Book picks similar to
Five Hole by Ginger Sharp


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Finding Murph: From First Overall to Living Homeless in the Bush - The Tragic True Story of Joe Murphy


Rick Westhead - 2020
    In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player ever selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton alongside Mark Messier. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn as a result of mental illness, substance abuse and the untreated head injuries he suffered as a player.Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would take him to poverty, addiction and illness. He was smart, dedicated and put his hockey life on hold to complete his education before joining the NHL. He once scored eighty-two points in a season and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious bodycheck during a game started him down a road to ruin. Murphy was clearly shaken by the hit, but he was never treated and he never missed a game. His entire life was about to change.Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team, and all along the way, other NHLers said they witnessed a change. Murphy was becoming more different by the day. He took to drugs and alcohol and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. He and his wife divorced. Murphy eventually became homeless and, in the spring of 2019, he made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself. The player who had once set the NHL aflame slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North.In the vein of Playing with Fire and Boy on Ice, Finding Murph tells the tragic story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league’s most promising players.

Play the Game


Emma Tharp - 2021
    Gavin Wright doesn't have much except his scholarship and the hockey team, which is fine by him. To lose focus is to lose everything. He doesn't need friends, and especially doesn't need a girlfriend. Especially some privileged, BMW-driving princess. Her family would disown her if they knew she had feelings for a charity case, but her heart won't listen. Every cell in Stella Evans's brain tells her to steer clear of the sexy, brooding hockey player who sits next to her in Biology lab. Gavin is cold and cruel and treats her like she's the last person on earth he wants to be around. And yet she can't help the way her body responds when he's nearby. She's a distraction he can't afford. He's a sure path to her undoing. But one night, one kiss, threatens to destroy them both.

Coach


Declan Rhodes - 2020
    Adam is gay and Nate is straight. Their lives are about to change. Minor-league hockey star forward Nate Slater knew he was on the edge of fame until tragedy struck. A three-player ambush ended his playing career, and he retreated from his beloved game disillusioned about human beings and life in general. To nobody’s surprise, he couldn’t stay away for long and he grabbed hold of the comeback ladder on the lowest rung, player-coach for a team in his city’s recreational league. To others, the Galeforce Flyers were a ragtag team of questionable talent. For Nate, they have unexploited skills that can take them to the top of their league, and he agrees to be their star forward and coach. Perhaps the most promising player is Adam Kennedy, a kid only two years out of college who plays goalie with elegant dexterity. Although he knows in his heart that everything turns out well in the end, Adam is experiencing a rough patch in his life. Fired from his job, and low on cash to pay his rent, he considers a humiliating return to life with his parents. After his teammates step in and lean hard, Coach Slater offers the empty second-floor in his house as a temporary solution to Adam’s housing dilemma. The quiet Adam is a good housemate for the sometimes brooding Nate. The kid is gay and the coach is straight. They maintain their distance in the house until the night Adam spots his coach…dancing. Coach is a 58,000-word standalone gay hockey romance with first time and friends-to-lovers themes. It includes steamy scenes and a guaranteed happy ending.

The Enforcer


Nikki Worrell - 2013
    Her best friend, Dr. Zoe Millis, has been begging her to make the move from Maine to California. Taking a leap of faith, Lacey does just that. Living in San Diego definitely has its perks, such as, sunshine and beaches. The best part of moving to the west coast, however, is that Steven is still on the east coast. Catching your almost husband having sex with one of your bridesmaids on your wedding day would make even the strongest woman jaded. Therefore, Lacey has sworn off men for a while, especially men who travel a lot that have easy access to loose women.When Lacey meets the new enforcer for the San Diego Scorpions, she thinks she might be in trouble. But she is determined to fight her attraction to the sexy NHL hunk. And she is successful...for about a day.

