Showing results by author "Gregory Ashe" in All Categories

After Emery Hazard loses his job as a detective in Saint Louis, he heads back to his hometown - and to the local police force there. Home, though, brings no happy memories. Hazard's new partner, John-Henry Somerset, had been one of the worst tormentors, and Hazard still wonders what Somerset's role was in the death of Jeff Langham, Hazard's first boyfriend. When a severely burned body is discovered, Hazard finds himself drawn deeper into the case than he expects. Determining the identity of the dead man proves impossible, and solving the murder grows more and more unlikely.

After spending his whole life taking care of his family, Fernando Lopez is ready for simple. His younger brothers have grown up and moved out of the house. His mom is stable—or as close to stable as she’s ever going to get. He’s even got a shot at his dream job if he can just play his cards right. Everything is going great until one morning, Fer finds a baby in his kitchen. And not just any baby—his brother Chuy’s infant daughter. With Chuy nowhere to be found, Fer finds himself back in the role of caregiver.

A year after Eli and Dag survived their second encounter with a monster, things are finally going well. Really well—as far as Eli is concerned, anyway. He’s lost weight. His energy is up. His hair is on point. There are the little things, like the occasional flare-ups of temper and the urge to murder the kids down the street, but that’s just part of living by teenagers. Right?

Nico knows he’s difficult; he has the string of exes to prove it. But staying sharp was the only way to stay safe in the cutthroat world of modeling, and it turns out, graduate school isn’t any gentler. Career first. Boys…later. Jadon knows he’s burning out; his partner at the Metropolitan Police is more than happy to remind him of that fact. But the last time he let himself get distracted, people died, and he’s not going to let it happen again. And Nico was nothing but a distraction.

Shaw Aldrich and his best friend, boyfriend, and partner, North McKinney, are doing great, thanks. The aftermath of their search for the Slasher has finally settled down. Their private investigation agency is thriving. And after years of missed opportunities, they’re finally together. Sure, work might be taking up every spare minute, and their time together as a couple might have evaporated - but that’s normal, right?

A new home, a fresh start, a chance to do things right this time - and Shaw and North are determined to make it work. But the night of their housewarming party, things don’t go as planned. A reporter arrives, wanting to talk to North about his ex-husband, his father, and a criminal syndicate. No sooner have they gotten rid of her than another unwanted guest appears: a street boy named Nik, whom Shaw met months before, begging them to help him find his missing friend, Malorie. Meanwhile, North’s Uncle Ronnie is set on revenge, and his target this time is North’s father.

The Borealis boys are settling into their new normal, or at least into their new digs. But when North’s soon-to-be (please-let-it-be-soon) ex-husband, Tucker, is arrested and charged with murder, everything goes sideways. Hired by Tucker’s parents, North and Shaw begin looking for proof that Tucker is innocent, in spite of the evidence against him. When they find seemingly incriminating photos hidden in Tucker’s BMW, North is convinced that someone is trying to frame Tucker - and might get away with it.

When Jack Moreno receives an anonymous invitation to the Zodiac anniversary gala, he’s inclined to ignore it. His best friend (and more), Holloway Holmes, vanished from his life five months ago, and Jack has no desire to bump into Holloway’s terrifying father, Blackfriar. But included with the invitation is an offer Jack can’t refuse: the promise that he’ll learn what really happened to his mother.

When Theo and Auggie return home—safe and sound and miraculously alive after being dragged into a murder investigation—all Theo wants is for life to get back to normal. No more murders. No more investigations. Nothing, in other words, that might put Auggie in danger. But when a girl from school goes missing, Theo finds himself reluctantly drawn into looking for her. Shaniyah was his former student, for one reason. And, for another, no one else seems interested in where she’s gone. Worse, her disappearance seems to be linked to a break-in at Theo and Auggie’s house.

