A Friend in the Dark: Gay Amateur Sleuth Mystery

Gregory Ashe and C.S. Poe lay the groundwork for an incredible series with their novel A Friend in the Dark. Ending in a true cliffhanger, this exciting story had me clamoring for more! The connection between the main characters is the high point for me, but there’s also an engrossing mystery woven in with the romance. I know fans of these two outstanding authors are going to be very happy with An Auden & O’Callaghan Mysteries series. Thrust together after the murder of their mutual friend, Sam and Rufus literally stumble upon each other and join forces to find the killer. Following clues like breadcrumbs, they gradually uncover a whopper of a mystery… which I’m not about to spoil here. But the threads of this one run deep, and I can tell we’ve got something great to look forward to in the upcoming books in this series. Gregory Ashe and C.S. Poe build these complex characters gradually, revealing key details throughout the story. Sam and Rufus are struggling with some serious impediments, like fears, phobias, and underlying issues with serious mental illness. It's fascinating to see how they communicate. For me, it’s all about the romance, and the chemistry between Sam and Rufus is so compelling. With casual hook-ups as their norm, their growing intimacy affects them differently, and just as they begin to open up… Oh, that gut wrenching cliffhanger ending! I’ve said it before, Gregory Ashe is a master of the slow-burn, and together with C.S. Poe, they’ve crafted a great one with Sam and Rufus. Just as an interesting aside, in his newsletter Gregory Ashe describes the writing process for A Friend in the Dark. I think it's pretty cool that these two authors were physically together, writing on the same Google Doc. Lucky for us, Mr. Ashe also states that four more books are already planned. Looks like we’ve got a lot more Sam and Rufus in our futures.