The Jimmy McSwain Files Series

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 reveal60,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! Jimmy McSwain returns 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: Click here to reveal65,000 (Click here to hide)

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

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: 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 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 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 reveal75,000 (Click here to hide)

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

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.