mystery & thriller

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Scott Everest 25, loudmouth, musical theatre performer… that is, if I could find work in a sea of LA models. I ran from LA to escape the bounty on my head. I figured hiding out in Jersey would be a smart move, that is until I made the mistake of hooking up with an Italian thug I met at a club. It was supposed to be a one-night stand, quick and easy. Now, I can’t escape the guy! He’s sarcastic, he’s smug, and he likes to get on my last nerve. Every time I see him, all I want to do is knock that annoying grin off his handsome face. So why is it that somehow, I always end up in bed with him instead? Dominic Rossi 27, Italian, professional money launderer… yeah, I’m the guy that moves the money and keeps us all from going to prison. From the moment I made the mistake of hooking up with him, I can’t seem to shake the guy. He’s everywhere! Not to mention he’s the rudest, most arrogant, self-absorbed, oblivious man I have ever had the pleasure of arguing with. So naturally, when someone tries to murder him, I end up protecting him instead. What can I say, I’m a sucker for people who need help. Now, if only I could find a way to stop falling for the man who drives me crazy. This is a MM thriller/romance, that should be read in the order of the series. Warning: This book contains scenes which may be considered triggering events for some involving extreme violence, murder, kidnapping, and torture.

Word Count: Click here to reveal138000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: “I swear to God it was Willoughby. My brother stood not two feet away from me, called me Lina to my face, and pulled Harley into his arms, saying he was sorry, sobbing, and calling him his boy.”   An apparition in Sydney’s fruit and vegetable market leaves the mother of one of Clyde’s best friends believing that her brother, hanged for murder twenty-four years beforehand, has somehow risen from the grave and confronted her. She is adamant that the visitation was real and visits Clyde asking him to investigate the mass murder her brother was supposed to have committed. She believes he was either set up or was covering for someone else’s crime. Could this vision have been a folie à deux, a delusional vision shared by both mother or son? As Clyde investigates, clues lead him to one of Australia’s most famous silent screen actors, a man who, together with his murdered father, becomes intrinsically linked to the mass murder, known as The Killing at Candal Creek. Wheels within wheels, lies, extortion, and coverups lead Clyde to a bloody confrontation on a deserted beach in the tropics. This time, it’s not only his own life at risk but also that of one of his most valued and closest friends.

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

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

Summary: Stiles finds himself torn between his loyalty to his agency director and friend, James McCullough, and his loyalty to friend Lizzie Ferguson and his lover Michael O'Leary. He can't explain the overwhelming feelings of darkness that he feels. When the new director of the St. Louis Pinkerton Agency, fires Lizzie and Michael, then pairs Stiles up with a new agent, things begin to unravel all around Stiles. Lying to everyone, he heads to Chicago where James McCullough and other agents have disappeared. Determined to find his friend and discover what is really going on in the Levee District, Stiles finds himself with no one he can depend on. Meanwhile, Lizzie moves back to New York to work in the Pinkerton office there with an old friend. And, Michael discovers he's inherited an estate in England from his mother's side of his family. The group of friends are being pulled apart in different directions. There's corruption around every corner. No one can be trusted. Can they find their way back to who they were before? Will Stiles be able to pull himself out of the hell he's in before he loses everything? So this is hell...

Word Count: Click here to reveal72000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Izaak Calloway is young, carefree, and ambitious. He has everything a young gay man could want: the love and support of his family, a promising career with the money to match, and his own place and a fancy new car. And, when it comes to sex – he is an expert in that field. The one thing Izaak knew how to do is pull a man and he isn’t ashamed of his many adventurous sexcapades. While sleeping around with “trade” is fun, Izaak wants something more profound. He wants a meaningful relationship. Late one night while Izaak was out eating, he saw the man who would forever change his life. A chance encounter with that same guy, DeMarkkis, a few weeks later would help set the stage for a romantic rendezvous between the pair. To Izaak, outwardly, DeMarkkis “Squirrel” Sanders is the perfect man and lover. And while DeMarkkis only has eyes for Izaak, his past raised some questions. Will DeMarkkis ever be able to escape those old demons, or would they eventually find its way into their new relationship? Join Izaak and DeMarkkis on the first part of this two-book adventure as they test the waters of a young, burgeoning relationship. Will DeMarkkis be Izaak’s knight in shining armor, or will external factors cause this relationship to go up in flames?

