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Skinflick (A Dave Brandstetter Mystery #5)
by Joseph HansenCELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF DAVE BRANDSTETTERDeath claims investigator Dave Brandstetter navigates the opposing realms of evangelical Christianity and the porn business while tracking a lost girl in late 1970s Los Angeles. Lon Tooker certainly fits the profile: big, strong, a Marine Corps veteran, and recently the target of evangelical crusader Gerald Dawson&’s wrath. Tooker&’s adult toys and pornography store on the local skid row has recently become the target of Dawson&’s church men&’s group and their destructive masked raids on &“un-Christian&” businesses. When Dawson is strangled to death by someone of Tooker&’s size and ability, the police see a smut-peddler with a motive. Case closed. But death claims investigator Dave Brandstetter doesn&’t like it. By all accounts Tooker is a softy incapable of such a crime. Actual evidence is nonexistent and assumptions many. And Dave particularly doesn&’t care for assumptions based on someone&’s sex life. But Dave is also navigating new personal territory. His father&’s death has left him bereaved and for the first time in a long time without a job. Dave quit the insurance company his father built and has struck out on his own as a private investigator. Add in his breakup with his recent partner and he&’s a man unencumbered. It&’s the late 1970s and Dave may be aging a bit but he&’s still handsome, wealthy, and recently in possession of a new convertible Triumph. Looks like it&’s not all hard work.
Skinflick (Dave Brandstetter #5)
by Joseph HansenNow working freelance, Dave Brandstetter digs into an evangelist's secret life<P> His father's death left Dave Brandstetter with a hole in his heart and an inheritance in his bank account. The money allowed him to venture out on his own, launching a freelance insurance investigation agency that specializes in suspicious deaths. His first case is potentially explosive, and if he isn't careful, it could be his last. Crusading evangelist Gerald Dawson believes that piety and violence go hand-in-hand. To clean up his local skid row, he has taken to vigilante justice, ransacking pornography shops and intimidating their owners. When Gerald is found with his neck snapped, the police finger smut peddler Lon Tooker for the crime, but Dave disagrees. As he digs into the holy man's nighttime activities, he finds a collection of sins that would make even the devil blush. <P> Skinflick is book five in the Dave Brandstetter Mystery series, which also includes Troublemaker and The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of.
Skinflick: Dave Brandstetter Investigation 5 (Dave Brandstetter)
by Joseph Hansen'After forty years, Hammett has a worthy successor' The TimesDave Brandstetter stands alongside Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade and Lew Archer as one of the best fictional PIs in the business. Like them, he was tough, determined, and ruthless when the case demanded it. Unlike them, he was gay. Joseph Hansen's groundbreaking novels follow Brandstetter as he investigates cases in which motives are murky, passions run high, and nothing is ever as simple as it looks. Set in 1970s and 80s California, the series is a fascinating portrait of a time and a place, with mysteries to match Chandler and MacDonald.Gerald Dawson was an angry man, a fundamentalist who wanted to rid the world of everything he feared and hated. So when he is found murdered, there are plenty of suspects: most obviously the owner of the pornshop he had repeatedly attacked. But Dave knows something doesn't add up, and as he travels from church to X-rated film set, from teenage prostitutes to upstanding preachers, he finds the trail leading somewhere altogether unexpected.
Skip Trace
by Kelly Jensen Jenn BurkeBook three of Chaos StationZander Anatolius has been revived from the fatal effects of the super-soldier program, but now he has to face his estranged family and tell a story few would believe. With his lover and the crew of the Chaos at his side, Zander returns home to a media frenzy, threats from the military and pressure to join the family business.Felix Ingesson still struggles with the horror of believing Zander dead. And no matter how strong their emotional connection is, Felix feels out of place in the glittery world of Zander's rich family. His lover would be better off without a broken, low-class ship's engineer holding him back.When the crew receives word that another of Zander's former teammates needs rescue, Felix travels with the Chaos...setting Zander free. But when Zander is arrested for treason, the men realize they need each other as much as ever--not only to survive, but to make their lives worth living.Don't miss the start of the series--Chaos Station and Lonely Shore are available now!70,660 words
Sky Full of Mysteries
by Rick R. ReedWhat if your first love was abducted and presumed dead—but returned twenty years later? That’s the dilemma Cole Weston faces. Now happily married to Tommy D’Amico, he’s suddenly thrown into a surreal world when his first love, Rory Schneidmiller, unexpectedly reappears. Where has Rory been all this time? Has he time-traveled? What happened to him two decades ago, when a strange mass appeared in the night sky and lifted him into outer space? Rory has no memory of those years. For him, it’s as though only a day or two has passed. Rory still loves Cole with the passion unique to young first love. Cole has never forgotten Rory, yet Tommy has been his rock, by his side since Rory disappeared. Cole is forced to choose between an idealized and passionate first love and the comfort of a long-term marriage. How can he decide? Who faces this kind of quandary, anyway? The answers might lie among the stars….
