I have two contemporary stories on my reading blog today, a romantic suspense thriller from AJ Rose and a gritty urban coming of age story by Kate Sherwood. And best of all, both these books are series starters!
I found The Family Man to be an excellent thriller! This story by AJ Rose is based around the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, often deployed to help track down the instigators of the most serious crimes. Agent Tracey Smith is the newbie to the team, fresh faced and eager and armed with people skills that make him the perfect interviewer. In contrast, team leader Jon Anderson is known as “the Ice Man”, rarely showing his feelings.
I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of this intense procedural, and the attraction and chemistry between agents Jon and Tracey only added to the tension and pace of The Family Man. A great read! I’m already looking forward to the next in the Mind Hacker series. What a fabulous start to this new MM romantic suspense series from AJ Rose!
Kate Sherwood is fast becoming a one-click author for me and so I was eager to read Feral, the first in Shelter, her urban contemporary series with an ensemble cast.
This captivating coming-of-age story is about two very different young men, middle-class would-be vet Noah and homeless Shane, brought together due to a mutual love of animals.
As usual with Kate Sherwood‘s books, the combination of character and situational development is compelling. There are no easy answers here but a gradual progression as Noah realises there’s a whole scary and brutal world out there he was previously unaware of and Shane hesitantly learns to trust, bit by bit.
The slow burn was absolutely right for these characters and I completely bought into the vivid and meticulous world building. I found Feral a hugely satisfying read. I can also highly recommend the rest of the excellent Shelter series!
In Badlands, the first book of the series of the same name by Morgan Brice, I was drawn into this engrossing story, part police procedural, part MM Romance with an element of that paranormal that drove the plot.
Simon, a shop owner and a medium, and cop Vic are intriguing characters. Both men land up at the seaside town of Myrtle Beach after a personal and professional crisis. That makes them understandably wary of each other, despite their mutual attraction, compounded by Simon’s psychic gift that gives some insight into a string of local murders.
The backdrop of the transient population of a busy resort was vividly described. I really bought into the burgeoning romance and the tension and sense of danger increased throughout the story as the body count rose. The paranormal aspect was gripping and gave a real insight into both MCs. Badlands and the ensuing series developing Vic and Simon’s relationship are terrific romantic suspense reads from an author I will definitely read more from!
I’m rapidly getting through Kate Sherwood’s backlist and was thrilled to discover that as well as contemporary romance, she has explored romantic suspense in her writing. Long Shadows is a fabulous gritty slow burn of a story with an intriguing premise. LA cop Jericho Crew reluctantly returns to his Montana hometown of Mosely summoned by a family emergency after half a lifetime away.
When he arrives, nothing is as it seems. Jericho is unsure of who to trust as events rapidly unravel, involving the local criminal network and police as well as the wider authorities.
I loved everything about Long Shadows. The way Jericho was thrown into the carefully drawn small town setting, reminded of a past he’d rather forget, and loyalties that might not have stood the test of time. Most of all, the connection with his old friend and former lover Wade sizzled with potential danger and mutual attraction. Fantastic storytelling and the start of the engrossing Common Law series from Kate Sherwood who is fast becoming a one-click author for me.
I can never resist romantic suspense stories and this week on the blog, I have two terrific examples reads from Josh Lanyon and JD Sampson.
The Lemon Drop Kid is a relatively short but perfectly formed contemporary murder mystery that hinges on forgiveness.
The impact of incarceration while falsely accused of murder on golden boy and heir to a bakery business Casper really packed a punch, especially as we got a glimpse of the carefree, happy-go-lucky young man he was before disaster struck.
But once released, amongst the ashes of his life is his burning sense of betrayal that his police officer boyfriend Raleigh believed him to be guilty. The whodunnit plot has some very enjoyable twists and turns but it’s the world-building in the apparently cosy town dominated by sweet treats that makes this so vivid.
Josh Lanyon rightly focuses on the conundrum between her two MCs in The Lemon Drop Kid, specifically how they might move forward from an impossible situation. Fabulous storytelling as always from this one-click author.
I loved the detailed setting of 1930s Hollywood in A Clutch of Guilty Wishes by JD Sampson. The glamorous yet cut-throat world is typified by Dash Hailey, son of a movie mogul. And the grinding poverty surrounding the glitz is all too familiar to ex-cop, Eli Winters, Dash’s bodyguard in public and lover in private.
