Showing results by author "Rick Reed" in All Categories

The first victim is attacked in her home. Tied to her bed. Forced to watch every unspeakable act of cruelty - but unable to scream. The second murder is even more twisted. Signed, sealed, and delivered with a message for the police, stuffed in the victim's throat. A fractured nursery rhyme that ends with a warning: "There will be more". For detective Jack Murphy, it's more than a threat. It's a personal invitation to play.

From the moment he sees the young woman's body in her hotel bathtub, homicide detective Jack Murphy knows he's looking at a truly demented but brilliantly designed puzzle. She's been drained of blood. Missing her left hand - and the killer left a special message just for him. Hours later, he sees her severed hand arranged on a second victim's body. The newspaper has the gruesome details. The FBI has a theory.

Short novels may well be the perfect length for science-fiction stories. They are movie-length tales that resonate with moxie while fully exploring characters, new worlds, and ideas. The stories in this unabridged audio collection are the best-of-the-best short science-fiction novels published in 2010 by current and emerging masters of this form.

Jasper Warren is a happy-go-lucky young man in spite of the tragedy that’s marred his life. He’s on a road to nowhere with his roommate, Lacy, whom he adores, and a dead-end retail job in Chicago. And then everything changes in a single night. Though Jasper doesn’t know it, his road is going somewhere after all. This time when tragedy strikes, it brings with it Lacy’s older, wealthy, sexy uncle Rob. Despite the heart-wrenching circumstances, an immediate connection forms between the two men.

Randy Kay has the perfect life with his beautiful wife and adorable son. But Randy's living a lie, untrue to himself and everyone who knows him. He's gay. Marriage and fatherhood, which he thought could change him, have failed. He doubts if anyone can love him for who he really is--especially himself.

Love comes along when you least expect it. That's what Duncan Taylor's sister, Scout, tells him. Scout has everything Duncan wants--a happy life with a wonderful husband. Now that Seattle has made gay marriage legal, Duncan knows he can have the same thing. But when he proposes to his boyfriend, Tucker, he doesn't get the answer for which he hoped. Tucker's refusal is another misstep in a long line of failed romances.

Hank Donner-Varian yearns for something beyond his perfect, but routine marriage. Forbidden fantasy beckons until a chance encounter with the enigmatic and devastatingly sexy Abbott Lowery turns curiosity into a dangerous obsession. Hank’s unaware of the sinister depths beneath Lowery's facade. When Hank's flirtation spirals into nightmare, he's thrust into a world of horror orchestrated by a man who once embodied his deepest desires.

Bound by misery. Marked by sin. Set free by death. Barely into their teens, without homes, they dwell in neon shadows, the violent eddies of urban America. They trade their innocence for money, abuse their hopes, and then a monster comes...A monster without fangs or claws, but more deadly. Because of them, he has lost everything: His wife, his family. And he vows to clean the streets of Chicago...for good. One of the street kids and a man of the cloth form a desperate pact. Together, they will find the madman whose basement has become a chamber of horrors...

Teacher Dane Bernard is a gentle giant, loved by all at Summitville High School. He has a beautiful wife and two kids. But Dane has a secret, one he expects to keep hidden for the rest of his life - he's gay. But when he loses his wife, Dane finally confronts his attraction to men. And a new teacher, Seth Wolcott, immediately catches his eye. Seth himself is starting over, licking his wounds from a breakup. Seth doesn't want another relationship, but when he spies Dane his attraction is immediate and electric.

Someone - or something - is killing Seattle's gay men. A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city's gay gathering areas. Someone - or something - is falling in love with Thad Matthews. Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places - a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into.

Poor Ethan Schwartz. It seems like he will never find that special someone. At age forty-two, he’s still alone, his bed still empty, and his 42-inch HDTV overworked. He’s tried the bars and other places where gay men are supposed to find one another, but for Ethan, it never works out. He wonders if it ever will. Should he get a cat?

Jeremy Booth leads a simple life, scraping by in the gay neighborhood of Seattle, never letting his lack of material things get him down. But the one thing he really wants—someone to love—seems elusive. Until the couple next door moves in and Jeremy sees the man of his dreams, Shane McCallister, pushed down the stairs by a brute named Cole.

When their plane crashed, their desire took flight. CEO Maine Braxton and his invaluable assistant, Colby, don't realize they share a deep secret: they're in love - with each other. That secret may have never come to light but for a terrifying plane crash in the Cascade Mountains that changes everything.

In 1986, thirteen-year-old Jeb Kleber vanished during his small town’s Fourth of July fireworks. His mysterious disappearance left his first love, Sammy Blake, grieving for years. Flash forward to present day. A now middle-aged Sam Blake has a comfortable and predictable life with his husband Marc in Chicago. All that changes when a stranger arrives at Sam’s door, claiming to be the missing Jeb Kleber.

Mark believes he’s meeting Jimmy for the first time in the diner where he works, but he’s wrong. Mark has no recollection of their original encounter because the wholesome Jimmy of today couldn’t be more different than he was two years ago. Back then, Jimmy sported multiple piercings and facial hair. He was painfully skinny—and a meth addict. The drug transformed him into a lying, conniving thief. Mark doesn’t associate the memory of a hookup gone wrong with this fresh-faced 20-something…but Jimmy knows. Can Mark see Jimmy for the man he is now?

Connor Ryman thought he had it all--a successful career as a mystery novelist, a condo with stunning views of Seattle's Lake Union, a supportive and long-term partner, Steve, and a loving daughter, Miranda, who was following in her father's creative footsteps. It all went bad when Steve left the family suddenly. Jilted and heartbroken, Connor begins to search for love online. So long off the market, he enlists his daughter's help in crafting a dating profile. His prayers are answered when Trey Goodall, smart and handsome, answers his ad.

It's 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark's addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that's how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam. Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original - witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai.

Life can change in the blink of an eye. That's a truth Andy Slater learns as a young man in 1982, taking the Chicago "L" to work every morning. Andy's life is laid out before him: a good job, marriage to his female college sweetheart, and the white picket fence existence he believes in. But when he sees Carlos Castillo for the first time, Carlos’ dark eyes and Latin appeal mesmerize him. Flash forward to present day. Andy is comfortable but alone, and has never forgotten the powerful pull of Carlos’ gaze on the "L" train. He vows to find him once more, hoping for a second chance.

Truman Reid is Summitville High’s most out-and-proud senior. He can’t wait to take his fierce, uncompromising self away from his small Ohio River hometown, where he’s suffered more than his share of bullying. He’s looking forward to bright lights and a big city. Maybe he’ll be the first ever genderfluid star to win an Academy Award. But all that changes on the first day of school when he locks eyes with the most gorgeous hunk he’s ever seen.

You never know where the love of your life might turn up. When Matt Connelly suggests to his best buddy Cody Mook that they head to downtown Seattle to audition for the gay reality TV show Husband Hunters, both agree the experience might be a lark and a chance to grab their fifteen minutes of fame.