Old flames can leave a nasty burn.

It’s been six months since plumber Tom Paretski was hit by a shocking revelation about his family, and he’s been avoiding dealing with it ever since. His lover, PI Phil Morrison, wants Tom to dig deeper into his history and try to develop his psychic talent for finding things, but Tom’s not nearly so keen. Just as he decides to bite the bullet, though, worse problems crawl out of the woodwork.

Young Devil’s Dyke barmaid Marianne has an ex, Grant Carey, who won’t accept that things are over between them, and he’s ruthless in dealing with anyone who gets in his way.  When Carey threatens an old friend of theirs, Phil and Tom step in to help—but that makes them targets themselves.

What with his uncertainty about Phil’s motives, Tom’s family doing their best to drive a wedge between them, and the uncovering of an ugly incident in Phil’s past, Tom’s not sure who he can trust—and the body he finds in the pub cellar isn’t the only thing that stinks.

Amazon paperback | Kindle | Riptide 

All the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries  are now available to purchase or pre-order from Riptide Publishing.

Publication dates and purchase/pre-order links as follows:

• Pressure Head: Available now
• Relief Valve: Available now
• Heat Trap: 5 March, 2018
• Blow Down: 2 April, 2018

And there will be a brand new Plumber’s Mate Mystery, Lock Nut, releasing on 14 May, 2018

If you dig up the past, be prepared for some dirt to stick.

The relationship between Tom Paretski, a cheeky plumber with a gift for finding hidden things, and PI Phil Morrison may only be a few weeks old, but already it’s under attack. Tom’s friends and family are convinced the former bully isn’t good enough for him, and they’re not shy about saying so.

Then Tom’s prickly older sister, Cherry, is poisoned at her own engagement party. Tom’s left reeling and not knowing who to suspect. Could it be her new fiancé, Gregory, a cathedral canon with an unfortunate manner and a taste for taxidermy? Or someone from her old writers’ circle, which she left after a row? Or could the attack be connected to her work as a barrister? Meanwhile, Tom’s honorary auntie’s left him a gag gift from beyond the grave that could be more significant than anyone knows.

Phil’s fighting against the clock to solve the case before somebody ends up dead. And with the poisoner hiding a dark secret, Phil’s terrified Tom could have been the target all along.

Amazon paperback | Kindle | Riptide 

All the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries  are now available to pre-order from Riptide Publishing.*

Publication dates and pre-order links as follows:

• Pressure Head: 1 January, 2018
• Relief Valve: 5 February, 2018
• Heat Trap: 5 March, 2018
• Blow Down: 2 April, 2018

And there will be a brand new Plumber’s Mate Mystery, Lock Nut, releasing on 14 May, 2018

*Books 1-4 have been lightly re-edited, but are not substantially changed from the first editions – so no need to buy again unless you can’t resist those lovely new covers! 😉

If you dig up the past, be prepared for some dirt to stick.

The relationship between Tom Paretski, a cheeky plumber with a gift for finding hidden things, and PI Phil Morrison may only be a few weeks old, but already it’s under attack. Tom’s friends and family are convinced the former bully isn’t good enough for him, and they’re not shy about saying so.

Then Tom’s prickly older sister, Cherry, is poisoned at her own engagement party. Tom’s left reeling and not knowing who to suspect. Could it be her new fiancé, Gregory, a cathedral canon with an unfortunate manner and a taste for taxidermy? Or someone from her old writers’ circle, which she left after a row? Or could the attack be connected to her work as a barrister? Meanwhile, Tom’s honorary auntie’s left him a gag gift from beyond the grave that could be more significant than anyone knows.

Phil’s fighting against the clock to solve the case before somebody ends up dead. And with the poisoner hiding a dark secret, Phil’s terrified Tom could have been the target all along.

Amazon | Riptide 

All the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries  are now available to pre-order from Riptide Publishing.

Publication dates and pre-order links as follows:

• Pressure Head: 1 January, 2018
• Relief Valve: 5 February, 2018
• Heat Trap: 5 March, 2018
• Blow Down: 2 April, 2018

And there will be a brand new Plumber’s Mate Mystery, Lock Nut, releasing on 14 May, 2018

If you dig up the past, be prepared for some dirt to stick.

The relationship between Tom Paretski, a cheeky plumber with a gift for finding hidden things, and PI Phil Morrison may only be a few weeks old, but already it’s under attack. Tom’s friends and family are convinced the former bully isn’t good enough for him, and they’re not shy about saying so.

Then Tom’s prickly older sister, Cherry, is poisoned at her own engagement party. Tom’s left reeling and not knowing who to suspect. Could it be her new fiancé, Gregory, a cathedral canon with an unfortunate manner and a taste for taxidermy? Or someone from her old writers’ circle, which she left after a row? Or could the attack be connected to her work as a barrister? Meanwhile, Tom’s honorary auntie’s left him a gag gift from beyond the grave that could be more significant than anyone knows.

Phil’s fighting against the clock to solve the case before somebody ends up dead. And with the poisoner hiding a dark secret, Phil’s terrified Tom could have been the target all along.

Amazon | Riptide 

All the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries  are now available to pre-order from Riptide Publishing.

