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Books By Adam Carpenter
Word Count: 85,000
Character Identities: Gay, Straight
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: 25,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: Jimmy McSwain is enjoying a relaxing holiday at his grandmother’s cottage, but it turns out to be a set-up. Hester Bryne has a favor to ask: to meet with her old friends, Franklin and Carolyn Hardy, who wish to hire the young private-eye-in-training to find their son. Seems he’s been gone for forty years. Jimmy, taken with the idea of reuniting a father with his son, wants to take the case. But he must get the all-clear from his new boss, Finn, the ex-cop who has taken Jimmy under his wing. A visit to Finn’s home proves to be yet another set-up, one that takes an unexpected twist in the name of a newcomer to the city, Aiden Garvey. As Jimmy immerses himself in the case of the missing son, his attention keeps getting distracted by the newfound presence of a man who makes his heart skip a beat. Juggling the promise of a new relationship with the complexities presented by this puzzling case, Jimmy realizes that he’s getting too close to one of them, and it could end with more broken hearts than lives. Can a remembrance of his father be both his motivation and the cause for the destruction lying in wait?
Word Count: 25,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: A recent graduate of the NYPD’s cadet academy, Jimmy McSwain dreams of anything except being a cop. He’s got bad history with them, and it’s not a rap sheet. Years ago, his police officer father was gunned down during an off-duty incident, leaving Jimmy bitter that his killer was never found. Now, grown-up, trained in the art of law, Jimmy decides to embark on a new career: that of private detective. But you just can’t get your own license, you need experience. What happens will lead Jimmy into a part of New York he doesn’t know, realizing he’s the stranger in a neighborhood that lives by its own rules. Skeptical about his job is his mother, Maggie McSwain, but there’s nothing she can do to stop her headstrong son from entering this shadowy new world. As a warm May settles over the city, a twist of fate has Jimmy taking on his first case, one that is a time bomb ready to explode. What he can’t leave behind is the memory of his father, and the silver shield which he earned only out of respect. Can he live with his decision?
Word Count: 18,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: FIRST TIME IN PRINT Johnny Lee Capstone never thinks about settling down. As the owner and proprietor of Capstone’s Dude Ranch, he tends to lust after the men who book vacation to his resort in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Sexy, insatiable, he focuses his attention on one man to feed his urgent needs. But something is about to change as he approaches his 40th birthday, which coincidentally falls on Christmas Day. From December 1st until the 25th Johnny Lee decides to take a sabbatical from hid desires--if he can. It’s a chance for him to reexamine his life as a new year nears. Someone else has something else in mind, a challenge that Johnny Lee finds confounding…and intriguing. It’s the first day of the holiday season when that initial package arrives, with the simple phrase stating, “Just the Advent.” A beginning. Each day another missive arrives. What does Johnny Lee do with this information, this tease? Who is sending them, and why? Is it the fact he’s hitting a new decade giving him a reason to rethink the way he lives his life? Is the sexuality that he thrives on about to alter him? Maybe, he’ll find a future. Beyond the physical; could Johnny Lee Capstone actually make love to a man?
Word Count: 75,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: FIRST TIME IN PRINT! Jimmy McSwain finds himself challenging the very notion of family, of neighborhood, of a past filled with secrets, lies, and perhaps murder. Except Jimmy’s client isn’t sure if there’s a body. Jimmy McSwain has to meet a man named Alexander Cort, a real-estate agent with a story to tell about an old set of friends, dating back to his childhood in Hell’s Kitchen. The friends called themselves the Four Kitcheneers, bonding together over their own ambitions and mem ories. On graduation night, one of the four disappeared and the other three engaged in a cover-up. Or maybe not. The question of what happened to Silas Clayton lingers fourteen years later. As Jimmy begins his investigation of what happened that fateful night, he also tries to put the final nail in the casket of his previous case, one that ended with Captain Francis X. Frisano arresting him for killing Mr. Wu-Tin. These pieces comprise a puzzle Jimmy just can’t seem to solve. Until two bodies are found at the construction site across the avenue from where he grew up. Suddenly Hell’s Kitchen’s shadows are being exposed to a blinding sun of truth.