Word Count: Click here to reveal29000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Two women, a dead teen, and a cruel killer at large... From award-winning, best-selling author Edale Lane comes a new contemporary sapphic mystery! Jenna Ferrari is a tough-to-the-bone homicide detective with no patience for stupidity and an Italian’s penchant for displays of emotion. While she excels at catching criminals, she continues to strike out at relationships. At thirty-two, she wonders if she’ll ever find the right woman. A brilliant, creative college literature professor, Miranda McLeod is respected by her peers and loved by her students. After years of walking an ambiguous line, she wants to come out but doesn’t know how. When the two meet over the case of a murder on campus, could they have both found what they’ve been looking for, or will the unknown killer on the loose foil their chances for romance? This is the first in series of contemporary sapphic crime-solving novellas set in Roanoke, VA. Enjoy the sweet romance, follow the action, see if you can solve the mysteries, and discover the biggest enigma of all lies in the human heart. Love a whodunnit? You'll love it more when it's heated with a sweet sapphic romance and sweetened with two adorable pets! Meeting over Murder introduces you to characters you'll love while you test your skills against theirs to see who solves the crime first. The clues are there. Will you put them together before Detective Ferrari?

Word Count: Click here to reveal50,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Murder comes knocking when a killer hunts for budding amateur detective Pineapple “Motts” Mottley in the fourth novel of the Motts Cold Case Mystery series. The past and present collide for Motts when two serial killer brothers barge into her plans for Christmas in London. Her desire to solve her childhood friend’s murder brings her ever closer to danger. She finds herself one fall away from the grave herself. When one of her former primary school teachers winds up dead in her burning house, Motts realizes the mystery is far more twisted than she ever imagined. Is she running out of time to catch not one but two killers? What sort of macabre gift will Motts find wrapped under the tree?

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

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

Summary: March 1891. A parliamentary committee arrives at Larkspur Hall to assess Lord Clearwater’s suitability to become an earl. Prince Albert Victor will announce their decision at a society dinner on Archer’s thirty-second birthday. However, the MP with the authority to advance Archer to the title is the same man who caused Edward Hyde never to speak again. When the parliamentarians arrive to inspect the Larkspur Academy, Edward comes face to face with the man he had arrested for making unnatural advances. A man who was never tried for his crime. Silas Hawkins and the academy men band together to ensure Edward sees justice done while protecting Lord Clearwater’s reputation and each other. Using their skills in chemistry, physics and deception, they embark on a game of secrets and subterfuge where the unspoken causes the loudest outcry. “The quiet ones have the loudest voice. Them as say most by speaking in silence.” Fiona Hawkins, 1881 Speaking in Silence is the fifth book in the Larkspur Mysteries series, and touches on themes of victimisation and suicide. Like all books in the series, it is inspired by actual events from the late 1800s. With themes of friendship, bromance, male love and revenge, the story is more of a ‘how dunnit?’ than a ‘who dunnit?’ and like all of Jackson’s mysteries, contains humour, while mixing fact with fiction.

Word Count: Click here to reveal58408 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: There's no antidote to the malignant craving for power and wealth. Landry Carran should know better than to get involved in yet another murder mystery, but it was hardly his fault that someone dumped a dead body on the doorstep of Treasure Trove Antiques. He can't resist recruiting his friends to help him play detective. Meanwhile, Landry's partner and Dom, Gage Roskham is doing real detective work that proves hazardous to his health and brings with it the assistance of an annoying Englishman who Gage believes should be behind bars. The case twists and turns across Seattle's antique trade and the bodies multiply. As clues are solved, it becomes apparent that those closest to Gage are in grave danger. He'll need to control his errant sub, deal with the most irritating Brit ever born and solve the case if he wants to prevent more death.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal73000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Vampires and werewolves live long lives. The Sleepless City saga might have ended but the story continues… Someone is hunting supernaturals.  Vampire Simon Hawthorne and his human partner Ben Leyton’s plans for a peaceful holiday with family are hijacked by the New Zealand Supernatural Council. Tensions are on the rise in Wellington. Supernatural councillors are disappearing. Werewolves are suspicious of anyone human or vampire. If they don’t work together, their enemy has already won. And no one with a connection to the supernatural world is safe.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Every life is a circle, and sometimes those circles connect and overlap in unexpected ways, even if the patterns they form aren’t obvious at first glance. Past and present, from the wilderness to small towns and cities, the greedy and evil seek to exploit the vulnerable. The brave men of law enforcement fight to protect the innocent and punish the guilty—but they’re not alone. Men from all walks of life are called to stand beside them and solve these mysteries. Along the way, lives intertwine as couples are reminded that one thing makes the struggle worthwhile: love.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Seth Richards 24, twink, professional sleuth… Okay, semi-professional helping out a friend. “It’s perfectly safe! Sit in a bar, have a few beers, report anything suspicious.” Simple enough, right? Then why the heck am I sitting here tied to a chair, about to have my face beaten in by some scary-looking Irish dude? Also, why am I surprisingly attracted to his boss? That’s probably something I should unpack with my therapist at some point… Mickey O’Brien 31, Irish, professional thug… oh ya, and I’m next in line to take over the O’Brien crime syndicate once my old man kicks the bucket. There’s something about him. His vulnerability, his fear, the way he puts on a brave face even though he’s secretly terrified. Watching him verbally tear into a thug double his size has me impressed. I want to hold him, protect him, and claim him as my own. But how can I? When you’re next in line to lead a criminal organization there are certain… expectations. But for now, I have more important things to worry about, like who’s hunting down members of my crew?