When word comes that two key witnesses in an investigation are dead, North and Shaw are surprised—and pleased—to learn that their friend, John-Henry Somerset, is interested in hiring them as freelance contractors for the Wahredua police department. The department is stretched thin, and the investigation into the Cottonmouth Club (and the criminal organization operating there) is collapsing. Not to mention—in North and Shaw’s opinion, anyway—they’re the best detectives around.

Teancum Leon is pretty sure that if he plays his cards right, he can have it all: his childhood friend and former lover, Ammon Young; his best friend (although Tean is loath to admit it), Jem Berger; and his family. A boyfriend might even be in his future, although he’s having a heck of a time getting a second date with the guys he meets on Prowler.

When a former colleague, Walter Hoffmeister, comes to Hazard and hires him to look into a series of anonymous death threats, Hazard eagerly jumps on the distraction. Hoffmeister might be a jerk, but he’s a paying jerk, and Hazard isn’t convinced the threats are serious. Until, that is, Hoffmeister is almost gunned down on Hazard’s doorstep. As Hazard investigates more deeply, he learns that more than one person in Wahredua has a reason to wish Hoffmeister dead.

When Teancum Leon, a wildlife veterinarian, and his husband, semi-reformed conman Jeremiah Berger, go to a conference in central Missouri, they’re expecting a short and uneventful trip. Tean will present a paper, attend a few panels, and network (under duress). Jem is looking forward to unlimited poolside drinks, some well-deserved couple time, and peace and quiet.

For what seems like the first time in Teancum Leon’s life, things are looking good: He’s put an end to the toxic relationship with his former sex buddy, work is going well, and Jem Berger has officially decided they are best friends - in spite of Tean’s objections. Things are looking good for Jem too, although he’s not thrilled that somehow Tean has talked him into getting a real job. Everything changes, though, when Tean’s friend Hannah asks for help: She’s being followed, she tells them, and she thinks she’s might be in danger.

Shaw and North are best friends, private detectives, and in danger of losing their agency. A single bad case, followed by crippling lawsuits, has put them on the brink of closing shop. Until, that is, a client walks into their Benton Park office. Matty Fennmore is young, blond, and beautiful, and he’s in danger. When he asks for Shaw and North’s help foiling a blackmail scheme, the detectives are quick to accept. As they dig into the identity of Matty’s blackmailer, they are caught in a web that touches politicians, the local LGBT community, and the city’s police.

After several months (and a few murders), Dash is finally starting to feel at home in Hastings Rock. He’s enjoying the quiet after the end of tourist season, he’s comfortable at Hemlock House (the jury is still out on whether it’s haunted), and most importantly, he has friends.

After a recent case with a treacherous client, North and Shaw are ready to go back to work building Borealis Investigations. They’re also ready to go back to dodging their feelings for each other, with neither man ready to deal with the powerful emotions the Matty Fennmore case stirred up. Everything is getting back to normal when their secretary asks for help: her girlfriend’s boss has gone missing. Shep Collins runs a halfway house for LGBTQ kids and is a prominent figure in St. Louis’s gay community.

Every victory comes at a cost. The trail has gone cold. For months now, Emery Hazard and John-Henry Somerset have been trying to find something—anything—that might help them uncover the truth about the criminal organization operating out of the Cottonmouth Club. But every lead has turned out to be a dead end, and every step forward has cost them two steps back. Until, one night, John-Henry is arrested for a terrible crime.

Emery Hazard and his partner, John-Henry Somerset, have solved their first case together. The brutal murders that rocked the quiet town of Wahredua have been put to rest. Hazard, however, finds his life has only grown more complicated as he adjusts to his new home. Living with Somers, whom he has been drawn to since high school, makes "complicated" the understatement of the year.

Emery Hazard is trying to plan his wedding, even though his fiancé, John-Henry Somerset, isn’t exactly making things easy for him. To be fair, Somers has been distracted lately; his father is running for mayor in a hotly contested election, and their hometown is splintering under the weight of divisive politics. In a matter of hours, those poisonous politics invade Hazard’s life in a way he couldn’t have imagined.