Word Count: 75,000
Character Identities: Gay
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: 75,000
Character Identities: Gay
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: 65,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! At the shocking end of SINISTER MOTIVES, Noah Sanders was forced to make a decision that would change everything he’d strived for since arriving in the coastal paradise, one that jeopardized not just his relationship with his family, but with his lover. In Cane’s Inlet, located on a barrier peninsula along the Jersey Shore, the lucrative summer season is just two weeks away, with Hatcher’s Resort its most-desired attraction, including the newly opened Medusa Lounge. But drama ensued onboard the restored pirate ship, leaving Noah determined to leave Cane’s Inlet behind. A killer has another idea, and soon Noah knows there is no escape. Living behind enemy lines, Noah realizes he must finally confront Ginette and Emerson Hatcher about the truth he’s been hiding from them all these months. But then the killer strikes again, making Noah’s investigation even more personal. He uncovers a string of secrets that have been lost to the ocean floor for generations. Reaching deep into the past, Noah is in a race against time before the season begins. Needing to repair his relationship with Demetri if he’s ever to find happiness, Noah sets a chilling plan in motion. One which will have devastating consequences, but not before the final, shocking truth is revealed. SUSPICIOUS TRUTHS is the third part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of the past, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane's Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane's Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two families, one secret, and, ultimately, one man's discovery of his own true self.
Word Count: 60,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! At the conclusion of SCANDALOUS LIES, Noah Sanders made a startling discovery, one that turned his already conflicted motives into further turmoil, the mystery of his past growing as dangerous as the undertow of the ocean. In Cane’s Inlet, located on a barrier peninsula along the Jersey Shore, the lucrative summer season is fast-approaching, as is the Opening Night celebration of the Medusa Lounge, where Noah has secured a job. But working alongside the Hatcher’s at their exclusive resort is complicated by his own investigation into the scandal that might connect them. With a family secret uncovered during a surreptitious visit to their mansion, Noah’s quest to seek the truth behind his mother’s deathbed confession takes on sudden credence. With the aid of his new lover, Demetri, as well as Cane’s Inlet busybody Cilla Cane, the questions only deepen. When another murder shocks the coastal village, Noah realizes that what’s happening no longer concerns only himself, but perhaps all of Cane’s Inlet. With a mystery dating back to the village’s founding and the raising of the old pirate ship Medusa, no one is safe from being exposed, or from a desperate killer. For Noah, the truth might come at a price higher than he’s willing to accept. SINISTER MOTIVES is the second part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of the past, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane's Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane's Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two families, one secret, and, ultimately, one man's discovery of his own true self.
Word Count: 60,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! In a tiny Adirondack village, a secret is about to be exposed. Noah Sanders learns from his mother—on her deathbed—that he is not who he thought. Suddenly, the unassuming Noah finds his entire life called into question, and only he can separate the truth from the lies. He’d been given one clue: his real name. But what is the reason for his abduction from the family he should have known. The coastal paradise called Cane’s Inlet, situated along the Jersey Shore, is where Noah finds himself, trying to keep a low profile as he quietly begins his investigation. But Demetri, a sexy diner owner, catches his attention almost immediately, as does the local police chief when Noah stumbles across a corpse on the beach. But it is a family named Hatcher who most interests Noah, and he must find a way to insinuate himself into their powerful grip, and only then uncover the secret to his past. SCANDALOUS LIES is the first part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of yesterday, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane’s Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane’s Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two warring families, one shocking secret, and, ultimately, one man’s self-discovery.
Word Count: 64,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: AUDIO EXCLUSIVE! Chad Singleton learns a stunning truth, and uncovers a layer of betrayal that hits far too close to home, in the cultimation of the Eden saga. Ever since the gorgeous Chad Singleton returned to Edenwood, the family estate from which he was banished as a teenager, he has uncovered a series of secrets and scandals. Now the questions surrounding his father's death are overshadowed by the arrival of a mystery man, another shocking death, and an unexpected family reunion. Chad now faces an uncertain future as his past sexual transgressions threaten to undo him. What he most wants is his ex-lover, burly Chief of Police Brett Ellers. Both men have their secrets and only together can they defeat their demons and indulge their undeniable passion for each other. As forces within Chad's family threaten to prevent his happiness, one more cataclysmic event will forever change the course of his life. In Eden, even the wealthy--especially the wealthy--will die.