The mystery plot concerning a murdered spiritualist was great fun. But what made this such an absorbing read for me was the wonderfully drawn background and Dash’s and Eli’s devoted relationship, kept strictly private due to the risk of exposure, given the more and laws of the time.
The witty dialogue and fast-paced action reminded me of movies from that era. I’m delighted that A Clutch of Guilty Wishes is the first in a series from JD Sampson as I can’t wait for more from these two wonderful MCs!
Jerico is about to meet two figures from his past.
One filled with love, the other consumed by vengeance.
Blurb
The coastal town of Nyemouth is the perfect location for celebrity chef Jerico Osman to fulfil a lifetime ambition. With it’s stunning harbour and brisk holiday trade, there’s no better place for him to open his first restaurant. It’s a dream that has been a decade in the making. But there’s another attraction in Nyemouth, one Jerico was completely unaware of.
Andy Quinn is content with his life. He has a great job managing Quay House, the popular waterfront hotel, and a peaceful home with a cat called Patches. Andy spent his twenties working in the cruise industry, exploring the world and has finally settled in his home town of Nyemouth. Those years at sea were a time of adventure and discovery, including a ship bound romance with a young Jerico. After fifteen years, Andy doubts the famous chef will even remember him, but from the moment they reconnect, the time they spent apart falls away.
Andy isn’t the only figure from Jerico’s past. A week before the restaurant is due to open, an act of reckless sabotage puts everything he cares about in danger, including Andy. Jerico has made an enemy, someone who will stop at nothing to see his long-realised dream become a nightmare. As a plan for vengeance is played out, who will survive until the end?
Fall in love with compelling new characters and rediscover some old favourites in the fifth and final instalment of the Jagged Shores series.
Excerpt
The evenings in Nyemouth were beautiful in the summer, when the blue sky was transformed to the most startling shades of purple, pink and red. It was Andy’s favourite time of the year, and tonight, it was even better, as he walked the South Point cliff with Jerico.
“It reminds me of all those sunsets we saw when we were at sea,” Jerico remarked.
Andy nodded his agreement. “I come up here a lot when I have the time, if I get finished at the hotel early enough. It helps me to relax. At this time of year, there’s nothing I like more.”
“It seems like you’ve always been drawn to the sea.”
“Mmm, probably. I grew up at the coast, worked on ships. I can’t imagine ever being far away from it.”
He was aware of Jerico watching him and tried to keep his gaze on the path ahead, though the temptation to turn and feast his own eyes was huge. Instead, he filled his lungs with the salty air coming from the water. Up here, the sticky heat of the hotel and the town centre was forgotten.
“What did you do?” Jerico asked. “After we lost touch. You have me at a disadvantage. You can find out about me online, everything I’ve ever done is there. But you, apart from your professional CV, there’s nothing.”
Now Andy could not resist looking at him, raising a bemused eyebrow. “So, you’ve been cyber-stalking me?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
His brown skin looked glorious in the evening light. Andy’s mouth was dry. Jerico looked more handsome than he’d ever known him. How had they come to be here, after all this time? Andy knew he wasn’t dreaming. This was very real.
He wet his lips. “It’s a similar story to your own. I kept working at sea until I was around thirty.”
“Doing the same as before? Excursions and tours?”
“For a while, yes. But when I moved to another cruise company, an opportunity arose to join the hotel management side of the ship, and I found I enjoyed that even more. I became Deputy Hotel Manager after just two years. I loved being on the ships. I’m so glad I did all that. For a young guy in his twenties to travel the world and see all those places, how many people are lucky enough to do that?”
Jerico nodded. “It was great, though I don’t miss the force-eleven gales and ten-metre waves.”
Andy laughed. “Yeah, I think I’ve pushed those to the back of my mind and just remember the calm waters and sunsets.”
“I remember some really bad nights, trying to sing and dance while the stage was going up and down beneath my feet.” He gave a dramatic shudder and chuckled.
“But look at it now,” Andy said, gesturing to the peaceful North Sea. Tonight, there wasn’t even a white cap to ruffle its surface. “When I see it like this, I do miss being out there.”
“Would you ever go back? To working on the ships?”
