Book picks similar to
Deadly Nightshade by Victor J. Banis
m-m
mystery
mm
contemporary
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.
Death and Destruction
Patricia Logan - 2016
The State’s Attorney needs him to testify against one of the most ruthless and notorious arms dealers in the world. Expecting boredom and lots of daytime television, he instead ends up with a ridiculous new job, a stupid new name, and the world’s most annoying shadow. Jarrett Evans, is nevertheless tasked with keeping Wolfe alive long enough to put Mills Lang and his crew away for the rest of their miserable lives. Jarrett Evans, former Marine, has always been a free spirit, doing the dirty work for Uncle Sam whenever and wherever he’s needed. One of the best snipers in the world, Evans is at peace with the man he’s become. That doesn’t mean he’s ever liked the cold-blooded killer who stares back at him from the mirror every day. The moment he meets pretty boy Thayne Wolfe, things start a slow change and redemption begins to sound possible. Mills Lang, the world’s most ruthless arms dealer, is little more than a serial killer in his own right. Rotting away in prison with nothing but time on his hands, Lang is determined to destroy the man he allowed into his inner circle. Thayne Wolfe will die in the most painful way… along with anyone he loves.
Secrets and Ink
Lou Harper - 2013
In LA's glittering world of dreams, he works an unglamorous job at a gourmet grocery store. His past is so deep and dark, the details are lost even to him. All he knows is he was once cursed by a meter maid, and ever since, his love life has sucked.When Detective Nick Davies becomes a regular at the store, Jem dares to hope he's un-hexed at last. He should have known that sex with a remarkably normal guy, devoid of weird fetishes and fatal personality flaws, was too good to be true.During a post-encounter cuddle, Nick recognizes the tattoo on Jem's back—and remembers him as a young hustler he arrested nine years past.As Jem's memories come crashing back, he flees from Nick, but fate contrives to keep pushing them back together. And when Jem's old partner in crime is found murdered, the stakes are raised for life, for love, and a dangerous drama with no guarantee of a Hollywood ending.Warning: Stars a mild-mannered store clerk with a shady past, a hunky cop whose passion in the bedroom is as big as his passion for justice, and celebrity sightings you won't see on TMZ.
Cost of Repairs
A.M. Arthur - 2012
When he's not out walking his beat as a police officer, all he wants is peace, a manageable routine, and time to fix up his newly-purchased project home. And Samuel absolutely does not have room in his new routines for a relationship. Except a chance encounter with a handsome diner cook unexpectedly shakes his resolve. Rey King lives for his work as a short-order cook, part-time hardware salesman, and full-time handyman. He’s in debt up to his eyeballs, so he isn’t looking for complications. And the gorgeous blond cop who comes to Rey’s rescue is a complication he definitely doesn’t need. Lucky for him, Samuel feels the same way. But what starts as an afternoon of no-strings sex inevitably complicates itself, as the two men learn how deeply each other’s emotional damage goes. When Rey is seriously injured protecting a friend, their already shaky foundation cracks a little more. Samuel barely pulled his life back together after his first lover's death and falling in love again isn't part of his recovery plan. He knows renovations are always a gamble, but this one isn't about risking money—it's about Samuel risking his heart. NOTE: This book was previously published under the same title. This new edition has been lightly edited to address minor continuity problems, but the overall story is the same.
A Solitary Man
Shira Anthony - 2015
But Chance doesn’t do repeats, Xav seems detached, and they go their separate ways without a word. Later, when closeted Assistant District Attorney C. Evan “Chance” Fairchild meets Dare's Landing’s newest deputy sheriff, Xavier “Xav” Constantine, Evan isn’t only wary. He’s irritated as hell.Xavier is a former FBI agent turned deputy sheriff who is hot on the trail of a South American child prostitution ring. Evan is fighting to put an end to rampant cocaine trafficking and chafing under the thumb of an election-hungry boss. When someone tries to kill the eleven-year-old witness who holds the key to both their investigations, they’re forced to work together as they put their lives on the line to protect him. As Chance and Xav collide in the heat of a sweltering North Carolina summer, dodging bullets and chasing bad guys isn’t the only action going on.
The Easy Way
May Archer - 2017
But when a tragic plane crash killed his parents, all the responsibilities he never wanted landed firmly on his shoulders. Now saddled with his crazy, grief-stricken brother and his dad’s multimillion dollar company, Cam doesn’t trust in dreams anymore. He’s forgotten what “easy” feels like. FBI Agent Kendrick “Cort” Cortland learned the hard way that he couldn’t depend on anyone but himself. Before joining the FBI, the one constant in his life was his foster brother, Damon - and then Damon disappeared. Now, Cort is determined to find his brother and to bring down the man responsible for ruining Damon’s life, Sebastian Seaver. He’s got nothing left to lose. When Cort’s investigation leads him to Seaver Tech...and Camden Seaver...what started as a quest for revenge and a one-night deception quickly turns into far more than either man bargained for. But how can either man trust in something that seems so easy? As long-held secrets are revealed, the attraction between Cam and Cort becomes combustible - an undeniable love that will either make or destroy them. Will Cam and Cort let their conflicting loyalties drive them apart? Or will they decide that sometimes love is the easy way?