Word Count: 60,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: AUDIO EXCLUSIVE! Chad Singleton continues his investigation into his father's mysterious death, even as his love life spirals out of control. Chad Singleton discovered a shocking truth at the conclusion of Eden's Past, and now the revelation threatens to undo everything he's achieved since he returned to his hometown of Eden. His job with rival relatives at Harte Industries, his relationship with his feisty grandmother, and most of all, his steamy, no-holds-barred love affair with the local chief of police, burly Brett Ellers. But it's the sexy stranger in Eden, William Kelton, who will most affect Chad, the two of them bound by intrigue, betrayal and a mutual attraction. As the mystery deepens surrounding his father's death, Chad buries his wounded heart in Kelt's welcoming arms. But the surprises have only just begun, the biggest of which will forever change his life. In Eden, even the wealthy - especially the wealthy - have secrets.
Word Count: 55,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: AUDIO EXCLUSIVE! Chad Singleton returns to his hometown of Eden to uncover secrets and scandals, including whether his homophobic father was murdered. Chad Singleton, 29, and model gorgeous, works as a high-priced escort for wealthy men. When he gets a call telling him his father has died, Chad is torn about returning to his small hometown of Eden, Pennsylvania. After all, it was his homophobic father who banished Chad years ago. When he returns, he is thrown into the mystery surrounding how his father died. Fortunately, the sexy chief of police, Brett Ellers, has caught Chad's eye. As Chad and Brett submit to their heated attraction, forces from Eden's underbelly threaten to undo their secret affair. In Eden, everyone has an agenda, their motives as dark as the night. Intrigue, murder, passionate love affairs - they all dominate the landscape in this picturesque world of horse farms and crumbling, once majestic estates. In Eden, even the wealthy - especially the wealthy - play dirty.
Word Count: 85,000
Character Identities: Gay
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: 70,000
Character Identities: Gay
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: 65,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! All the world's a stage, but in STAGE FRIGHT, Hell's Kitchen private detective Jimmy McSwain learns that life upon it's wicked boards can be a killer. The Harold Calloway Theatre on West 47th Street is home to the new play Triskaidekaphobia, and its playwright has been receiving threatening messages. Theatre owner and lead producer Wellington Calloway has hired Jimmy to investigate, but it's a case not without its complications. His mother is the head usher there, and Jimmy grew up on its aisles. His ex, Remy, is also the costume designer for the show, a man he hasn't seen in years. Further making his life difficult is the mysterious Seetha Assan, who is connected--albeit tentatively--to the case that forever haunts Jimmy--his own father's murder. She may just have the clue to help him finally solve the cold case. As Opening Night for the play looms, Jimmy finds himself involved in a nest of egos and personalities, all while seeking to find the missing Seetha. Toss in his on-again, off-again relationship with Captain Francis X. Frisano, and suddenly Jimmy's life is edging toward tragedy. That's when a murderer strikes, and suddenly nothing is pretend anymore. Life on the stage has turned all too real, and all too deadly. Just like on the mean streets of Manhattan.
Word Count: 60,000
Character Identities: Gay
Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! Jimmy McSwain returns to help his sister's boyfriend fight a murder charge--and finds he may just have a lead on a cold case. Hell's Kitchen private investigator Jimmy McSwain returns in a twisting tale of past sins and present-day vengeance. Jimmy McSwain isn't thrilled about taking a case for free—but when his sister fears her boyfriend, Rocky, is cheating on her, he has no choice. But the case takes a deadly turn when Rocky is standing over the body of a man he was just seen kissing, and he's holding the gun. He begs Jimmy to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, as a sweltering heat wave claims New York City, a gunman with a thirst for blood is targeting Manhattan deli owners and has already claimed two victims. Jimmy knows a thing or two about those—fourteen years ago his father was killed outside a deli, and it's possible today's killer could be linked to that unsolved murder, one that continues to haunt Jimmy. Enlisting the aid of sexy NYPD Captain Francis X. Frisano, Jimmy finds himself torn between the two cases, as well as the heat simmering between himself and the hot cop. Suddenly a quiet summer has erupted into a full blown crime wave.
Word Count: 55,000
Character Identities: Gay
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.
