate witness? When one body turns to two, then to three, will the killer ever be found? As Dannel and Osian work together to solve the mystery, the murderer focuses on them. Their drive to clear their friend’s name puts them centre stage. But not everything under the glow of the bright lights glimmers. Will anyone be left when the curtain falls?

Word Count: Click here to reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Rule No. 1 of being an assassin: Don’t sleep with your mark. Eh. Alexei has never been big on rules. It’s not his fault Soren is too sexy for words. And it’s not like he knew Soren was the cat burglar he’d been hired to kill. But as they dodge other assassins, the CIA, and even the Russians to keep Soren alive and a stolen hard drive out of their hands, Alexei might be in even greater danger of breaking Rule No. 2. Never fall for your mark.

Word Count: Click here to reveal44,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Information not available

Summary: Kit Nelson was thrown into the world of demons and cults as a child. He’s learned to depend on no one, and to do all he can to keep himself safe from dark forces. He also knows he can’t trust anyone else with his life. He knows what the demons who hunt him have in mind for him, and he’ll fight it every step of the way. Tommy Smythe and his sister Lola have been fighting what they know is a rising tide of evil for years. They’re prepared with all their paranormal weaponry, including the assistance of an ancient god who has fought demons his whole existence. Tutu, the Egyptian god and Master of Demons has chosen Tommy to be his vessel and his sword when needed to destroy any and all demons. A new threat ripples through the dark underworld, one that will be felt across all mankind. A demon has chosen one whose body he will use to return to the land of the living. But only if Kit, Tommy, and Lola can’t stop him. Only Tutu has the power and knowledge to protect them from the demon Rerek, and he also knows even with his help, this is not going to be an easy battle.

Word Count: Click here to reveal40671 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Nick Fabian has settled into life in the small Maine town of Point Clear with his boyfriend Roy Constas, but work in the P.I. business is slow. Struggling for money and a sense of purpose, he considers working at the local laundry with Emily, but the news that his old crush Lieutenant Scott Mordis has been murdered in Philadelphia ignites a deep yearning he'd been trying to snuff out. With their last parting a bitter one, Nick is conflicted about returning to Philly, but is driven by the force of his emotions to obtain justice for Scott. Roy insists on tagging along for the ride, refusing to be left behind. He's jealous of Nick's affection for his former mentor and boss, and the two men face their first major hurdle as a couple. Nick's journey will plunge him back into a cold case—that of Aiden Winters, the murder that drove a wedge between him and Scott in the first place—and he'll unearth connections between the two cases better left buried in the past…

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

Summary: What is more dangerous than a man in love? A man in love who feels betrayed... Marc and Alex have been best friends since childhood. When Marc was fourteen, tragedy struck, and he found himself suddenly orphaned. Having no living relatives, Marc moved in with Alex and his family, who happily opened their hearts and their home to him. Five years have passed since the tragedy, and Marc’s love and devotion for his best friend has only intensified… some would say, to an almost obsessive level… Alex’s life is suddenly turned upside down when he is forced to make an impossible decision. Alex quickly learns that Marc’s love for him goes much deeper than just friendship. Alex begins to wonder, just how far is Marc willing to go in the name of love? And more terrifyingly, how dangerous is a man in love, who feels… betrayed. Fractured Love is a dark story of unrequited love, torment, and murder. Warning: This book contains scenes which may be considered triggering events involving alcohol addiction, physical/sexual assault, light drug use, and murder.

Word Count: Click here to reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Devlin Relic was off limits. The sweet man had already lost a husband and nearly lost his life when someone put a contract on his head last year. He needed to focus on raising his adopted son and finding a nice, normal man. Kai was anything but nice and normal. He was an assassin, and that did not fit into Dev’s neat and tidy life. But when a dead body mysteriously appears in Dev’s bathtub, it looks like an assassin is exactly what he needs. Maybe this time Kai will be brave enough to fight for Devlin and finally put his exit strategy to use.

Word Count: Click here to reveal150000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: ‘No one can take away your name.’ Clearwater will lose his entire fortune unless he cracks a musical code. If Archer’s insane brother dies, their distant cousin, the evil Count Movileşti, will inherit everything, and with the influenza pandemic threatening the brother’s asylum, the outlook is grave. The only thing that can ensure Archer’s future is a legal document left behind by his grandfather, but the clue to its location is hidden within two pieces of music. Archer has one; the other is in Movileşti’s collection at Castle Rasnov. Archer dispatches two of his team to the Transylvanian castle, and two to the Clearwater Archives in London, leaving the rest to search every inch of his country house. The men face their pasts and decide their futures as loyalties are tested, and death stalks the corridors of Larkspur Hall. With Movileşti on his way to claim the inheritance, everyone has a vital part to play and everything to lose as they race against time. Set during the 1890 Russian influenza pandemic, The Clearwater Inheritance is a mystery thriller that takes us from Cornwall to Transylvania, and from the cellars of Larkspur Hall to the Orient Express. A mashup of romance, mystery and adventure, the tenth book ties up previous threads, answers questions, and sets the scene for the Clearwater future. The series is best read in order, starting with ‘Deviant Desire.’ The non-mystery prequel, ‘Banyak & Fecks’ should be read before books nine and ten.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: "You can't keep running from your past, especially when it has four legs and fangs." In the exciting second installment of Tales of a Gay Witch, we return to Jason and his friends six months later as they are coming to terms with the events of last year. Jason thought he could move on with his life after Damien left in search of information about his mother, after finding out she might be alive after all, but is struggling to adjust to life without him. He is persuaded to go out and meet up with his friends at his favorite night club 1470 West, where he meets a handsome young man named Mickey. That same night, Jason is informed by Detective Miller, now a good friend of his, to be on the lookout for Jo’s ex-husband Rex, who might be coming their way. There have been a number of sexual assaults and murders targeting young lesbian women up in northern Ohio, and Rex is suspected of being involved. Jo’s ex-husband was always a nasty, abusive piece of work, but to make things worse Rex is a werewolf and an alpha to boot. It’s up to Jason to rally his friends again, as he is tasked with protecting the people he cares about, before it’s too late…

Word Count: Click here to reveal70000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Ghosts are popping up where they shouldn’t. Harlan, a ghost janitor for the police, suspects there’s a serial killer on the loose—but no one believes him. Harlan Brand is a medium who was abandoned at the Centre, a school for the psychically gifted, by his parents. He grew up lonely but safe from the ghosts that terrorized his childhood. But now, at twenty-one, he’s out in the real world. He works as a ghost janitor for the Toronto Police Service, cleaning up after crimes and hauntings in the Greater Toronto Area. Adding to the anxiety of leaving the ghost-warded safety of his school, the cop assigned as his partner seems to hate him, he’s having confusing feelings for a BDSM club owner who brings out his deepest fantasies, and ghosts are popping up where they shouldn’t. Using the ghosts as clues, Harlan begins to suspect there’s a serial killer loose, but no one believes him. Harlan will stop at nothing to discover who—or what—is preying on his city.