Showing results by author "Gregory Ashe" in All Categories

Sam Yarmark is going to be a detective. He’s done everything right—the trainings, the homework, the performance evaluations. He’s even got a mentor. So, when the chief of police tells him his lack of community involvement might cost him the promotion, there’s only one thing to do: get involved. Fast.

When an upscale restaurant opens in Hastings Rock, Dashiell Dawson Dane (just Dash) and his friends are excited to get reservations for the soft open. After all, winter on the Oregon Coast is the quiet season, and Dash is looking forward to a little excitement. (And, of course, dessert.) Instead, their arrival at the restaurant brings them face to face with Indira’s ex-husband, Mal. And when Mal ends up dead, Indira is the chief suspect.

Somers enters a charity bachelor’s auction without telling his boyfriend. This story takes place before The Rational Faculty.

They say love makes fools of us all. It certainly makes idiots out of some of us. It’s Dash’s second Halloween in Hastings Rock, and this year, he’s determined to have a normal spooky season—he’s going to hang out with his friends, hand out lots of candy, and seize every available opportunity for snuggles with a certain deputy. Fate, though, has other things in store. When Dash’s friend Keme is arrested for murder, Dash assumes it’s a misunderstanding—after all, this is Keme we’re talking about. But it turns out, not everyone in Hastings Rock trusts Keme. Or likes him.

The only thing worse than murder is… no murder? It’s Christmastime, and Dashiell Dawson Dane (just Dash) is looking forward to a quiet holiday season—no unexpected visitors, no relationship drama, and absolutely no murders. But when his friend Millie asks for help, Dash says yes. Because that’s what friends do. Millie’s brother, he learns, has been accused of stealing packages from his job as a delivery driver. Worse, he’s been fired. So, Millie’s request is simple: clear her brother’s name—and, in the process, save Christmas.

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?

It’s winter in New York City, and Rufus O’Callaghan is trying to make things work. He’s still got his job as a confidential informant, and he’s still got Sam Auden. The ex-Army drifter has moved in with Rufus, and the two men are trying to build a lasting relationship as Sam struggles to find his footing in the city.

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.

Sixteen-year-old Jack Moreno is managing to hold his life together. Barely. After a terrible car accident leaves his father unable to work, Jack makes ends meet by dropping out of school and covering his dad’s custodial shifts at a school for troubled teens, high in the Wasatch Mountains. Everything is going all right until the night Jack finds Sarah Watson—yes, descendant of that Watson—dead.

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.

This isn’t a romance. This isn’t happily-ever-after. This is a mystery. And, like me, it’s pretty messed up. Detective Gray Dulac is in freefall: a disfiguring injury; a crumbling relationship; a slowly imploding career. But there’s a kind of clarity to it all. A detachment. A way of being in the world when you can’t screw things up any more than you already have. When he stumbles across a wounded young man outside a party, though, Gray is struck by the similarities between their injuries, and he discovers he might not be as detached as he thought.

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.

When Emery Hazard gets drawn into a brawl at a monthly school board meeting, he knows he’s in trouble; his husband, John-Henry Somerset, is chief of police, and they’re already under enough scrutiny as they try to finalize their foster son’s permanency plan. A woman shows up at his office the next day, and she wants to hire him to protect her mother. Loretta Ames is a famous author, and a string of recent attempts on her life suggests that someone is determined to get rid of her. Hazard takes the job, assuming that it will be two days. Loretta's murder changes everything.

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.

When a rising star in the state senate asks Shaw Aldrich and North McKinney to transport her son, Flip, to and from his drug testing appointments, they’re not happy - they don’t do babysitting jobs. Arriving at the boy’s dorm room, though, they discover that the door has been forced and that Flip has disappeared, and rumors of strange men on campus suggest that something seriously bad has happened. The students and staff at the ritzy private school have plenty to tell about Flip, but the deeper North and Shaw dig, the less they understand what might have happened to the boy.

When Auggie Lopez returns to Wroxall College, he’s determined that his second year will be different from the chaos he faced as a freshman. He’s living in the Sigma Sigma house, he’s got a good group of friends, and his social media presence is growing. Meeting a hot older guy on move-in day is just the cherry on top. All he has to do now is avoid getting dragged into another murder. That last part, though, turns out to be easier said than done, especially when Auggie’s ex-roommate, Orlando, asks for help.

Off Duty is a collection of short stories. It includes the following: Tickets to the Gun Show, When the Road Rises Up, Little Stoics, and Off Duty.

Emery Hazard is ready for Valentine’s Day. He’s made reservations months in advance, he’s ordered flowers, and he’s got a boyfriend he wants to treat right — even if John-Henry Somerset occasionally lets the dishes sit in the sink a little too long. They even have an extra reason to celebrate this year: Somers has received a special commendation for his police work.

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 together. Finally. After eight years of knowing each other and loving each other and slipping past each other, they’ve finally told each other how they feel. Borealis Investigations is growing, and they have a major prospective client on the line. Everything is finally moving the way it should. Until the night Shaw receives a phone call telling him that Detective Jadon Reck, his former boyfriend, has been attacked.