Showing results by narrator "Joel Leslie" in All Categories

When Jimmy McSwain is hired to find missing heir Harris Rothschild, he finds that identities can be altered and lives can be changed - or taken with the simple pull of the trigger. Jimmy McSwain is a New York City private detective, operating out of Hell's Kitchen, the rough and tumble neighborhood he grew up in. At age 14, he watched as his NYPD father was gunned down. Now, at age 28, and gay, Jimmy has never given up pursuit of whoever killed him.

Out and proud high school English teacher Skyler Foxe and his posse of friends go to the annual Palm Springs White Party for a weekend of fun, frivolity, and luscious men. But there are boy troubles of all kinds ahead. Skyler's boyfriend and high school coach, Keith Fletcher, has to endure an embarrassing number of Skyler's former hook-ups, one of the SFC might be going solo, Skyler encounters unexpected and unwelcome participants at the party, and there's a murder on the dance floor, literally at Skyler's feet!

Cursed by the god who shares his name, Seti was an Egyptian king who lost everything: his name, his kingdom, even the man he loved more than anything in the world. For centuries he's waited in a dusty, forgotten sarcophagus, until Logan came along. Logan is a graduate student who stumbles upon Seti in the basement of a museum and accidentally awakens him. He doesn't want to be accused to theft, but who's going to believe in a mummy coming back to life?

Yes, magic exists. Not the backwater voodoo witches practice where Mississippi Deputy Sheriff Margot Saulnier grew up. But the age-old black magic a woman weaves around a man that draws him under her spell. The kind Margot's best friend used to kill her husband...and get away with it.

Busy concentrating on family issues, Jimmy hasn't taken a new case in nearly three months, and when a call comes in from Philip Connelly, who wants proof that his wife, Myra, is cheating, Jimmy is torn. Take the case or say no. He rejects it, only to learn a week later that Philip has been found dead in a park on Staten Island. The police believe it was suicide, but Myra - a self-admitted adulteress - is convinced he was murdered.  

The dual forces of good and evil take center stage in the fourth installment in the Jimmy McSwain Files, one that finds the tortured, sexy detective battling an unforeseen enemy: happiness. Yet murder will soon rear its desperate chill, hurtling Jimmy into the highest society and the lowest of lives. 

Lewis loves his holiday job. As the Ghost of Christmas Present, he guides people to improve their lives. Sure, he’s a little lonely at home in Minnesota, but Fezziwig the cat keeps him company. When Lewis is spirited to California one Christmas Eve, he meets Sammy, an ex-lawyer who seems to already have his life in order. Lewis and Sammy share Korean fried chicken and a brief fling, but distance and career obligations appear destined to thwart anything permanent.

Fifteen years ago, NYPD officer Joseph McSwain was gunned down while trying to stop a robbery. His murder was never solved. Until now. For his son, Hell's Kitchen private detective Jimmy McSwain, his father's death has defined him, defied him, and denied him his chance at happiness. But the shooting death of a young officer named Denson Luke has reignited the investigation into the mysterious Blue Death conspiracy. Jimmy still must earn a living, so he cannot ignore a family in distress. New neighbors Carmen Ramirez and her young son, Sonny, are clearly running from danger.

This year, the holidays seem to be rubbing Archie the wrong way. He can't stand that damn happy music blasting in the stores and all over the radio. The decorations went up far too early. And don't even get Archie started on how cheery everyone is. Seeing the holidays causes Archie to slip back into a depression. Adze decides to take matters into his own hands.

Cinder, a poor and beautiful young man who designs clothing, makeup, and hair for his stepmother and stepsisters, offers his clothing and slippers to a naked stranger in the woods, who turns out to be none other than Prince Charming. Follow Cinder and Prince Charming in this twist on the classic Cinderella tale as they discover their inner strengths and find their very own happily ever after.

Vyper is a dashing pirate whose name strikes fear in the hearts of blackguards and civilians alike. A fortuitous message in a bottle leads Vyper to the island of Jamaica, but soon entangles him in a web of lies, deceit, and double-crosses, and introduces him to the man who may plunder Vyper's heart and destroy his world.

Tobias Lykke is big, awkward, and accustomed to spending his holidays alone. This year, however, his godmother—who may or may not be an Italian countess—gives him an elf doll originally entrusted to her by her second husband, who might or might not have been a wizard.

Bobby McGrath's Christmas trip to the beautiful Italian island of Capri to meet his eccentric extended family offers stunning views - none more stunning than his third cousin, Paolo Mascobello, a real stocking stuffer. As the two young men embark on a relationship, Bobby, a driven law student, learns to relax and bask under the Italian moon, and Paolo realizes there's more to life than a frolic on the beach.

As the stakes rise and the mission spirals out of control, Will and Thomas find themselves fighting not just for survival, but for each other. Their love has endured war, secrets, and impossible odds, but this time, even their unbreakable bond may not be enough.

Post-war Paris has almost been a honeymoon. Most of the remnants of occupation have been scrubbed from Napoleon's walls, and the romance of the Seine feels stronger than ever. For over a year, we've enjoyed the warmth of French hospitality as we helped the former Resistance piece their country back together. But, when America learns the Soviets are pouring resources into a frantic search for a piece of lost art, martialing spies and assets from across Europe, our idyllic moment is shattered.

Ennek, the son of Praesidium's chief, has rescued Miner from a terrible fate: suspension in a dreamless frozen state called Stasis, the punishment for traitors. As the two men flee Praesidium by sea, their adventures are only beginning. Although they may be free from the tyranny of their homeland, new difficulties await them as Miner faces the continuing consequences of his slavery and Ennek struggles with controlling his newfound powers as a wizard.

Henry Appleby has an appetite for life. As a recent high school graduate and the son of a wealthy family in one of Chicago's affluent North Shore suburbs, his life is laid out for him. Unfortunately, though, he's being forced to follow in the footsteps of his successful attorney father instead of living his dream of being a chef. When an opportunity comes his way to work in a real kitchen the summer after graduation, at a little Italian joint called Fiorello's, Henry jumps at the chance, putting his future in jeopardy.

They were only kids when they met for the first time. Leo Mancini was the son of a judge. Roman Cipriani the son of a criminal. So different, yet as they shared stolen kisses and secret moments, they fell in love. One day they would run away together, have the future they deserved, because no one loved Leo like Roman did, or Roman like Leo did. But before they could make their dreams come true, their future was viciously stolen and their lives changed forever. Roman has spent the last 12 years repressing the trauma in his past, trying to pretend it didn't exist.

Praesidium is the most prosperous city-state in the world, due not only to its location at the mouth of a great bay but also to its strict laws, stringently enforced. Ordinary criminals become bond-slaves, but the worst punishment—to be suspended in a dreamless frozen state known as Stasis—is doled out by the wizard and reserved for only the most serious of traitors.

In the frigid winter of 1891, with the nation still reeling from the Barings bank crisis, Inspector Philemon Raft returns from an involuntary sabbatical and is tasked with solving the kidnapping of highly placed peer Alice Dewberry. Thrust into a sordid underworld where the upper classes indulge in disreputable overseas investments designed to fatten their pocketbooks, Raft finds himself at loose ends without his companion, Constable Freddie Crook.