Publication dates and pre-order links as follows:

• Pressure Head: 1 January, 2018
• Relief Valve: 5 February, 2018
• Heat Trap: 5 March, 2018
• Blow Down: 2 April, 2018

And there will be a brand new Plumber’s Mate Mystery, Lock Nut, releasing on 14 May, 2018

Some things are better left hidden.

Tom Paretski’s not just a plumber with a dodgy hip courtesy of a schoolboy accident. He also has a sixth sense for finding hidden things. Called in by the police to help locate a body near Brock’s Hollow, he’s staggered to encounter Phil Morrison, his old school crush—and the closeted bully whose actions contributed to Tom’s accident.

Phil’s all grown up now, and Tom’s unwilling attraction to him is back with a vengeance. Phil’s now openly gay—and what’s more, he’s interested in Tom’s personal charms as well as his psychic talents. As a private investigator called in by the dead woman’s parents, Phil is sceptical about Tom’s unusual gift, but nevertheless quick to spot its potential to aid him in his work.

The further they go with the investigation, the less they can ignore their shared past, and the more the pressure and the heat build between them. But Tom isn’t certain he wants to know the secrets he’s helping to uncover, while there’s a murderer on the loose who won’t hesitate to kill again—and this uneasy couple is moving right into his sights.

Amazon* | Kindle | Riptide | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

*Still waiting for them to link up the editions, but we’re getting there! 😉

Some things are better left hidden.

Tom Paretski’s not just a plumber with a dodgy hip courtesy of a schoolboy accident. He also has a sixth sense for finding hidden things. Called in by the police to help locate a body near Brock’s Hollow, he’s staggered to encounter Phil Morrison, his old school crush—and the closeted bully whose actions contributed to Tom’s accident.

Phil’s all grown up now, and Tom’s unwilling attraction to him is back with a vengeance. Phil’s now openly gay—and what’s more, he’s interested in Tom’s personal charms as well as his psychic talents. As a private investigator called in by the dead woman’s parents, Phil is sceptical about Tom’s unusual gift, but nevertheless quick to spot its potential to aid him in his work.

The further they go with the investigation, the less they can ignore their shared past, and the more the pressure and the heat build between them. But Tom isn’t certain he wants to know the secrets he’s helping to uncover, while there’s a murderer on the loose who won’t hesitate to kill again—and this uneasy couple is moving right into his sights.

Amazon* | Kindle | Riptide | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

All the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries  are now available to pre-order from Riptide Publishing.

Publication dates and pre-order links as follows:

• Relief Valve: 5 February, 2018
• Heat Trap: 5 March, 2018
• Blow Down: 2 April, 2018

And there will be a brand new Plumber’s Mate Mystery, Lock Nut, releasing on 14 May, 2018

Giveaway:

To celebrate the re-launch of the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries, I’m offering a giveaway of a $10 Amazon voucher to a randomly-drawn commenter on this post! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with the title of a favourite mystery novel of yours  (not one of mine!)

Good luck! 😀

ETA: I’ll make the draw on Friday 12th Jan, round about tea-time, so there’s plenty of time to get your comments in!

*ETA 2: The Amazon link at present only links to the paperback, but the Kindle edition is now available here: Kindle

There’s been a delay getting the ebook up on Amazon, although the paperback is available to purchase. I’ll update when I hear it’s up and running. In the meantime, mobi files can be bought direct from the Riptide site and emailed to your Kindle – all you have to do first is go into your Amazon account and add the Riptide address admin@riptidepublishing.com to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List (see Settings under Manage Your Content and Devices).

ETA 3: The draw is now closed, and the winner is…. mewalker10, whom I’ve emailed.

Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who played – some great recs there! 😀

Wounds of the heart are the hardest to heal

Solicitor’s clerk George Johnson has a secret goal when he moves into a London boarding house in the winter of 1920: to find out if his fellow lodger, Matthew Connaught, was the wartime traitor who cost George’s adored older brother Hugh his life.

Yet the more he gets to know his quarry, the more George loses sight of his mission—and his heart. Blessed with boyish good looks and charm in abundance, ad man Matthew is irrepressibly cheerful despite having lost an arm in the Great War—and soon makes plain his attraction to George.

Matthew’s advances become ever harder to resist, and George tries to tell himself his brother’s death was just the luck of the draw, and to forget he’s hiding secrets of his own—including who he really is.

But as George’s feelings for Matthew grow, so does his desperation to know the truth about what happened that day in Ypres.  Even if it means he’ll lose the man he’s come to love.

Available in ebook and paperback: JMS Books | Amazon

Haunting Muses

In this collection of lesbian stories, ghosts, be they actual or the metaphorical ghosts of memories, aren’t necessarily evil and hauntings may or may not be bad. How do we move beyond the foul spirits or integrate the shining beings who haunt us in the cruelest or the best ways? And how do we or our characters reconcile these ghosts into transformation and healing within present reality?

Includes stories by Sacchi Green, Deborah Walker, Pascal Scott, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Elaine Burnes, Doreen Perrine and JL Merrow.

Winner of the 2017 Rainbow Awards Best Lesbian Anthology / Collection

Available in ebook and paperback: Amazon