Breakaway


Ali Parker - 2016
    He’s hard-hitting, rough and puts up with very little. He’s kept to himself throughout his years at Providence University, but it’s time to train the next man up in line for his position. His second on the Hockey team has a twin sister that catches everyone’s eye and leaves most of the guys acting like idiots, but Lucas isn’t interested. Girls are too needy, too catty and a pain in butt. Plain and simple. Aubrey Moore’s had her eye on the captain of the hockey team for the last few years since her brother, Jayce joined the team. He’s known for being a complete jerk, but Aubrey’s had the pleasure of seeing around the edges of his personality and wants to know him more. Now she just has to figure out how to help him breakaway from being so jaded and join her in the best adventure anyone could embark on -love. 18+ Explicit sexual content, possible foul language and violence. **HEA - these novels are all within the Pro-U series, but are about different couples at the university and should stand-alone.

Puck Daddy


Cass Kincaid - 2018
    That is, until Faith walks into my life and proves just how wrong I am. I shine on the ice, and off. At least, I used to. I’ve got my reasons for holding things in and keeping to myself. Besides, being a single dad isn’t for the faint of heart. So, when the nanny I hired doesn’t get what she wants—which happens to be me—she leaves my kids stranded at the arena. It not only infuriates me and puts my career comeback in jeopardy… It leads me to Faith Wilson. She’s innocent, sheltered, and sexy as sin. She’s also looking after my kids while I attempt to lead our team to the playoffs. I’ve never let myself touch the nanny before…until now. But one fleeting taste isn’t enough. And though I might score, this might be a game I’m bound to lose. **Puck Daddy is a steamy standalone romance with no cliffhanger, no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA**

Fighting for Marcy


M.J. Nightingale - 2021
    A lying, cheating, soon-to-be-ex-husband and his newest “girlfriend” won’t stop her from pursuing a happy life. The last thing she's ready for is a new relationship with the sexy addition to the Banderas Sheriff’s Department. But when crazy things start happening in Tarpley, around her and her children, she comes to depend on the gorgeous man she met in the produce department more and more.Former Detective Blake “New York” Levine comes to Texas to continue his career of catching criminals and putting them behind bars. As a new deputy and member of the Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department, Blake's determined to unravel the mysteries of the cold cases he is asked to solve. His first one, a murdered artist whose skeletal remains were found in the desert, has him stumped. So far, the best thing to happen to him is meeting the strikingly beautiful Marcy.Juggling his caseload becomes a whole lot harder when he is tasked with bringing down a heinous criminal attempting to hire MC members to kill a local. When he finds that Marcy and her kids are in the crossfire, will he be able to solve the crime in time to save them?

The Lion's Witchy Mate


Elle Boon - 2020
    What matters is that you've always got a place with the Wilder Crew.Thadd's so much more than meets the eye...After witnessing the death of his mother along with the betrayal of his pride that nearly broke him, he fled his native home. Now, ten years later, he's found a sort of peace and a crew of misfits that's more family than his old pride. Yet he yearns for more.Torrance isn't your average shifter...She's happy with her life and with her Pride, but she knows her mate isn't among the males she's met. However, she's aware it's only a matter of time before she either finds a mate, or has to tell her alpha and adopted brother, the truth about what she really is. Figuring out how to explain to her pride the truth about her nature is harder than she thought.When a lion meets his mate...Thadd isn't one to ignore fate, especially when he dreams of a female night after night. Of course, the dreams aren't lovey dovey sexy dreams, but nightmares he's determined to prevent from happening, if he can just figure out who the gorgeous woman happens to be.If Fate sends you a beast...Torrance feels the pull to the male and knows nothing and nobody will stop him from claiming her. Not that she's planning on pumping the brakes either. Now she just needs to ensure her Pride doesn't kill the huge shifter before she claims him as hers.Can these two shifters who are more than meets the eye get their happily ever after, or will a demon from Thadd's past destroy them before they get a chance to find true happiness?From USA TODAY Bestselling Author An An All New Series of Sexy Alpha Bad Boys and Tough Heroines With Lots of Twists and And Turns. If you like your stories with laugh-out-loud, sexy-as-heck, OH MY GAWD did I just read that moments, then you'll love these stories. Get ready for one heck of a twisted and wild tale that will have you laughing, gasping, and possibly crying. Yet I promise you'll be so darn satisfied you'll be asking for a Wilder Crew for your very own. Oh, and there might be a pink dragon sighting "wink".