Sky Hunter
by Fae SutherlandBook three of SkyboundJeret hasn't looked back since running away from life as a crown prince and joining the Crux Ansata's crew, but when the Ansata returns to his home system, he finds his father ill and a traitor maneuvering for control. Now that he's a full-grown man, he can't just walk away again.Letting Jeret escape was the biggest black mark on bounty hunter Dagan Nu'aim's otherwise distinguished years as a royal guard. When he catches Jeret back in-system, Dagan seizes the chance to regain his lost honor and bring the wayward prince home.Jeret's not so sure he wants to go, but the reignition of his old crush on Dagan complicates the issue. As the two unravel a tangled plot against the crown, their old friendship lights up with a fiery new desire. And when the traitor strikes and the two men must choose between duty and freedom, neither is certain which to pick.Take flight with the Crux Ansata in Sky Riders and Sky Runners, available now! 53,000 words
Sky Knights
by Alex PowellDounia and Ira are part of the Nightwitches, an elite squad of night bombers determined to help bring down Axis forces. When Dounia's sister Tanya joins the army, Dounia doesn't react well out of concern. When Tanya disappears after an Axis attack on their base, it looks like the situation will end in tragedy.Unfortunately the war doesn't stop for personal tragedies, and the dangers of battle are ever present. Dounia and Ira's plane goes down behind enemy lines, and Ira is injured. Will their determination and courage be enough to see them safely through?
Sky Riders
by Fae SutherlandMercenary Captain Torin Covell needs a man who knows his way around a cockpit. Ace pilot Rain needs to get the hell off-planet. Thrown together by chance, the two men form a wary partnership.Torin has every intention of dumping Rain at the next moon, despite his intense attraction to the hotshot. In his line of work he can't afford to trust anyone, especially someone as infuriatingly charming and naïve as Rain. But first, he's got a mission to complete.What Rain wants, Rain gets. And what he wants is Torin, any way he can get him. The gorgeous captain isn't making it easy, and the two are quickly embroiled in an erotic battle for supremacy. But when Rain discovers that he's not the only one in pursuit of Torin, he demands to know exactly what sort of "job" he's signed on for...54,000 words
Sky Runners
by Fae SutherlandBook two of SkyboundCrux Ansata second-in-command Killian O'Neal has a plan. The governor's son, Neith, has been enslaved in a high-end brothel. Killian's going to break him out, take him home and collect a reward. It's a daring mercenary rescue. What could go wrong?A lot, as it turns out. The governor doesn't want his son back, the ship and crew are on the run from the slavers, and Neith is in withdrawal from a drug that instills in him a desperate lust.A passionate heat flares between Killian and Neith-but is it just the effects of the drugs still in Neith's system, or could it be something more permanent? They both need time to figure out if what they have is real-but Neith has taken a valuable item from his old masters and they're not going to let him go easily. When the slavers catch up with the Ansata, Killian will have to choose between the safety of his ship and its crew, or life with the man he's falling in love with.Take flight with the Crux Ansata in Sky Riders, available now!51,000 words
Skye Falling: A Novel
by Mia McKenzieA woman who&’s used to going solo discovers that there&’s one relationship she can&’t run away from in this buoyant novel, a probing examination of the complexities of family, queerness, race, and community&“Razor-sharp and outrageously funny, Skye Falling is an absolute winner.&”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six and Malibu RisingWhen she was twenty-six and broke, Skye didn&’t think twice before selling her eggs and happily pocketing the cash. Now approaching forty, Skye still moves through life entirely—and unrepentantly—on her own terms, living out of a suitcase and avoiding all manner of serious relationships. Maybe her junior high classmates weren&’t wrong when they voted her &“Most Likely to Be Single&” instead of &“Most Ride-or-Die Homie,&” but at least she&’s always been free to do as she pleases.Then a twelve-year-old girl tracks Skye down during one of her brief visits to her hometown of Philadelphia and informs Skye that she&’s &“her egg.&” Skye&’s life is thrown into sharp relief and she decides that it might be time to actually try to have a meaningful relationship with another human being. Spoiler alert: It&’s not easy.Things get even more complicated when Skye realizes that the woman she tried and failed to pick up the other day is the girl&’s aunt, and now it&’s awkward. All the while, her brother is trying to get in touch, her mother is being bewilderingly kind, and the West Philly pool halls and hoagie shops of her youth have been replaced by hipster cafés.With its endearingly prickly narrator and a cast of characters willing to both challenge her and catch her when she falls, this novel is a clever, moving portrait of a woman and the relationships she thought she could live without.