“Nah. Been there, done that. I’m happy here. I’ve got my dream job and my family close by. I’ve seen almost all the world has to offer, so now I’m content to stay home. How about you?”
“I’ve done a couple of themed culinary cruises in the last few years—guest speaking and cookery demonstrations, that kind of thing. It’s a lot different on the other side. The guest staterooms are a lot nicer than those tiny crew cabins we had to stay in.”
“I’ll bet. That’s something I’ve never done, experiencing a cruise ship from a passenger perspective. I imagine it’s a different world from what we were used to.”
“Yeah, but when you’re young, you don’t care, do you? You just need a place to sleep and shag. They could have put me in a cupboard, and I’d have been happy.” He gave Andy a flirtatious wink.
“I remember what you were like, all right.”
They paused and stood side by side and looking out to sea together. For a moment, Andy lost himself in those memories…of standing on the deck of a ship or the shores of exotic countries with Jerico. Were those the best days of his life? No, he decided. The best days were still ahead of him. Be positive and keep moving forward.
It had gone eight o’clock. “I’m getting hungry,” he said. “Do you fancy something to eat?”
Jagged Ends is Thom Collins’ tenth novel. As well as theJagged Shores series, he is the author of the Anthem Trilogy andCloser by Morning. He has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and cat. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a dislike of flying that gets worse with age. Since 2013 he prefers to see the world by sea.
Check out his website for news updates and a free ebook The Night.
Themes: Murder, Thriller, and Suspense, set in the UK
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Each book can be read as a standalone story.
*SPECIAL OFFER*
For the length of this tour the books will be priced as follows:
Deep Waters – 99c/99p
North Point, Safe Harbour, Cold Day Dawning – $2.99
THE JAGGED SHORES SERIES
Book 1: North Point
Will an idyllic summer holiday lead Arnie to the love of his life, or the end of it?
Blurb
It should be the start of a perfect vacation. After a period of stress, Arnie Walker takes his nine-year-old son AJ home for the holidays. Arnie grew up in Nyemouth, a picturesque fishing town on the North-East coast of England, and he wants AJ to experience the kind of carefree, endless summer he enjoyed as a boy. It’s a short-lived dream. While taking an evening walk along the North Point cliff, Arnie and AJ witness a murder attempt.
For the volunteer crew of Nyemouth Lifeboat Station, it’s a rescue mission like none before, Helmsman Dominic Melton is part of the team who rescue the victim from the deadly North Sea. When Arnie and Dominic come together in the aftermath of the attack, the attraction is instant. Arnie isn’t looking for a relationship. He’s committed to his son’s well-being and has no time for a distraction like Dominic, even though the handsome ex-naval officer is hard to dismiss. Is it possible for Arnie to fulfill his promises to AJ while falling for Dominic?
Despite the distraction, a fledgling killer remains at large. As feelings between Arnie and Dominic develop, so does the danger they are in. North Point may be a beautiful place to fall in love, but it could also be the most dangerous.
Two lovers seek shelter in a storm of jealousy and passion
Blurb
Matt arrives in the seaside town of Nyemouth for a much-needed vacation. As a successful lawyer, Matt has a hectic career, and with an ex-husband still pestering him for money, he is long overdue a break. A holiday home perched above the town and its breath-taking harbour seems like the perfect place to unwind. Matt can’t wait to explore the beautiful, jagged shorelines and lose himself for a couple of weeks.
Jake has made a home in Nyemouth. After growing up in the city, living on the coast is everything to him. Running a business with his sister and volunteering on the crew of the local lifeboat, he is exactly where he wants to be. But Jake’s life is far from peaceful. Though he left his domineering husband Vince a year ago, Vince refuses to consent to a divorce or loosen his controlling hold on Jake.
On Matt’s first night in town, he encounters the couple having a blazing row. When Vince turns violent, Matt intervenes and takes Jake inside to escape his angry ex. Despite what happened, Matt feels a powerful attraction to the younger man. Jake is bright, endearing and unbelievably attractive, but the young man’s life is complicated. Matt already has enough problems of his own. He came away looking for an escape, not a starry-eyed distraction. As Matt and Jake get to know each other better, the gamble on a holiday romance becomes hard for either of them to resist. They have both been unlucky in love before. Maybe this time will be different.