Off Sides


Sawyer Bennett - 2013
    Maybe it was the impossible expectations I faced, maybe it was my own self-loathing. But I just knew I needed something different to happen. I needed someone... something... to derail me from my current path. Otherwise, I would become lost... a hollowed out shell of a man. So I did it. I approached her, then I pursued her, then I made her mine. And my life was saved...”Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a U.S. Congressman and captain of his university’s hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family’s public image.Forced her to abandon her music career after the heart breaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time and volunteering in a homeless shelter. She is on a mission to build her own success.With a chance meeting, their vastly different worlds collide, causing each to evaluate whether they are truly on the correct path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Can their relationship survive? Particularly when others are against them every step of the way. A lot can happen in just ten short days...

Lucky Hit


Hannah Cowan - 2020
    But with his move to a new city and a failing hockey team, he realizes it might not be as easy as he thought to start over. Especially not when he meets her, the girl who flips his entire universe upside down.Octavia Layton is the girl you love to know, that is if you can actually get that far. Ava is burdened by a dark past and memories she likes to keep tightly locked away. It's not very often she lets people into her life, not with everything she's been through. But when she gets dragged into meeting the overly-confident new hockey star in town, it seems like things might just be about to change.

Hooking


Kristine Allen - 2020
    Hooking was my penalty. It’s never something I set out to do, but it happens. After all, it’s hockey.Hockey is life. Getting traded was a kick to the nuts, but at least I was still playing. It was all that mattered.Until Sydney.Our relationship was forbidden, but I didn’t care—I hadn’t run from a fight yet.I had her right where I wanted her, until everything crashed around me. My past came back to bite me in the ass and I was faced with getting kicked off the team. Now, I’m trying to pick up the goddamn pieces.I’m not going to choose between her or hockey. I want it all. Because despite everything, she’s the best thing I’ve ever hooked.

Shoofly Pie & Chop Shop: 2 Bugman Novels in 1


Tim Downs - 2009
    So popular did Polchak become that author Tim Downs has now published five Bug Man novels. And now for the first time: the first two Bug Man novels under one cover.Shoofly PieWithin minutes of a murder, the first fly arrives at the scene. Soon there are hundreds, then thousands, and each one knows the victim's story...Thirty-year-old Kathryn Guilford turns to Dr. Nick Polchak, the Bug Man, to help her learn the truth about the apparent suicide of her longtime friend and onetime suitor. Polchak introduces her to a mysterious world of blood-seeking flies and flesh-eating beetles. But there's a problem...Kathryn Guilford has a pathological fear of insects.Now she must confront her darkest fears to unearth a decade-long conspiracy that threatens to turn her entire world upside down.Chop ShopYoung Dr. Riley McKay has worked hard toward her career in pathology. But her promising future is threatened when suspicious activities -- bungled autopsies, concealed evidence, and unexplained wounds -- incriminate her supervising pathologist at the Allegheny County Coroner's Office in Pittsburgh, Dr. Nathan Lassiter. When Riley is ignored by her seniors and threatened by Dr. Lassiter, she turns in desperation to Dr. Nick Polchak, the Bug Man, to help her uncover the truth.From a handful of tiny maggots, Nick and Riley begin to unearth the facts...The flies on the wall can talk.Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak is listening.

