Books like 'Puzzle'
Readers who enjoyed Puzzle by Nora Phoenix also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary gay romance mystery queer
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Run and Hide by Alan McDermott
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThis book was previously published by Thomas & Mercer, an Amazon Publishing imprint. Please check your downloaded Kindle books before purchasing.There’s only so long you can run for your life.Eva Driscoll is used to chasing down bad guys, but now the bad guys are chasing her. She knows they won’t stop until she’s dead... -
Dirty Heart by Rhys Ford
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA Cole McGinnis Mystery Former LAPD detective Cole McGinnis’s life nearly ended the day his police partner and best friend Ben Pirelli emptied his service weapon into Cole and his then-lover, Rick. Since Ben turned his gun on himself, Cole thought he’d never find out why Ben tried to destroy him. Years later, Cole has stitched himself back together... -
The Spoil of Beasts by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA jailhouse slaughter. A relentless killer. And way too much jackassing around. 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... -
Fake, Volume 06 by Sanami Matoh
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA psychopath is on the loose, killing kids and cutting off their hands. As if that weren't enough, Ryo gets an in-depth look at Dee's parentless childhood and the man who inspired Dee to become a cop... -
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Shut Up and Drive by L.M. Krier
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA serial sex attacker is spreading fear in Stockport and DI Ted Darling and his team are on the case.The man randomly targets young women and abducts them from busy supermarket car parks. He's armed with a knife and is clearly highly trained in how to handle it.Ever-dwindling police resources make the manhunt harder, even though the attacker clearly doesn't care whether or not he's caught... -
The Death of Friends by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic. Originally published during the darkest years of the AIDS epidemic in the gay community, The Death of Friends received extraordinary praise both as a mystery and an eloquent work of witness... -
Rialto by Jocelynn Drake, Rinda Elliott
Someone has it out for Rialto. Ian Banner is loving his hectic life. He’s newly married, ready to start a family, and opening a new restaurant. All his dreams are coming true. The last thing he needs is a problem with his restaurant. But when one attack after another comes, he grows convinced he has another enemy... -
Forever by Tinnean
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLately, life is both sweet and sour for intelligence operatives Mark Vincent and Quinton Mann. The sweet is they’re settling into a relationship; Mark has found a condo in Alexandria with the help of Quinn’s mother, Portia; and Mark and Quinn are looking forward to spending the holidays in the Caribbean. As for the sour, something shadier than usual is going on at Langley... -
Jem and Tean: Guys Gone Wild by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJem and Tean: Guys Gone Wild is a collection of short stories. It includes the following:“First Dates”A prequel to The Lamb and the Lion books, this short story shows Jem and Tean as they are set up on blind dates—with disastrous results.“Cheap Seats”Jem and Tean go to the movies. Jem insists it’s an epic bromance date. Tean insists they’re just casual acquaintances... -
Bandit & Coyote's Passion by Ciara St. James
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBandit has lived with a secret for half his life. One that only a couple of people know. As much as he loves his life and his MC family, he’s terrified to reveal it. What if he does and they desert him? He’ll never be able to stand it if that happens. It isn’t the only secret he has. The second one is as much of a risk as the first, maybe more... -
Castiel by Annabella Stone
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat once was strong is broken.Can what was broken be repaired?Former SEAL and Operative for the US Government’s elite Red Squadron, Castiel Cunningham Clark has defied the odds more times than he can count. He learned the hard way how fickle fate can be and he’s made it his business to live his life at one speed and one speed only… full steam ahead. Except when it comes to one person... -
Fake, Volume 05 by Sanami Matoh
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsRyo is on the biggest case of his life! He and Dee are on the trail of a cold-blooded killer named Leo. They're certain he killed Ryo's parents, but don't have enough evidence to prove it. With a little help from Diana Spacey, FBI agent extraordinare, Ryo soon cracks the case when he witnesses Leo murdering a man. When Ryo threatens to shoot him, Leo tells him he did indeed kill his parents... -
When I'm Old and Grey by L.M. Krier
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDI Ted Darling doesn't like coincidences. There are too many for comfort surrounding his latest case. They're spilling over into his private life, too, when some toxic family secrets are uncovered. A serial killer appears to be targeting vulnerable elderly people in care homes and despatching them in the most cynical way. Ted and his team are struggling to get a lead on who the killer really is... -