Vince will not be shaken off so easily. He has no intention of letting Jake go…ever. As Matt’s and Jake’s emotions deepen, they do not understand how far Vince will take things to keep his husband. As far as Vince is concerned, they made a vow to each other… “till death do us part.”
In search of a story, he found murder and romance.
Blurb
Author Christian Costner is researching material for one of his dark thrillers and Nyemouth seems like the perfect setting for his next book. The small seaside town has witnessed plenty of trouble over the years, and Christian thinks it will provide him with the inspiration he needs.
He hires local tour guide and fisherman Harry Renner to help him explore the coastline for a couple of days. Harry is knowledgeable and mature beyond his twenty-eight years. Handsome too, though Christian thinks Harry is far too young for him..
As the weather worsens, Harry cuts short their first sight-seeing trip. Heading back to shore they spot a figure in distress in the water. A difficult rescue is made far worse when they discover the casualty has a knife wound to his abdomen and dies before they reach the safety of the harbour.
United by the trauma, Christian and Harry find comfort in each other, but when another murder comes to light, they find themselves at the heart of a dangerous mystery and the target of a killer more ruthless than they could ever imagine.
It should be the perfect weekend away. Dalton Caine makes the long journey to Nyemouth to attend a party hosted by his sister. Catherine is estranged from most of the family, but Dalton feels the time has come to build bridges between them. Things don’t turn out how he wants, however, when Catherine gives him a cold reception at the party. But the evening is not a complete waste of time when he meets local photographer Antoni.
Following a near-fatal attack six months earlier, Antoni has struggled with his physical and mental recovery. Catherine’s party is the first time he has been out at night since then, and he’s ready for an early exit when he meets Dalton. The stranger is warm, friendly and incredibly handsome. When Antoni overcomes his reservations and accepts a drink at Dalton’s hotel, it could be the start of something new for them both.
Despite the joy of fresh romance, things soon take a darker turn. The morning after the party, Catherine’s boyfriend reports her missing. Dalton isn’t initially concerned. Catherine has disappeared of her own will before, and he’s more interested in getting to know Antoni, but the men soon find themselves at the centre of a twisted mystery, one that puts both of their lives at risk.
Reader advisory: This book contains violence, murder, PTSD, memories of a child in danger and mental illness. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, this book is best read as part of a series.
Thom Collins is the author of Closer by Morning, North Point and the Anthem Trilogy. His love of page turning thrillers began at an early age when his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and confiscated it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels.
Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonk-busters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but in 2013 he realized cruising is the best way to see the world.
Check out his website for news updates and a free ebook, The Night.
Tropes: romantic suspense, hot-headed journalist, troubled player, lovers to enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, found family, second chance, gay romance, mm romance, romantic suspense, gay, mm, romance, new release, announcement, giveaway
Is This Part of a Series?: Yes
Position (Number) in Series: 4
Necessary to Read Previous Books: No, But It Doesn’t Hurt
Series Title: Jake’s Bar
Other Books in Series Available for Review?: Yes
Title for Other Book(s) in Series:
1-End of the Line
2-Crossing the Line
3-Outside the Lines
Book Blurb:
Revenge is a Dangerous Obsession.
Dean Hunt needs the story of a lifetime—Since his uncompromising attitude got him fired, the investigative journalist is hell-bent to expose the powerful and corrupt Conway family. It’s a career move, and absolutely not a vendetta against the oldest son Noel, who ghosted Dean after a mind-blowing weekend together.
Noel Conway needs a new start—After years away, Noel has come home to rebuild the bridges he’s burned. Too bad his past caused a ripple effect he can’t outrun. Now, he’s asked to save his family from the one man he never expected to see again but can’t forget.
Dean is chasing front-page news, and Noel is trying to protect the ones he loves. But the line between enemies and lovers gets blurred when a dangerous criminal from Noel’s past resurfaces. Will the truth shatter their tentative trust? Or do they have a shot at happily ever after?
But none of that matters when suddenly Noel disappears…
Down the Line, the final book in the award-winning Jake’s Bar series, is a spicy, M/M romantic suspense featuring a rainbow-colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle. So, download today, and get ready to fall in love with Jake’s Bar.