The Langthorne Series box set


Charlie Gallagher - 2017
    She happens to be the mayor’s niece. It’s the final straw for the local community. The police are desperate to get results and decide on a risky course of action involving undercover infiltration of the notorious Effingell Estate. Detective George Elms knows this hellish place extremely well, and his sharp investigative mind is put to work to solve the crime. The police are under immense media pressure and conveniently a local lowlife confesses to the attack. But George is not convinced. There are many layers of criminal and police motivation, and few people are what they seem. BOOK 2: PANIC BUTTON “A man is stood in front of me with a gun. He has a message for me and for us all. He says that he will come for us. He will come for all of us one by one. Until it is finished.” Someone is killing the officers of the Langthorne Police one by one. And in a sadistic twist he makes each victim push their radio panic button before they die, thus broadcasting their last moments to the entire force. And as the police face this ruthless adversary, Detective George Elms is in no fit state to help. What is the connection between ruthless former officer Ed Kavski and the wave of killings? And can their boss Helen Webb do anything to stop the carnage? BOOK 3: BLOOD MONEY What would you do to save your dying son? Imagine the doctors told you there was a cure, but only if you had the money. What would you do to get that money to save your son’s life? Tony Robson faces this choice when he’s told he needs £3000 per month to carry on the life-saving experimental treatment for his son’s rare disease. So Tony gets in touch with the criminal element in town. And they have a well-paying job for him . . . And that decision will blow up everything for the Langthorne Police. If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ian Rankin or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.

Ride For Free


Hadley Raydeen - 2018
    I don’t much care for this biker life, but I grew up around it all my life. I don’t have much choice in the matter; It surrounds me, like it or not. My Pops, Freeland “Free” Trent and Moms Stella are Presidents of the League of Guardians and the Lady Guardians in Arlington Virginia. They do amazing things in the community, including council the abused and homeless at the shelter where I work. But, their one vice is the rival 1% biker gang The Hellhounds, they can’t seem to shake that feud. Now, the president of ‘The Dogs’ is out after a ten-year stint in prison and the Guardians are the ones he’s coming for because they put him there. I begged my dad to leave well enough alone. After receiving the worst news of my life, my world is falling apart around me. I have no choice but to dust off my riding skills and climb back on the one thing that has been a part of my world, but I've been avoiding, like it or not. My bike. I will avenge this wrong by myself if I have to, but my best friend Zachary may have something to say about that. I’m Zach Foster. I’m the Tail Gunner for the League of Guardians in Arlington Virginia. If any member in the ride should have mechanical difficulties or crashes for any reason, the Tail Gunner assists in making the repairs. I learned everything I know about bikes from my mentor Free Trent. He’s like a second father to me. His daughter, Kyanne, is a handful and beyond stubborn. It’s her way or no way, and sometimes she won’t listen to reason. But, I will protect her at all costs because that is what I promised her dad I would do. Plus, I love her. She’ll forever have my heart. I just haven’t told her yet. When tragedy befalls her family, I’m here to help pick up the pieces and give her a shoulder to lean on, cry on or maybe help her warm her sheets. I’ll help provide that comfort anyway I can; whatever Ky wants Ky can have. Through all of this perhaps I’ll get her back on the bike collecting dust in the garage again. I just have to make sure she doesn’t run off and try to do anything stupid on her own to get back at The Hellhounds.

Triple Puck Players


Debbie Hope - 2021
    Thirty years old and she has nothing. Drifts through everything. No friends. No life. No love. No job.Her famous father, country singer, Brent Perkins, picks men he thinks will be perfect for her. Except they are not. She has nothing in common with them.What interests her is the Bay City Brawlers hockey team. Especially three players. Jesse Barone, Hutch Adams and Abel Wayne. The triple threat they’re called because when the three of them bowls through the opposing team sweeps havoc and destruction.Katrina has been following the team during the season to finally get the courage to meet them. To her embarrassment she gets that chance. When she thinks things can’t get any worse, they get better. The guys don’t think she’s a loser. They want to know her. Be with her.Can the four of them become their own team? Will her father do everything he can to break them up? Will a past break up come back to haunt her?