Body and Soul by Patricia Logan
More than ten years ago, a series of train bombings devastated railways throughout Europe. Strange poetry sent to local newspapers right before each bombing, confounded investigators at the time. In one of only a handful of failed covert missions, Jarrett had been sent into North Korea to take out the bomber... -
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In Dog We Trust by Neil S. Plakcy
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsan alternate cover edition can be found hereAfter a bad divorce and a brief prison term for computer hacking, 42-year-old Steve Levitan has returned to his home town of Stewart’s Crossing and taken a part-time job as an adjunct professor of English at his alma mater, Eastern College... -
Rag and Bone by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne of the most highly acclaimed writers in the mystery genre "explores new emotional depths" in this last Henry Rios novel. The gay Mexican-American attorney, after the loss of his lover, must face his own mortality while recovering from a heart attack-and reach out to a family he didn't know he had... -
Two Little Boys by L.M. Krier
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn his darkest and most complex case to date, DI Ted Darling has to confront demons from his own past when investigating the brutal murder of a young boy. As more deaths follow, he realises he is up against powerful people who believe themselves to be above the law, and starts to feel out of his depth... -
Fake, Volume 04 by Sanami Matoh
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRyo and Dee, two of New York City's finest, are called in to investigate the activities of some two-bit street punk. The operation goes south rather quickly when Dee is kidnapped and Ryo must put all of his skill and training to the test to get his partner back in one piece. Their partnership is on the line as electrified emotions raise feelings between the two guys that are hard to ignore... -
Thuggiana by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPics, or it didn’t happen.Thuggiana is a collection of short stories connected to The First Quarto. It includes the following:“The Slightest Folly”This prequel provides a glimpse into Auggie’s and Theo’s lives in high school. It takes place before They Told Me I Was Everything.“As School-Boys from Their Books”A series of vignettes set shortly after the events of They Told Me I Was Everything... -
Ghost of Christmas Present by Pandora Pine
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWith only a week until Christmas, Detective Jude Byrne is wrapping up final preparations for his family’s celebration. He’s made a list and checked it twice, bought presents, planned the neighborhood cookie exchange, and hung mistletoe. Jude’s got a handle on everything, that is, until his son asks if his grandfather is coming to celebrate with them—a man Jude hasn’t seen in six years... -
Armor: A Firsts and Forever Series Novella by Alexa Land
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDante Dombruso has always been his family’s armor. It’s his job to keep them safe. But he feels he failed them eighteen months ago, when a mysterious arsonist set a fire intended to wipe the Dombrusos off the map. Now Dante is driven to make things right, yet with each day that passes, the trail grows colder and his frustration increases... -
Modern Warfare by Valerie Vaughn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCovert Affairs M/M Romance Book Two Navigating a new relationship is never easy, but Deputy Director Syler Perrin has the uniquely hair-raising privilege of doing it with one Special Agent Arthur Dufault, premiere CIA operative and all around menace... -
Daddy Detectives Episode 1: A Tyler and Ian Jamison Story by April Wilson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis is the first installment in a new series for private investigators Tyler and Ian Jamison. Our heroes are adjusting to life as a married couple and are now parents of newborn twins. While the guys are enjoying paternity leave, their administrative assistant, Kimi, comes to them with a personal emergency... -
Interwoven by Ripley Hayes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDaniel Owen has spent the best part of ten years renovating his house when he finds the cellar. By falling into it. The mysterious cellar has a mysterious door, and behind the mysterious door is a mysterious box … and in the box … there are clues to the shocking history of Daniel’s beloved home town. A cold case is occupying Mal Kent’s time. A notorious car thief is released from prison... -
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A Mean Season by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDom Reilly is back. In this follow up to Year of the Rat, Dom helps clear three men wrongly convicted of rape while also following a pet project—the twenty-year-old case of a man accused of killing his lover in 1976. Meanwhile, Dom gets wind that someone is looking for him. A private detective from Chicago... -
