Death Trick


Richard Stevenson - 1981
    The gay son of a wealthy family has disappeared. Now it's up to private dick Don Strachey to get to the bottom of this mess--even if he has to cruise every gay bar in the city to do it Don Strachey isn't exactly the most sought-after private eye in Albany, New York. In fact, this gay P.I. has gotten to the point of having to write checks to pay his tab at the cheapest lunch counter in town. And he isn't sure that the latest one, for the grand total of two dollars and ninety-three cents, is going to clear. Then the phone rings. Billy Blount, the gay heir to one of Saratoga Springs' upper-crust families, has disappeared, and his parents want him back. On top of that, Billy, a young and outspoken gay activist, is wanted for the grisly murder of the man he slept with on his last night in Albany--a man he'd never met before that night Set in the glorious, promiscuous pre-HIV late 1970s, Death Trick: A Murder Mystery is a fast-paced excursion through the seamy underside of gay Albany. From gay discos where the hard-pumping music never stops, to the city's infamous baths, to the dark alley behind the local precinct house, this hard-bitten private dick searches for answers to the questions that plague Billy's parents and the police. With his faithful companion (and unfaithful lover) Timmy, plus a cast of characters that includes drag queens, ex-jock gay bar owners, homophobic cops, male hustlers, and wealthy suburbanites, Strachey begins a chase that leads him to seedy gay bars, posh suburban homes, and pricey mental institutions where they use electric shock to destroy "sick" gay tendencies.

Fadeout


Joseph Hansen - 1970
    When entertainer Fox Olson's car plunges off a bridge in a storm, a death claim is filed, but where is Olson's body? As Brandstetter questions family, fans, and detractors, he grows certain Olson is still alive and that Dave must find him before the would-be killer does. Suspenseful and wry, shrewd and deeply felt, Fadeout remains as fresh today as when it startled readers more than thirty years ago.

Mahu


Neil S. Plakcy - 2005
    At 32, the hero of Māhū has reached the pinnacle of his profession, detective on the Honolulu Police Department's homicide squad, based at the Waikīkī station. But a difficult murder case, as well as turmoil in his personal life, is about to threaten everything he has worked for.A life-threatening drug bust in chapter 1 makes Kimo realize that it's time to stop lying to himself. He's drawn to the Rod and Reel Club, a gay bar in Waikīkī, where he has a couple of beers and begins the long process of accepting his attraction to other men. Leaving the club, though, he stumbles onto two men dropping a dead body in an alley, and he launches himself into a nightmare where his private life becomes public news.Kimo's pursuit of this case takes him from the seamy underside of Chinatown to the elegance of million-dollar homes in Maunalani Heights, from gay bars where young men stride naked down runways to bloody crime scenes.

The Little Death


Michael Nava - 1986
    A burnt-out public defender battling alcoholism, Rios has reached a crossroads in his life. While interviewing Paris in jail, Rios goes through the motions, but notices that Paris is far more polished and well-off than the usual drug suspects. Paris is mysteriously bailed out—but a few weeks later, he turns up on Rios’s doorstep. Skittish and paranoid, he admits to using heroin and says he’s afraid that his wealthy grandfather wants to murder him.Rios tries to help Paris get clean, but when Paris is found dead of an apparent heroin overdose, Rios is the only one who considers foul play. Determined to find Paris’s killer, Rios knocks on San Francisco’s most gilded doors, where he discovers a family tainted by jealousy, greed, and hate. They’ve been warped by a fortune someone’s willing to kill—and kill again—to possess.At once an atmospheric noir mystery and a scathing indictment of a legal system caught in the maws of escalating corruption, The Little Death chronicles one man’s struggle to achieve true justice for all.

Three Nick Nowak Mysteries


Marshall Thornton - 2009
    Haunted by his abrupt departure from the Chicago Police Department and the end of his relationship with librarian Daniel Laverty, Nick Nowak is a beat cop-turned-dogged private investigator. In this first book of the series, Nick works through three cases: a seemingly simple missing persons search, an arson investigation, and a suicide that turns out to be anything but. While working the cases, Nick moves through a series of casual relationships until he meets homicide detective Bert Harker and begins a tentative relationship.