Skyscraper
by Scott Alexander HessA Lambda Literary Finalist in Best EroticaIn modern day Manhattan, Atticus is a down-on-his-luck architect who stumbles into an S&M bar and meets a young man who changes the direction of his life. What begins as a random pick-up evolves into an intense game of sexual domination as Atticus finds himself wildly invigorated both as a man and an architect.As the relationship deepens, his creativity catches fire and he lands a prime architectural job at his firm designing a bold new high rise tower. Soon his two worlds collide as the thin lines between reality and fantasy and pleasure and pain threaten to explode.With a new introduction by Lambda Literary winner Jeff Mann, this “wonder of a book” is as carnally explosive as it is compellingly original.
Skyships Over Innsmouth
by Susan LaineTwenty winters have passed since the Cataclysm brought down society and robbed people of their memories. Humanity, vastly reduced in numbers since the initial chaos, has started anew in Canal City with the aid of library books and steam technology. The Scout and Ranger Corps was established to search for possible survivors and to replenish dwindling resources. Dev is the captain of the scout airship Smoke Sparrow, and Shay is the scholar of their newest expedition. Their destination is Innsmouth, Massachusetts, a small fishing town that is mentioned in obscure books but shows up on no maps. Might its secrets offer answers? But within the fog-covered, ruined hillside town by the bay lurk unspeakable dangers and horrors beyond imagining. The expedition team soon learns that Innsmouth is one town that should have been left forgotten.
Skythane (The Oberon Cycle #1)
by J. Scott CoatsworthJameson Havercamp, a psych from a conservative religious colony, has come to Oberon—unique among the Common Worlds—in search of a rare substance called pith. He’s guided through the wilds on his quest by Xander Kinnson, a handsome, cocky skythane with a troubled past. Neither knows that Oberon is facing imminent destruction. Even as the world starts to fall apart around them, they have no idea what’s coming—or the bond that will develop between them as they race to avert a cataclysm. Together, they will journey to uncover the secrets of this strange and singular world, even as it takes them beyond the bounds of reality itself to discover what truly binds them together.
Slackline
by Sarah BlackWhen Bobby Kincaid is walking the slackline--a narrow, flat webbed rope stretched between two anchor points--he offers a silent gift of beauty to the air and sky. Making peace with the world is one reason he's drawn to the seastacks off Scotland's Orkney Islands. Colin Rose, the Olympic skier who pushed Bobby away after a horrific accident two years earlier, is another. But Bobby and Colin will each need to heal before they can return to that space between earth and heaven where they both can fly.
Slate: A Daniel Valentine And Clarissa Lovelace Mystery (Valentine & Lovelace #3)
by Nathan AldyneBoston&’s hottest new gay bar is making a killing in this mystery first published in 1984 that&’s &“screamingly funny in the gayest way!&” (The New York Times). Daniel Valentine is a gay bartender. Clarisse Lovelace is his straight pal. From Boston&’s gay underground to the fabulous beaches of Provincetown, they do everything together (well, okay, not everything). And between it all, they still find time to solve a few murders. When Clarissa is gifted a run-down building by her gay uncle Noah, she and Daniel decide to make a dream come true: opening their own gay bar. While Clarissa heads off to law school, Daniel gets busy turning their new bar into Boston&’s grooviest gay boite. In this exuberantly pre-AIDS world, everything seems perfectly peachy—until Daniel discovers a dead body at the disco.
Slave
by Wayne MansfieldRocky is keen to visit KUNT, the infamous fetish club he’s heard so much about. The stories are legendary, filling him with great anticipation. As he opens the door, his heart begins to pound. From excitement, or fear? What lies on the other side?From the minute he steps inside, he knows this is a place where anything can happen. The muffled boom, boom, boom of industrial dance music permeates the walls, and he has a sudden urge to be in amongst it all.He pushes a second door open. The space behind is dark and smoky. The music pounds in his ears as he’s confronted by a sight that almost takes his breath away. His heartbeat quickens. Little does he realize as he heads for the bar that this will be a night he’ll never forget.