Bennett Sisters Mysteries Volume 7 & 8: featuring Francie Bennett by Lise McClendon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBLAME IT ON PARISWhen Francie Bennett, 4th in the line of lawyer/sisters, comes under serious allegations of wrongdoing at her law firm, she is mortified to learn she must take a leave of absence. Just a formality, they say, but she is sure this is the end of her reputation and her law career... -
One Vote for Murder: Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries by S.C. Wynne
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsFrenemies and psychopaths keep life interesting. If they don't kill you, that is.Maxwell foolishly hoped things might settle down once he found the perfect new location for his medical practice.Not. So. Much.After a shocking revelation, Maxwell finally knows why River Martin hates him with a passion. And River isn't willing to let bygones be bygones. To put it mildly... -
Forbidden Lover by Jocelynn Drake
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDevlin Relic was off limits.The sweet man had already lost a husband and nearly lost his life when someone put a contract on his head last year.He needed to focus on raising his adopted son and finding a nice, normal man.Kai was anything but nice and normal.He was an assassin, and that did not fit into Dev’s neat and tidy life... -
One Vote for Murder by S.C. Wynne
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrenemies and psychopaths keep life interesting. If they don't kill you, that is.Maxwell foolishly hoped things might settle down once he found the perfect new location for his medical practice.Not. So. Much.After a shocking revelation, Maxwell finally knows why River Martin hates him with a passion. And River isn't willing to let bygones be bygones. To put it mildly... -
Murder in Shades of Wood and Stone by Ripley Hayes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn early morning phone call. A dead teenager. A bunch of hostile witnesses with a wedding to attend.Charlie Rees was enjoying the calm after the storm in Llanfair. He thought he and Tom Pennant might get some peaceful time together. Maybe even fall in love. Not a chance.As Charlie battles to get justice for a murdered boy, Tom has his own battle to save the art college and his career... -
Zenith by Eli Easton, R.J. Scott
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA killer haunts Prophet, and this time it’s personalThe discovery of a body at the Thompson Cabins sets off a chain of events that hits too close to home for Sheriff Gabriel Thompson. When his brother Sam becomes a prime suspect in the murder investigation, Gabriel is forced to keep secrets from Tiber and call in outside help as he fights to prove Sam’s innocence... -
Spencer by M. Tasia
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDIVINE RETRIBUTIONEveryone has secrets. Especially a Navy SEAL. But Spencer has found the one man who seems to be hiding more than him. And that just doesn’t fly.Rick reinvented his life fifteen years ago, and has no intention of revealing why. But, in the back of his mind he’s been waiting for the other shoe to fall, and now it has... -
Yellow, Volume 02 by Makoto Tateno
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsYellow Volume 2 marks the return of our heroes Goh and Taki to infiltrate the Japanese narcotics trade. This time, they're after your garden variety heroin that's being "floated" to Japan in a most unique way... -
Kiss Marry Kill by S.C. Wynne
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsSnakes don’t only crawl in the grass.River Martin has begun to reveal his true motives for being in Rainy Dale, and, shocker, it’s not good news for Maxwell.If Maxwell is going to go to war with River, he’ll need people on his side. In his quest to be more of a people person, he’s roped into attending the wedding of one of his young patients, Janelle Raiden... -
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In Sequence by Cole McCade
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsABOUT THIS EPISODE The Golden Ratio killer resurfaces in California to target a former victim, and this time the case takes Malcolm and Seong-Jae hunting deep into his past, searching for connections between victim and killer that may reveal his identity... -
Law of Retaliation (Haven Hart) by Davidson King
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo universes unite to take on one formidable adversary.A Halloween party at Joker’s Sin means an evening of fun, drinking, dancing, and entertainment. But when a dead body is found in the club’s bathroom, it’s the loose thread that starts to unravel the hard-won peace of Haven Hart... -
Twisted Valentine by Isabel Lucero
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKaspian doesn't ask for much, only the undivided attention of the man he's obsessed with. But lately Quin seems preoccupied, and when Kaspian spots him talking to a guy at work, he sees red.Clingy, obsessive, impulsive, and sociopathic, the thought of anyone else getting Quin's attention has Kaspian's blood boiling.What follows is a twisted journey filled with lies, surprises, sex, and ultimately... -
Snow Storm by Davidson King