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

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

Summary: Months after saving their flamboyant theatre friend from disaster, Dannel Ortea and Osian Garey are back with a thrilling murder investigation in the third London Podcast Mystery series novel. Dannel and Osian's breakfast double date rapidly devolves into a murder mystery when a dead body is found in their solicitor friend’s car. Wayne is taken for questioning by police. He was last seen arguing with the deceased. When Wayne’s tie is identified as the murder weapon, it’s hard to refute the growing evidence stacked against him. Convinced of their friend’s innocence, Dannel and Osian throw themselves into the investigation. When Wayne’s boyfriend, Roland, finds himself suspended from the police, they realise powerful people are involved in the murder. With a philandering crown court judge, two disgruntled wives, and an angry client as suspects, the clock is ticking for them to find the killer before Wayne winds up arrested—or dead.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38211 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: If he's by himself, no one else will get hurt. But there's a fuckload of hurt in being alone. In the sequel to Wanted: LIghthouse Keeper, Dirk Black, an undercover cop, blows into town for a holiday. Um, except there is no town—only sea and rocks on the far north spit of land in the the Shetlands—and the massive storm that greets him guarantees an indoors holiday. Being under the covers with his unique lover, Stephan Tavish, is just what Dirk’s been needing. But he soon finds that the storm has also brought a maelstrom of trouble for him and the entire Tavish family—Stephan, his father Peter, and his son Jamie have been swept into a tempest of crime and passion that threatens to leave only heartbreak in its path. When Jamie disappears, Dirk is forced into seeing from a different perspective. From the secrets hidden in a boy’s school, to crimes committed in a stone-cold basement, even to a final horrendous crash—he learns that getting out alive is only part of the challenge. Aye, pagan Dirk is forced to call on the “damned father, son and holy ghost” to set the world upright again on Fate’s storm-ravaged playing field.

Word Count: Click here to reveal96800 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The truth hurts. But in the end, honesty wins. Or does it? Warren Prescott loves a challenge. He knows how to play the game and adapts when necessary to succeed in his cutthroat world. Tired of pining for a man he’s wanted for months, Warren intends to seal the deal. Until that man throws him an endearing curveball… Be honest. Gian Benedetti doesn't play games. Success has cost him the personal connections he craves, and he doubts he’ll take another chance on a relationship. Until the attractive, younger man with the brazen personality and confidence stirs his interest. Except…someone else is playing games. And threatening everything Gian has worked hard to achieve. Warren won’t rest until he uncovers the new player and gets his forever with Gian. But they’ll soon face a hard truth— Honesty may be what brings them together… Or it could be the one thing that tears them apart. ----- Honestly Yours is an age-gap standalone romance. It features a snarky younger man with a giant crush on a good-hearted, affectionate, bisexual older man. Expect some banter, a little mystery, a few twists, a dash of angst, curious parents, animal trivia, and a whole lot of love…and hugs (so many hugs).

Word Count: Click here to reveal19375 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It had been more than eighteen years since August Catch’s uncle Digby had disappeared to the Cape to mourn the death of his sister. So, when August arrives at Arachne’s Loom to collect his late uncle’s things, he wasn’t expecting to find stories of a man larger than life. Or the very real possibility that Digby’s death may not have been from natural causes. Theo Webb has had few people in his life that he loved, and fewer still he could trust. But the estate groundskeeper, Digby Catch, had been one of them. Returning home for his funeral, he’s thrown together with Digby’s nephew, and the attraction is instant. But so is Theo’s certainty that things surrounding Digby’s death don’t add up and that at least one person isn’t telling the truth. Discovering a killer is difficult when someone is desperate to keep more than just their identity a secret. And when all the clues point in one direction, even Theo isn’t sure what to think. The two of them must work together if they’re going to solve a murder, and not let the thing growing between them be a distraction. But then, maybe a distraction is exactly what they need.

Word Count: Click here to reveal21813 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Quinn is sent in to clean up and finds one very hot mess. Randall Quinn has been a cleaner for the mob for over ten years, but a particularly violent scene sets him to drinking alone and contemplating his options. At thirty-nine, it’s possible this is just a mid-life crisis so he tries buying himself a flashy car to satisfy the itch, and agrees to take another job to test his conviction. He’s expecting easy money when he arrives at a seedy motel to clean up after what the Boss told him was supposed to have been a simple execution. But what he discovers in that motel room is anything but simple, and from that moment on, every decision makes life more and more complicated.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: A werewolf and seven vampires are all that stand between the world and complete annihilation. When Kai Richter and Ori Bier met, sparks flew. Then a train blew up. Tracking an organism deadly to not only humans, but vampires and werewolves alike, brings Kai and Ori into The Vampire Guard. Decades later, they, along with Operative Team Jack Rabbit, come face to face with the horrors that same virus produces. Dead bodies are coming back to life, and rational people are becoming violent and brutal killers. A massacre is taking place nearly a mile under the Atlantic Ocean. Two teams of The Vampire Guard are in the thick of it, fighting to survive.