Warnings: smoking cigarettes and weed in the hot tub, kidnapping (on page scenes restrained), verbally abusive father
Series Blurb:
The award-winning Jake’s Bar series is a set of steamy, M/M romantic suspense novels, featuring a rainbow- colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle.
Non-Exclusive Excerpt:
As Dean reached the top of the staircase, a man stepped out of the shadows in front of his door. Dean straightened his shoulders. “Detective Conway.”
“Hunt.”
In a parallel universe, they might have been friends. They were fighting the same fight. Had the same enemies. In this world, they weren’t brothers in arms. In this world, Dean had been cast as the villain.
“How can I help you this fine morning?”
“Open the door. We gotta talk.”
“Look, it’s been a long night—”
“Just open the damn door.” Conway snarled, pushing into Dean’s personal space.
Dean stood his ground. “Are you here in an official capacity? Because then, the answer is no, I won’t let you in. You have no warrant, no permission to search my property. I don’t consent—”
“Just shut the fuck up. None of us wants this shitshow to be on the record,” Con growled.
Dean, curious, took a step back and raised his empty hand, palm up. “Okay.”
He fished for his key, pushed open the door, and quickly disarmed his alarm system. Conway didn’t wait to be invited in, just crossed the living room, dropped his shearling coat onto the sofa, then walked over to the large window overlooking the river.
The view was the only redeeming feature of Dean’s otherwise-generic apartment. The mess didn’t help. There were dirty dishes piled up in the sink, a pizza box on the breakfast counter separating the cramped kitchen from the living room, and an unmade bed in the other corner of the room.
“For a guy who anxiously waited at my doorstep, you’re awfully quiet.” Dean smirked. “Coffee?”
“No.” Conway turned his back, now studying the row of framed newspaper front pages Dean had hung on the apartment’s interior wall. His personal collection of historic headlines—headlines that changed the world.
The oldest was from July 6, 1776. The Pennsylvania Evening Post, printing the Declaration of Independence on its front page. Next to it, the Daily Telegram, declaring the end of the Second World War. The two most recent, the New York Times’ “OBAMA: Racial barrier falls in heavy turnout” and, of course, the front page the day after 9/11.
Dean had added a few more personal favorites, like Moneta J. Sleet’s photography of Coretta Scott King at MLK’s funeral. The first Black man to win the Pulitzer for journalism.
Conway took his time examining each framed newspaper. Dean already regretted allowing the intrusion into his space. He felt exposed—vulnerable—under silent scrutiny.
Irritated, he started banging around the kitchen. He was in no mood to explain that looking at those headlines every day fueled his ambitions and inspired his dreams. Dean believed with every fiber of his being in the power of a free and independent press.
He turned on the coffee machine and leaned against the counter. As if Conway felt Dean’s angry glare across the room, he finally turned and stared right back. For a moment, they engaged in a silent standoff.
Unease flittered through Dean. Camille had been right. Her brother was seething with anger. And Dean had no fucking idea what he’d done to piss him off. He sighed and shook his head, then took two mugs out of the cabinet and put them onto the island. “Miguel, have a damn coffee. You look like you need it.”
“Says the man who clearly slept in his party clothes and crept home at sunup.”
“Guilty as charged.” Dean shrugged.
Conway curled his lip. “I do not know what my sister sees in you.”
It wasn’t a question, so Dean didn’t bother with an answer. “You wanted to talk? So, talk.”
Instead of talking, though, Conway pulled out a stack of papers. Pushing aside the coffee cups to make room, he spread them out over the counter.
Dean froze. The first blurry photograph featured Dean in another man’s arms. In the next, the same man was pressing Dean against a white porch railing, his own hands tangled in the man’s messy curls. Conway fanned the stack, revealing nearly a dozen more.
Dean and Noel Conway, kissing.
Suddenly, he was there again, the ocean breeze tugging on his clothes. Noel’s warm skin, tasting like sunshine and a hint of salt, his eyes blown with desire. Goddamn, so fucking beautiful, with that shy smile, whispered promises—
Dean’s throat was desert dry. His ragged breath and the hissing of the coffee machine came together like a fucking symphony. “I—”
“Save it. My sister thinks you’re this hotshot journalist. Full of passion. Braving adversity. Motivated by a noble cause. Yeah, fuck that. You’re after my family because Noel pounded your ass, then dropped you like he does everybody else. Your pride—your precious ego—is hurt because you’re just another notch in my brother’s carved-up bedpost.”