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.
Rarer Than Rubies
E.M. Lynley - 2011
Why would someone like Reed be interested in a quiet, introverted gay-romance writer? After all, even an obvious tourist like Trent can see that there is more to Reed’s constant unexplained appearances in his path than meets the eye. Reed Acton has one mission and one mission only—he needs to get the map that was accidentally slipped into Trent's bag and keep the mobsters who want the priceless artifact from taking deadly revenge. Trent Copeland is a delicious and damned near irresistible diversion, but Reed can’t afford distractions right now, especially if he wants to keep Trent safe. From Bangkok's seediest back alleys to the sacred north, the two men will fight to stay one step ahead of the bad guys and learn that the only treasure worth finding is... each other.
I.N.E.T. 1
Brenda Cothern - 2016
However, the recent jokes and pranks from his co-workers in regards to his name went too far when they messed with his truck. His fury leads to him walking out on the job he loves and a desire to hit something or someone, like the guy leaning on his truck. Aaron Slade has worked alone undercover for the International Narcotics Enforcement & Tracking agency for years. When he's sent to meet his new partner, one he doesn't even want, sparks fly. Fists soon follow as Slade deals with Knight's anger management issues over everything, but especially his I.N.E.T. training. All Knight wants is to be back in the field with his new partner, but it turns out that isn't the only thing Knight wants from Slade. This book contains M/M sexual situations and graphic depictions of I.V. drug use. This novel is intended for readers of legal age in the country in which they reside.
In the Red
Kari Gregg - 2012
His nine days of captivity broke him. Brian retreats to the mountains of western Maryland where he amasses enough weaponry to declare himself an independent nation and enough lamps to pinpoint his location from the International Space Station. He's losing the battle against paranoia. Too bad TFOS needs him. Brian stumbled onto something big when he vanished last year and TFOS needs that case resolved. Now.The FBI tasks Special Agent Zachary Murdock with gluing Brian together and returning him to TFOS. Brian will steady once he focuses on work instead of his neuroses. As Zachary nudges Brian back into the career that cost him dearly, Brian's paranoia escalates. Personal and professional lines blur. Zachary isn't sure which presents the biggest complication anymore: Brian's peculiar brand of crazy, the case they're working, or the closeted submissive's surprising -- and enthralling -- kink.Zachary and Brian both know, when the case heats up and they're forced to run, they're operating at a loss, though: they are in the red.
Fish Out of Water
Amy Lane - 2016
When the man he thinks of as his brother is accused of killing a police officer in an obviously doctored crime, Jackson will move heaven and earth to keep Kaden and his family safe. Defense attorney Ellery Cramer grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, but that hasn’t stopped him from crushing on street-smart, swaggering Jackson Rivers for the past six years. But when Jackson asks for his help defending Kaden Cameron, Ellery is out of his depth—and not just with guarded, prickly Jackson. Kaden wasn’t just framed, he was framed by crooked cops, and the conspiracy goes higher than Ellery dares reach—and deep into Jackson’s troubled past.Both men are soon enmeshed in the mystery of who killed the cop in the minimart, and engaged in a race against time to clear Kaden’s name. But when the mystery is solved and the bullets stop flying, they’ll have to deal with their personal complications… and an attraction that’s spiraled out of control.
Shadow's Edge
S.C. Wynne - 2017
Dead people like to visit him and tell them how they were wronged. Some might call it a gift, other’s a curse. But either way this ability makes him useful to Los Angeles homicide detective Kimball Thompson. Some madman is slitting the throats of young male prostitutes and then dumping their bodies in the desert with vague clues of pink feathers and the number five. Usually Liam can talk to the spirits of the dead. But someone is blocking him. Someone is taunting him. The case is rapidly deteriorating into a violent, psychic pissing contest and Liam can’t see far enough ahead to figure out who wins or who dies.
Hell & High Water
Charlie Cochet - 2014
Comedy. Romance. And that one weird guy. When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley's testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences - and the media frenzy - aren't far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he's lucky he doesn't find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he'll get transferred from the Human Police Force's Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father - a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS - pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent. Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer - and every bit as dangerous.
Bone to Pick
T.A. Moore - 2017
He’s happy to talk about the dog all day, but after growing up in the shadow of a missing brother, a deadbeat dad, and a criminal stepfather, he’d rather leave the past back in Montana. These days he’s a K-9 officer in the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and pays a tithe to his ghosts by doing what no one was able to do for his brother—find the missing and bring them home.He’s good at solving difficult mysteries. The dog is even better. This time the missing person is a ten-year-old boy who walked into the woods in the middle of the night and didn't come back. With the antagonistic help of distractingly handsome FBI agent Javi Merlo, it quickly becomes clear that Drew Hartley didn't run away. He was taken, and the evidence implies he’s not the kidnapper’s first victim. As the search intensifies, old grudges and tragedies are pulled into the light of day. But with each clue they uncover, it looks less and less likely that Drew will be found alive.