Slave to Shadows
by Gavin AtlasRafael, a gorgeous and promiscuous bottom boy, has always been the favorite of every top in his town. However, Rafael knows he won't be young forever, and a part of him wants more than just night after night of giving up his rump to an endless array of men. Worse, a psychic predicted that if Rafael didn't find love by the time he turned twenty-eight, he would never have anything more than meaningless sex.When the eve of his twenty-eighth birthday arrives, Cavan, a mysterious and handsome stranger, strips Rafael naked at a popular club and abducts him. Cavan is the most dominant and talented top Rafael has ever experienced, but he even has more to offer. Cavan is a vampire, and he desires to make Rafael his eternal bottom boy. Cavan has the power to keep Rafael young, beautiful, and healthy forever, but he requires the one thing Rafael has never been capable of: monogamy. Will Cavan's unstoppable lust and unceasing love make Rafael give up what he craves most for one man?
Slayer: Demonica Origins #1
by PelaamDuring the 17th century, the Holy Church trained and employed Slayers to eliminate preternaturals. They were often provided with an intermediary who served as a combination of servant and sparring partner.Slayer Alessandro and his lover, José, have devoted over two decades to the cause. During that time, Alessandro has learned that most non-humans just want to be left alone to live in peace -- something he dreams of himself.When a preternatural threat arises close to home, something previously unheard of, Alessandro decides this mission will be his last.Unfortunately for Alessandro, someone else has the same idea.
Slayers, Every One of Us: How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On
by Kristin Russo Jenny Owen Youngs"[A] joyful ode to the awesome ability of pop-culture arcana to create a solid community." —The New York TimesA memoir reflecting on heartbreak, perseverance, and life lessons learned from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from the hosts of the hit podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer.Kristin and Jenny’s marriage started with an ultimatum: to further their relationship, Kristin must watch Jenny's favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With the terms set, they began a journey that has led them through seven seasons of the beloved genre show, a podcast rewatching the series with their newly minted listenership of “Scoobies,” unexpected success, and a divorce. Through it all, their love for Buffy and their commitment to their community held them together against the odds.Slayers, Every One of Us is the story of how two queer women navigated divorce on a very public level and managed to stay in each other’s lives through it all. While chock full of Buffy-related content (and Buffering!) for true fans, this is ultimately a memoir of queer love and chosen family. It's a heartwarming story for anyone who's experienced lost love, and a roadmap for staying close with your ex.
Slaying Isidore's Dragons
by C. KennedyFollow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is 'out' to his parents but to no one else. French-born Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing. Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan's love to do it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped. They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster's popular son attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan's mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed.
Sleep Demons: An Insomniac's Memoir
by Bill Hayes“A lovely weave of memory and science, great characters and compassionate humor” from the author of Sweat: A History of Exercise (Anne Lamott).We often think of sleep as mere stasis, a pause button we press at the end of each day. Yet sleep is full of untold mysteries—eluding us when we seek it too fervently, throwing us into surreal dream worlds when we don’t, sometimes even possessing our bodies so that they walk and talk without our conscious volition. Delving into the mysteries of his own sleep patterns, Bill Hayes marvels, “I have come to see that sleep itself tells a story.”An acclaimed journalist and memoirist—and partner of the late neurologist Oliver Sacks—Hayes has been plagued by insomnia his entire life. The science and mythology of sleep and sleeplessness form the backbone to Hayes’s narrative of his personal battles with sleep and how they colored his waking life, as he threads stories of fugitive sleep through memories of growing up in the closet, coming out to his Irish Catholic family, watching his friends fall ill during the early years of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, and finding a lover. An erudite blend of science and personal narrative, Sleep Demons offers a poignant introduction to the topics for which Hayes has since become famous, including art, eros, city life, the history of medical science, and queer identity.“This intimate and beautifully written book brings scientific research alive in a heartfelt and deeply personal narrative.” —The Guardian“Memoir, history, and science come together and apart again in a book that reads very much like a dream.” —Out magazine
Sleeping Children: A Novel
by Anthony PasseronAn intimate, captivating first novel that tells the story of a family in southern France whose lives are intertwined with the history of the AIDS crisis—and with the forgotten French doctors who are among the first to detect the virus. It’s 1981. As a wave of mysterious infections sweeps across the United States, a doctor in Paris encounters something unexpected: a case of a disease long thought to have been eradicated. It matches what is happening across the Atlantic—and thus begins a race to make sense of a deadly virus, one that will define a generation. Miles away, in rural France, Anthony Passeron’s family is dealing with a crisis of their own. Their small village is gripped by another epidemic: heroin addiction. Anthony’s uncle Désiré, once the pride of the family, has become one of the “sleeping children.” Often found unconscious on street corners, he is now a stranger to his family. As Désiré’s life descends into chaos, the thunder of the AIDS crisis grows closer. These two stories—one intimate, one global—are about to collide. Anthony Passeron’s moving novel is also an eye-opening story about shame and the slow poisoning that secrets can inflict on a family. Exploring the stories of the heroic few who fought not only for a cure but for justice for an abandoned community, Sleeping Children is a radical vision of a history reshaped, retold, and remembered.