Conway grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. He turned and added, “Watch it, Hunt. You got no job. No friends. No prospects. But if you think you’ve reached rock bottom, think again.”
Dean contained himself until he heard his door close with a soft click. Only then did he allow himself to swipe papers, cups, and the fucking photos off his counter. The cups shattered on the tile floor.
Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the US for adventure and stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids—balancing work, friends and family, and writing.
When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people and amazing locations.
Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer she loves to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict and heartbreak, before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.
This week is all about romantic suspense series, as I chat about the first story in a series from both Jackie Keswick and Marshall Thornton.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Knight to Remember, the prequel to this intriguing new series by Jackie Keswick that introduced all four members of White Knight Security. Fritz, Rylan, Luca and Grant are straight out of the army, determined to use their particular skill set to help others by forming a private security company.
In this main story, Grant (White Knight Security Book 1)is the first of our guys to find romance, complicated by the fact that Spencer, a trauma surgeon, is a client with an escalating and mysterious stalker. The mystery and romance intertwined smoothly and I just had to read the following books as they were released to follow Rylan, Luca and Fritz as they encounter their perfect matches. White Knight Security is a great series of novellas with lashings of adventure and romance!
The unfolding of each mystery is so much about world-building, centred around the pre-AIDS gay community in the city and the backstory and mindset of Nick Nowak, an ex-police officer turned private investigator. It’s a world of casual sex and leery emotions against a background of entrenched homophobia that’s shifting far too slowly.
Nick has been pushed out of the police force for being gay and subsequently split with his first real boyfriend. There’s a sense of getting by and drifting, a man cut loose from his family and the institution they serve and making do with his inner resources and wits. He’s a flawed and likeable protagonist and the stories are evocative and beautifully told, as is the rest of the Boystown series, as the reader becomes increasingly involved in Nick’s world.
In the gripping tale of D.B. and Me, the enigmatic hijacker, D.B. Cooper, parachutes into the unknown with $200,000 in ransom money, but little does he know that his daring escape is just the beginning of an unforeseen journey filled with mystery, suspense, and steamy romance.
Blurb
In the gripping tale of D.B. and Me, the enigmatic hijacker, D.B. Cooper, parachutes into the unknown with $200,000 in ransom money, but little does he know that his daring escape is just the beginning of an unforeseen journey filled with mystery, suspense, and steamy romance.
D.B., now Tim, finds himself along the banks of the Columbia River attempting to fade into the shadows. However, fate has other plans when he encounters Adam, a charismatic stranger who’s also in hiding. The air becomes charged with anticipation as the two men become entangled in a mysterious dance, each harboring secrets that could shatter the fragile equilibrium they’ve quickly established.
Tim’s initial plans to vanish into the vast expanse of Canada are abruptly put on hold as the magnetic pull of Adam draws him into a world where passion and danger collide. As their connection deepens while they wander through the snow-covered forests of the Pacific Northwest, so does the labyrinth of unanswered questions surrounding their pasts. The suspense thickens with every stolen glance, every shared secret, as Tim and Adam navigate a love affair shadowed by the lingering echoes of several daring crimes, all against the backdrop of the Vietnam War.
As the story unfolds, readers are taken on a heart-pounding journey through a landscape of intrigue, where the line between right and wrong blurs, and the boundaries of love are tested. Will Tim’s past catch up with him, will Adam’s, or will they find a way to rewrite the narrative that destiny has penned for them?
D.B. and Meis a riveting exploration of love in the face of danger, a tale where passion and suspense interweave, leaving readers breathless and eagerly turning each page to unravel the secrets hidden within the folds of this captivating romance. Will Tim find redemption or be swallowed by the sadness of his past? And what about Adam and his troubled family and the ever-nagging reminders of a horrible war that still plague him? Dive into the depths of mystery and desire in this thrilling novel that will keep you on the edge until the very end.
Excerpt
I could hear the door kick in, could hear the rush of them as they swarmed the house. “Move,” I whispered to him.
“Move?”
I grabbed his hand again. This time when we crawled, we didn’t have a choice. If they came with dogs, we were screwed. For now, we had a fighting chance. It was dark as pitch beneath the house, but there was only one way to go: away.