The city of Haven Hart rests under the heel of Christopher Manos. He reigns over the most dangerous and deadliest citizens as the most powerful crime boss the city has seen in generations. Yet, for the last five years, the harshest edges of his nature have been tempered by the loving devotion of his husband, Snow, and the nephew Christopher adores like a son... -
Posies and Poison by Wendy Meadows
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsBrenda Sheffield can’t believe her luck when she finds out that the family business, The Sheffield Bed and Breakfast, has been handed down to her upon the death of a relative. For too long, she’s been idle – a new challenge is precisely what she needs... -
Killer Bond by Jocelynn Drake, Rinda Elliott
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDaniel Hendricks wants a vacation. Ward Security’s accountant and resident code breaker just needs a little R&R from the chaos and usual shenanigans of the office. But what was supposed to be a sexy vacation hook-up explodes in his face when he’s mistaken for a rogue secret agent... -
Baby's Got Blue Eyes by L.M. Krier
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSomeone is dumping bodies on DI Ted Darling's patch and he's not happy. Ted's a good solid copper, in an old-fashioned way, with an excellent clear-up rate. He also happens to be gay and has his own unique way of dealing with any prejudice that brings him. But this killer seems to be running effortless rings round him and every promising lead just takes him up another blind alley... -
All That Remains by R.J. Scott
Federal Agent Lucas Beaumont has an agenda—get himself assigned to the case of the apparent serial murders at Lancaster Falls, find out who the murderer is, and then lay the ghosts that haunt his grandfather to rest. In the midst of a horrific murder investigation, the only peace he gets is from simple moments in a warm kitchen, talking to hotel owner, Josh... -
Liar's Gambit by Kelly Fox
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsHe’s a liar. I’m a hitman. And there’s a game afoot.After seeking sanctuary at The Anonymous, an elite club for lawless types, the elegant, beastly Wilhelm invites me to help him with a simple mission: retrieve the priceless artifact that was stolen from one of his billionaire friends... -
Slay Ride by Davidson King
Christmas is a time for joy, family, and friends to gather around the tree and fill their hearts with love. Unfortunately, there are some people who don’t deserve happiness during the holidays. Mason keeps to himself. His best friend, JJ, is the only one he chooses to be close to, plus his job keeps him busy. Excitement isn’t something he needs or wants in his life... -
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With This Bling by L.B. Gregg
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsCaesar Romano’s catering career is doing better than he’d ever dreamed. And so is his love life—even if his boyfriend’s house in Staten Island is way too far from civilization for his liking... -
His Warrior: a Second Chance M/M Protector Romance by Sue Brown
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWill an alpha guy like Si willingly give his heart to Howie for a second chance at love? Si Raines thought his plans were set for the future. He’d marry his fiancé, the bar-owner Howie Gray, continue with his covert ops career, and when he was ready to retire from that, find a new job and settle down to life together... -
Skin and Bone by T.A. Moore
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsDigging Up Bones: Book Two Cloister Witte and his K-9 partner, Bourneville, find the lost and bring them home. But the job doesn’t always end there. Janet Morrow, a young trans woman, lies in a coma after wandering away from her car during a storm. But just because Cloister found the young tourist doesn’t mean she’s home... -
North and Shaw: Out of Office by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsNorth and Shaw: Out of Office is a collection of short stories. It includes the following: “Bad Boys at the Radio Girls” Radio Girls is a lesbian bar. A group of straight guys thinks it’s funny to crash. North and Shaw are hired to take care of this problem (and they try not to fulfill the white savior stereotype while doing so). This story takes place before Orientation... -
Definitely Not Meant to Be by A.W. Scott
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratings“How long have you been in love with your best friend?” Godric I accepted long ago that I couldn’t have all of the things I wanted in life. Growing up in the way I did, I would be a fool to get my hopes up. But even with that knowledge, I couldn’t resist. I was helpless not to fall into the orbit that was my best friend... -
Vanished by Carter Quinn
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHenry Cooley has good friends and a good life. He’s secure in his job and his relationship. He and Tom, the love of his life, are about to celebrate their twenty-first anniversary as a couple. Their son, CJ, is in his second year at Cal Arts. Henry's only problems are his growing dissatisfaction with his job and the fact that Tom's parents still hate him, even after all these years...
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