Word Count: Click here to reveal105000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: “Risk is the spark that ignites adventure.” Barbary Fleet, 1891   The Larkspur Academy — Where men explore the mysteries of love and learning Chester Cadman has been duped by unscrupulous men, ridiculed in the newspapers, and disowned by his family. Only twenty-two, he is on the verge of starvation when a Clearwater detective makes him an offer he can't refuse: Join the Larkspur Academy and investigate a haunting that has plagued Lord Clearwater’s family for nearly four hundred years. Mystified, but determined, Chester enlists the help of fellow academy man, Frank Andino, and is soon presented with a second mystery: his attraction to the loyal, but bawdy young Greek. Together, they unearth sinister family secrets that could destroy Clearwater’s reputation and the academy, but the truth must be known. Faced with a double dilemma, Chester is forced to confront the past, even if it means Clearwater’s downfall and a broken heart. It’s a risk, but, as Fleet says, ‘Risk is the spark that ignites adventure, and love is the greatest adventure of them all.’ ★★★★★ ‘Seeing Through Shadows’ is the fourth book in The Larkspur Mystery series. A combination of mystery, male love and adventure set in England in 1890 and 1891, the Larkspur Mysteries blend historical fact with fiction. Rescued from destitution, young gay men are invited to Lord Clearwater’s Larkspur Academy. There, they explore their talents as they encounter romance, bromance and a variety of intriguing mysteries. The Larkspur series follows on from the popular Clearwater Mysteries and is set in the same world, but you don’t have to have read the Clearwater series to enjoy this collection of full-length historical novels.

Word Count: Click here to reveal41495 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A bitter drunk meets a lonely paraplegic with a target on his back. Almost on the rim of the Arctic Circle, they’ve both run out of places to hide. Dirk Black is a lost soul with a troubled past. When the washed-up cop happens to see an odd notice in a newspaper, his unshakable sense of irony sends him to a remote point in Scotland’s Shetland Islands. There he discovers something he’s never wanted and bloody hell doesn’t need—a computer nerd and recluse who’s confined to a tiny promontory in the North Sea. Stephan Tavish is a scholar and business entrepreneur who’s managed to run from his family and from society, hoping for peace of mind in the solitude of his own land and his ancestor’s old isolated lighthouse. But karma has bitten him in the arse. He finds himself in a very dark place where he needs to ask for help, from a stranger who’s lost himself in a whisky bottle. Two alienated men, each with a mystery to solve, end up working together at the edge of nowhere. Together, they discover that something in their own past may hold the key to a very intriguing future.

Word Count: Click here to reveal144300 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Gay, Non Binary, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: Book 1-5 in the TALES OF THE FOREST series The Forester Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith, when a murder reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit. Kelnaht’s former lover Ianys once betrayed him, and the shunned forester Taruif is not allowed to talk to anyone but the guide, their spiritual pathfinder. Lost and Found A stripling goes missing from the tribe, and heavy rainfall hides all traces of his whereabouts. With days creeping by without a lead, it’s hard to keep the tribe’s spirits up, more so when Kelnaht’s own future depends on the elders. Taruif has been shunned for almost twenty turns, but now that a possible forester’s apprentice is coming of age, the elders consider reducing his sentence. Taruif could be set free. Full Circle When several children fall ill with more than a summer bug, truth seeker Kelnaht is assigned to investigate. What he finds is deadly and threatens the life of every underage child in the tribe, including Ianys’ daughter Atèn. Then a wounded traveller is found in the forest, left to die after a vicious attack. Oren's Right Forester Veld loses a piece of himself to mute baker Oren when they first meet, but Oren is vowed to Haram. When Haram is killed, Veld has no intention of dishonouring his memory, but his death may not have been an accident. Only a forester can learn what the trees have seen. However, Oren's independence is threatened, and if Veld does not offer what Oren needs, Oren may never be his to claim. Twenty-Five Turns Fear of moving farther away from his family had cost Eer the love of his life. When Kat returns after twenty-five turns…with a son, any hope Eer has of rekindling their love seems doomed to fail because a murderer’s taste for revenge forces Kat to choose between endangering their family or running… and leaving Eer behind, again. ___________________________ TALES OF THE FOREST is an ongoing series of standalone stories linked by a forest world. Content warnings are available in the books' front matter and on the author's website.