A minute went by, two. No one was following us. The sounds of the police began to fade, though I could still hear them inside the house. Sounded like they were searching for something. The pounding in my chest continued. “Where are we Adam?” I heard from behind me.
I stopped crawling. “Better question, are the police here for you or for me?”
There was the slightest of pauses. “Why you?” he whispered.
“Why you?” I whispered back.
He chuckled. All in all, not perfect timing. “I sure do know how to pick ‘em.”
I kept crawling. “To be fair, I found you.”
“To be fair,” he replied, “I chose to stay.” He sighed. “It was the old man in the store. Had to be.”
We came to the end of the road. Or at least the end of the tunnel. I’d say we were about five hundred feet or so away from the house and deeper in the woods. The tunnel was maybe two feet high and three feet wide. There were clothes stashed there, a couple of jackets, some money, bullets. This was my emergency tunnel. This was clearly my emergency. Or his. Either way, we were now both being chased.
I handed him the clothes in the dark. We got dressed and I pocketed the cash in my wallet, my wallet in my pants. I handed him his wallet. I shoved the gun in the backpack. We again listened for the police. By then, all I could hear was our heavy breathing.
“So,” he said.
“So?”
He tapped my shoulder. “You know how you asked me if I ever had a boyfriend?”
I grinned. The tunnel smelled like earth, but I could still detect the slightest scent of Tim. “You think now is a good time to revisit that conversation?”
I could hear him moving around behind me. I could hear the backpack scraping the tunnel’s walls. I heard it hit the ground. I heard him rummaging around inside it just before I saw another beam of light. Thankfully, it was his, a flashlight lit for me to see, the light now illuminating our dirtied, sweaty faces.
“You look like shit,” I said.
“I don’t feel a hell of a lot better,” he replied. “Will you be my boyfriend, Adam?”
I laughed as quietly as was possible. “I think this might be your oddest segue yet, Tim,” I told him. “The police are chasing one of us. We’re in a tunnel in the woods in the middle of the night. This is not what I would consider a romantic setting.”
He shook his head. He reached up and wiped the matted hair from my face. “Yeah, but will you be my boyfriend, just the same?”
I sighed. “Tim,” I said. “I’d have sex you right now if you asked me. I’d do anything you asked me, in fact. Ours, I would say, does not seem like a healthy relationship. So, yeah, that’s a yes.” I blinked. “There a reason for all this?”
He nodded. “I need to show you something, but I wanted to make sure it was safe to show you.”
“And,” I said, “you figured it would be safer if we were boyfriends?”
His nod turned shrug. “Sounded better in my head, but yes.” He leaned in, kissed me, kissed me again. “Plus,” he said, still panting from our recent exertion, “if I were to die, say in the next few minutes or so, at least I had that. With you.”
“I don’t think we’re going to die in the next few minutes,” I told him. “If they had found the tunnel, we would’ve known about it already. Pretty well hidden. You gotta know exactly where to look.”
“Or listen,” he said. “Because that does explain the groaning I’d so recently heard when I sat in that chair you moved out of the way before we ducked and covered.”
“Old house,” I said. “Groans everywhere. Besides, why even look for a hidden tunnel in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Seems to me, it’s not the first thought that would come to mind.” Which is why I built it in the first place. Apart from the obvious reason: escape.
“Still.”
It was my turn to lean in and kiss him, then kiss him again. Too bad the tunnel was so narrow, or I could’ve seriously had some fun him. Instead, I said, “Okay, point taken. In any case, for now, we are still alive and newly minted boyfriends, so, care to show me whatever it was you were going to show me?”
“Why are the police chasing you, Adam?”
“I killed a man,” I told him after the briefest of pauses. Felt good to tell him. Felt good to say it out loud. My belly unknotted, if only by a hair.
“You killed seventeen men,” he replied.
I shook my head. “I killed the eighteenth after those. And here. In the United States, I mean. And why are the police chasing you?”
With his free hand, he reached inside the backpack. When the hand reemerged, it was clenched around a thick stack of bills. I peeked inside the backpack, and all I saw was green. The forest around us quaked in apparent envy.
“I hijacked a plane,” he said.
