Meg Perry

A Nick Hoffman / Academic Mystery, Book 4 - The fourth novel in the highly acclaimed series begins on a high note. It appears that Nick's career is finally moving in the right direction, and the celebrity that comes with solving murders has brought him more students than he can possibly handle. But things are never calm at the State University of Michigan: Nick's partner's career seems to be taking a downturn, a new faculty member is causing a lot of nasty talk, and cryptic messages are showing up in Nick's mailbox. What turns up next is a corpse - and some very unsettling thoughts for the reluctant sleuth. Lev Raphael is a Lambda Literary Awards winner and multiple nominee for several books. This new edition in his Nick Hoffman series contains a 2021 foreword by Meg Perry (Jamie Brodie series).

Jamie Brodie is feeling unsettled. His boss has asked him to take an unpaid furlough for the summer; his husband, Pete Ferguson, is obsessed with genealogy research and has papered the walls of their townhouse with family trees; and his father-in-law, Jack, is experiencing odd side effects from a new medication. Pete wants to head straight for their second home in New Mexico at the beginning of Jamie's furlough. Jamie has misgivings, but agrees. On their first morning in Alamogordo, Jamie discovers a dead teenager in the street across from their house. The findings in the victim's autopsy report are deeply disturbing, and the victim's identification leads Jamie to a jarring discovery. Several days later, someone leaves a note inside Jamie and Pete's morning newspaper. NO QUEERS IN ALAMOGORDO. As the anonymous homophobic attacks continue, Jamie's determination to stand his ground solidifies. But someone out there is equally determined to push Jamie and Pete out of town, and is willing to take extreme measures to achieve his goal.

When Jamie Brodie's dog sniffs out a corpse at a campsite on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, Jamie thinks, "At least it's a natural death this time." Not so fast. The dead man is freelance investigative reporter Danny Norman, and he was on the trail of a major story. Who or what was Danny about to expose? Meanwhile, Jamie's husband, Pete Ferguson, is behaving strangely: careening from one obsession to the next, neglecting the classes he's teaching, and refusing to admit that there's anything wrong. Jamie needs answers to two questions: What happened to Danny Norman? And, more importantly, what the heck is going on with his husband?

Jamie Brodie is on deadline. The proposal for his second book is due, and he desperately needs uninterrupted writing time. At the suggestion of patron, friend, and former monk Clinton Kenneally - and over the protests of Pete Ferguson, Jamie's husband - Jamie schedules a week-long writing retreat at a local monastery. But the monastery is not exactly what Jamie expected...which might explain the flicker of disquiet in Clinton's eyes. Meanwhile, Kevin Brodie and Jon Eckhoff are dealing with a dead drug dealer, doggie diarrhea, and a camera crew from the reality TV show Two Days to Solve. The camera loves Jon, and vice versa. Kevin's just trying to refrain from swearing on TV. But when the victim turns out to be someone from Kevin's past, the case gets a whole lot more interesting. And there's no way it'll be solved in two days.

Mercedes Moran is one of the stars of the self-publishing world, a romance author who's made millions by selling 99 cent romance novels through all of the ebook platforms. Her fan base is enormous - but Mercedes is a horrible person, and she's made plenty of enemies, too. The Association of Self-Publishing is holding its annual conference on UCLA's campus, and Mercedes is the keynote speaker. When Jamie Brodie and Kristen Beach attend the keynote at the encouragement of their supervisors, they get an earful from other conference-goers about Mercedes. But it's nothing to do with them. Until Mercedes turns up dead in the back of the exhibit hall. Kevin Brodie and Jon Eckhoff are on the case, and they enlist Jamie's and Kristen's help with navigating the world of self-published authors. But the case takes a turn for the weird when Kevin and Jon are joined by a lieutenant from Internal Affairs, who claims to be brushing up on his investigative skills - and who only speaks in clich s. Who killed Mercedes? Why is a desk jockey from Internal Affairs dogging Kevin and Jon's every step? And why do so many covers of male-male romance novels feature headless torsos

Rafe Conroy, has-been actor, is filming the first episode of the TV show intended to be his big comeback. But Rafe's comeback is cut short when he's found dead in his swimming pool. It was murder, all right, but there are nearly too many suspects to count. Was it the network owner, a wealthy heiress who was sleeping with Rafe? Was it the jealous girlfriend? Was it the cast member who hated Rafe? Was it the scriptwriter who saw his masterpiece edited into schlock? Was it Rafe's drug dealer? Or was it the drug dealer's ex-wife - Abby Glenn, Kevin Brodie's ex-girlfriend - who just happened to discover the body? Because of Abby's involvement, Kevin can't work the case. It's up to Jon Eckhoff and Jamie Brodie to figure out who would benefit most from Rafe's death - before the killer strikes again.