Murder Takes the High Road


Josh Lanyon - 2018
    Sure, his ex, Trevor, will also be on the trip with his new boyfriend, leaving Carter to share a room with a stranger, but he can’t pass up a chance to meet his favorite author.Carter’s roommate turns out to be John Knight, a figure as mysterious as any character from Vanessa’s books. His strange affect and nighttime wanderings make Carter suspicious. When a fellow traveler’s death sparks rumors of foul play, Carter is left wondering if there’s anyone on the tour he can trust.Drawn into the intrigue, Carter searches for answers, trying to fend off his growing attraction toward John. As unexplained tragedies continue, the whole tour must face the fact that there may be a murderer in their midst—but who?This book is approximately 60,000 words

Amuse Bouche


Anthony Bidulka - 2003
    Back in Saskatoon, he meets a client who may be the bad guy and a quarry. The vile sister, the best friend, the colleague, the ex-lover, the lawyer, the priest, the snoopy neighbour - are they involved? Or is someone else lurking in the shadows?

L.A. Heat


P.A. Brown - 2006
    When Chris's efforts to prove his own innocence mark him as a victim, David steps in to save him, and finds himself falling in love with a man who might be a brutal murderer. P.A. Brown's debut is a gritty mystery set in LA's edgy, less glamorous East Side, where gangs co-mingle with gays, gunfire is heard after dark, and where a gay cop like David Laine could live undetected. At least until now.

The Hardest Thing


James Lear - 2013
    Love is ... The Hardest ThingOnce a major in the US Marines, Dan Stagg fell foul of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and is now struggling to make sense of civilian life. In his late 30s, tall and muscular, Dan works as a bouncer at an East Village nightclub. When he's offered a fortune to protect the young male secretary of a powerful real estate developer, Dan takes off on a road trip with a hot blond companion who makes it clear that "protection" doesn't stop at the bedroom door. But Dan soon realizes that he's being used as a shield for a much more sinister operation and has to choose between easy money and the ideals that he once fought for.

Idyll Threats


Stephanie Gayle - 2015
    By chance, Chief Lynch met her mere hours before she was killed. The case should be a slam dunk. But there's a problem. If he tells his detectives about meeting the victim, he'll reveal his greatest secret--he's gay. So Lynch works angles of the case on his own. Without the aid of fellow detectives, he is forced to seek help from unlikely allies--a Goth teen and a UFO-obsessed conspiracy theorist. Meanwhile, he must contend with pressure from the mayor to solve the crime before the town's biggest tourist event opens, all the while coping with the suspicions of his men, casual homophobia, and difficult memories of his partner's recent death.During the investigation, Lynch realizes that small town Idyll isn't safe, especially for a man with secrets that threaten the thing that he loves most--his job.From the Trade Paperback edition.

First You Fall


Scott Sherman - 2008
    When his friend's death is ruled a suicide, Kevin Connor--a hustler by trade, sleuth by default--sets out to prove a case of murder. It doesn't help matters that the victim's grown children, who disapproved of their father's sexual orientation, are only concerned about their inheritance. But they are not Kevin's only problem. His high-strung mother has moved in with him--and she knows nothing about his questionable . . . job. Throw in his super-hot ex - now a New York City detective - and Kevin has more than his hands full. JA Konrath calls Sherman "the gay Janet Evanovich." You'll fall for this sexy, funny first mystery in the Kevin Connor series. Scott Sherman has written for Newsweek, Genre, Instinct, and The Washington Blade. The follow-up to First You Fall, Second You Sin was released by Kensington in October, 2011 in trade paperback and for the Kindle. The third book in the series will be coming out in 2012.

The Cutting Room


Louise Welsh - 2002
    In this hidden city haunted by a host of vividly drawn characters, Rilke comes face to face with the dark desires and illicit urges that lurk behind even the most respectable facades.

The Cardigans


Cole McCade - 2018
    Rigid, ice-cold, and a stickler for the rules, Seong-Jae Yoon is a watchful presence whose obstinacy and unpredictability constantly remind Malcolm why he prefers to work alone. Seong-Jae may be stunningly attractive, a man who moves like a graceful, lethal bird of prey...but he's as impossible to decipher as this case.And if Malcolm doesn't find the key to unravel both in time, another vulnerable young victim may end up dead.

Let's Get Criminal


Lev Raphael - 1996
    But his curiosity changes obsession when he learns that his longtime lover, Stefan, shares a past with Cross. Now Cross has been murdered, and both Nick and Stefan are prime suspects.

Cited to Death


Meg Perry - 2012
    When Jamie reads Dan's obituary in the paper, he's surprised. When he receives a letter from Dan, written just before his death, Jamie is shocked. Dan's letter suggests that Dan was in danger, lists two article citations from medical journals, and asks Jamie to look into the citations. When Jamie requests the articles, strange things begin to happen. His computer is hacked, his tires are slashed, he thinks someone might be following him - and he uncovers two more deaths. The coroner's report says that Dan died of natural causes - but did he? Is there something suspicious about the articles, or was Dan just paranoid? The closer Jamie gets to answering those questions, the more it seems that someone is trying to stop him...