About the Author
Multi-award-winning and best-selling author/editor/anthologist Rob Rosen is the author of Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, Divas Las Vegas, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, Midlife Crisis, Fierce, And God Belched, Mary, Queen of Scotch, Ted of the d’Urbervilles, Sort of Dead, Genie in a Vodka Bottle, Bobby Ray Breaks the Universe, and D.B. and Me. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can read some of his best ones in Short Spurts, Short Spurts 2, and Short Spurts 3. He is also the editor of Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015 and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.
I’m really indulging myself this week with a pair of stories, one historical and one contemporary from two outstanding romantic suspense authors. When I read anything by Josh Lanyon or Gregory Ashe, I know I’ll be in for mystery, adventure, and thrills and spills that are perfectly balanced by a central romance (or at least a potential for romance).
I was bowled over by This Rough Magic, a brilliant period piece by Josh Lanyon. I thought I’d been transported back to the Golden Age of Hollywood and some of my favourite noirish detective movies.
We had the perfect tough Shamus with a heart in Rafferty, but instead of a high-class dame in peril as his client, we got upper-crust playboy, Brett Sheridan – and the combination worked seamlessly.
Everything was note-perfect about This Rough Magic, the voiceover-style descriptions (that I read in my head in Humphrey Bogart’s voice), the sparkling dialogue, the complex and swift-moving plot about a stolen Shakespearian folio and most of all the chemistry between the two leads. Rafferty’s world-weary competence sizzled against Brett’s highly-strung angst as they started to fall in love. I was so convinced by all the details, that I even imagined this in black and white!
I hope Josh Lanyon soon finds time to finish the second story, Ill Met by Moonlight, because I can’t wait to read it! What a stunning start to what I hope will be an ongoing series. And yes, that’s a heavy hint!
I relish Gregory Ashe’s longer stories with his established couples taking the lead, so I was intrigued by the shorter format of Luka Meer: Four Short Stories with an entirely new protagonist. It takes a very skilled writer indeed to plunge the reader straight into the action and yet provide enough world-building to make the MC and his surroundings seem completely formed.
These four short stories are from the point of view of St. Louis PI, Luka, with an irresistible noirish atmosphere. There’s plenty of exciting adventure packed into these stories, but it’s Luca’s emotional world and his present and past connections and responsibilities that are sketched in so deftly that make this so compelling. More, please, Greg!
I was hooked from the start at the plight of ex-military undercover agent Jack Reardon, tied up in a torture room in a compound in the Australian outback with his cover blown and at the mercy of professional assassin Ethan Blade. From there, the pace never lets up in this thrilling action story with oodles of romantic suspense.
I’m often unconvinced by stories that incorporate shifts in time. But not this one. The alternate chapters of ‘Then’ and ‘Now’, relating events taking place a year apart are an integral part of the story’s structure for me, really ratcheting up the sense of risk, danger and excitement until the final denouement.
The plot is devilish (sorry) with cleverly combined action scenes emphasising the edgy bond between Jack and Ethan. The fact that Where Death Meets the Devil is told only from Jack’s point of view adds extra tension to the ‘will he kiss me or kill me’ vibe and Ethan’s mystique. I have now devoured the entire Death and the Devil series and simply cannot get enough of Jack and Ethan. Brilliant! It really should have an addiction warning.
We’re segueing from breathtaking adventure to engrossing 20th-century history with Into Deep Waters. What a beautiful story from Kaje Harper! I was captivated by Daniel and Jacob’s love story from their very first meeting as young men on a US naval ship during WW2. The evocation of active service, the claustrophobia and mortal danger balanced with the fear of repercussions should their affair be discovered was beautifully evoked.
The historical detail of wartime service was seamless and made their experiences feel so very real. That’s what made this sweeping story so special, the emotional bond between our couple interspersed with significant historical snapshots of the time over their decades together.
The story is deeply romantic but also real and relatable, as Daniel and Jacob return home to struggle with physical and psychological injuries incurred in wartime. Each episode of their lives together, dealing with work/life balance and those domestic issues that every couple deals with was against the backdrop of non-acceptance and how that impacts them both as times gradually change.
Moving, realistic and deeply emotional, Into Deep Waters is an unmissable story of the triumph of love against the odds.
Ellie Thomas Romance 