Sleeping Dogs: The new must-read thriller from the bestselling author of Firewatching
by Russ ThomasTHE NEWEST THRILLER IN THE DS ADAM TYLER SERIES, FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FIREWATCHING &‘I was hooked on DS Adam Tyler from the first page . . . Spot on&’ SAM HOLLAND _____________________________THE LIES OF THE PAST . . . When an anonymous tip lands on his desk, DS Adam Tyler is intrigued in spite of himself. The disappearance of a young mother twenty-four years ago was big news, but the case was never solved – this tantalizing new lead is something he simply can&’t ignore. But the letter has set in motion a dangerous chain of events, and Tyler&’s search for the truth soon leaves him fighting for his life. . . . LIVE IN THE PRESENT With Tyler out of action, DC Mina Rabbani must step up to lead the Cold Case Review Unit in his absence, retracing Tyler&’s steps and uncovering his secrets to figure out what he was working on. But as she begins to put the pieces together, the case starts to hit frighteningly close to home. Without DS Tyler to protect her, Mina realises that now she&’s the one with hard choices to make.And this time she&’s on her own.Brimming with character and tension, the DS Adam Tyler series is perfect for fans of Tana French, Adrian McKinty and M. W. Craven: #1 FIREWATCHING #2 NIGHTHAWKING #3 COLD RECKONING #4 SLEEPING DOGS PRAISE FOR THE DS ADAM TYLER SERIES: &‘Clever and compulsive&’ LOUISE CANDLISH &‘I loved it&’ LEE CHILD &‘A cracking read with a terrific new detective lead&’ SARAH HILARY &‘A rollercoaster ride&’ PETER ROBINSON &‘Wonderfully fresh and original&’ KATE RHODES &‘Superb&’ JAMES DELARGY &‘Totally absorbed me&’ CASS GREEN &‘Everything you could want from a crime novel&’ SARAH WARD &‘Hard-hitting&’ SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH &‘Riveting&’ HEAT &‘Taut, intelligent and fast moving&’ DAILY MAIL
Sleeping on a Bench
by A. N. EllardRiver's husband is in a coma, and River is putting on a tiring act of pretending to care. When he meets the charming and quirky Luke by chance in the hospital garden, he receives a pick-me-up like no other.Luke is a traveler who never stays in a town more than two months. He's searching for something to dedicate his heart to again after leaving behind his prior life. He and River hit it off well and start an intimate relationship while Luke is in town.It doesn't take long for Luke to see how unhappy River is in his current life, but can he convince River to leave town with him? River struggles to admit the truth to himself and Luke has his own dreams for a life without regrets.Their relationship is shaken further with an unexpected turn of events regarding River's husband, but will this help solidify River's choice? How long is Luke willing to wait for him?
Sleeping ’til Sunrise (Mangrove Stories #5)
by Mary CalmesMangrove StoriesEveryone in Mangrove, Florida, knows Fire Chief Essien Dodd is a saint. He took care of his ex-wife until she died, is raising his teenage daughter alone, and is the kind of man who pulls kittens from trees. All in all, the man's a catch. But Roark Hammond has sworn off getting involved with a man who's been hurt before because he can't guarantee he won't hurt his prospective love again. If only he could get Essien out of his mind long enough to focus on anyone, or anything, else. Strong emotions are in play. Essien is lonely but determined to focus on Ivy; Ivy wants her father to have a new life so much that, to his horror, she's trying to find him a man; and Roark is so scared of the present and past, he won't allow himself to commit. To have any chance of sleeping 'til sunrise and greeting each new day together, Essien and Roark will have to rethink how they're living their lives and focus on what's most important.