Tag Archives: Amateur Sleuths

Release Blitz: His Lordship’s Return by Samantha SoRelle

His Lordship’s Return | Samantha SoRelle

His Lordship’s Mysteries #3

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Release Date: August 23rd, 2022

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon UK

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Blurb

For Dominick and Alfie, it feels like they’ve only just settled into life at Balcarres House when an urgent letter from an old friend has them racing back to London. However, they’re not returning to Alfie’s swirling ton of money and nobility, but to the dark underside of the city that Dominick knows all too well.

In a desperate race against time, they’ll have to walk streets that Alfie barely remembers and Dominick hoped to forget. Their return brings up terrors better left in the past and for one of them, the strain may be too much to bear.

Under the shadow of the workhouse, they’ll have to act quickly to stop a killer or the lives lost may be their own.

His Lordship’s Return is the third novel in the His Lordship’s Mysteries series.

Book One: His Lordship’s Secret

Book Two: His Lordship’s Master

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Excerpt

At first, Alfie didn’t know what had awoken him. It might have been the chill in Dominick’s room as the last embers burned low in the grate. Or it might have been the lightening of the sky outside the curtains, the sun rising over the distant Scottish coast in a mottled grey that might promise a day of fog, rain, brilliantly clear skies, or a bit of each in turn. Or it might have been the wound in his leg, long since scarred over, but still twinging with pain when he least suspected it.

Most likely, however, it was the mouth around his cock.

“M’Nick?” he murmured groggily, trying to see anything in the pre-dawn light.

He received an affirmative hum in answer that sent shivers running through him. He threw his head back against the pillows as Dominick’s tongue laved against the underside of his cock, tracing the vein there.

Alfie wasn’t even fully hard yet, barely awake and unaware which way was up or down. He gripped the sheets, digging into the mattress as the rich fabric twisted between his fingers.

“Ah, ah, a moment! Give me a moment!” he gasped.

Dominick exhaled heavily through his nose in either a laugh or a sigh. The hot gust of breath against Alfie’s groin had the opposite of a calming effect. Dominick pulled back tortuously slowly, keeping up a light suction all the while, until Alfie nearly ordered him to get back to it just to stop the maddening contradiction of sensations.

Before he could gather the words to say anything, Dominick released him with a wet pop. Alfie breathed a sigh of relief, only to gasp again when he felt the press of lips against his leg, a series of kisses dappled across the sensitive skin one by one. Then that sinful tongue began to trace shapes against his inner thigh. D…o…m…

Finally untangling his hands from the sheets, Alfie lifted the covers. Dominick looked up at him like an animal exposed in its den. Blinking, he pressed a kiss to Alfie’s leg, dotting the “i”.

“Good morning,” Dominick said, his voice deliciously rough. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did until someone rudely awoke me.”

“Rude, was it? Bold words from a man completely at my mercy.”

Alfie didn’t even try to pretend those words didn’t flare something deep inside of him. Still, it wasn’t good to let Dominick have his way too easily. He was cocky enough already, no reason to add fuel to the fire.

“At your mercy, am I?” Alfie countered, letting the covers fall around Dominick’s shoulders. It took most of his composure to affect a sceptical air as he reclined back decadently. “From my vantage point, things look rather different.”

“Oh, really?” Dominick flexed his fingers. It was only then that Alfie realised Dominick’s arms were wound under and around him, his fingers digging into the tops of Alfie’s buttocks. Coiled around him like that, Dominick had him firmly ensnared and they both knew it. Still, Alfie couldn’t help but notice that he was being careful not to rest any of his weight on Alfie’s injured leg.

“Really. To me it looks like you’re exactly where you belong.” The realisation gave more fondness to Alfie’s tone than he intended. He waved a hand loftily. “Now that I’m awake enough to enjoy it, feel free to return to sucking me off at your leisure.”

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About The Author

Samantha SoRelle Logo

Samantha SoRelle grew up all over the world and finally settled in Southern California when she soaked up too much sunshine and got too lazy to move. 

When she’s not writing, she’s doing everything possible to keep from writing. This has led to some unusual pastimes including but not limited to: perfecting fake blood recipes, designing her own cross-stitch patterns, and  wrapping presents for tigers . 

She also enjoys collecting paintings of tall ships and has lost count of the number of succulents she owns. 

Social Media

Website: www.samanthasorelle.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/samanthasorelle

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/samantha.sorelle

FB: https://www.facebook.com/samanthasorelleauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20264312.Samantha_SoRelle

HLR-ON

Alfie and Nick continue to be swoony in this Regency mystery

His Lordship’s Return by Samantha SoRelle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh this had a really interesting premise which cleverly pulled Alfie and Dominick back into the stews of London and their old life.

This gave excellent reasons for the tension to build up not only with the suspense part of the plot, but also with Alfie and Nick’s relationship.

The mystery itself turns out to be a fairly prosaic one, greed and desperation are powerful motivators after all, but it was still enjoyable.

Alfie and Nick continue to be a mix of super swoony, seriously sexy and annoyingly stubborn at times but I truly love them as a pairing.

There’s some super interesting information about Nick’s background revealed towards the end of this book so I’m eager to learn more.

As has been the case with all three books, some excellent research means you get a very clear picture of the time and location the story takes place in.

I hope Sam continues on with Alfie and Nick’s adventures as amateur sleuths.

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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Release Blitz: Tainted Love by T.S. Hunter

Tainted Love | T.S. Hunter

Soho Noir #1

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Publisher: Red Dog Press

Cover Artist: Red Dog Press

Release Date: April 18, 2019

Genre/s: Cosy Crime, Noir, Novella, Amateur Sleuths

Heat Rating: 1 flame – It’s all murder and crime solving, though there is a love interest.

Length: 125 pages

It is a standalone story. The first of a series of 6.

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Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Red Dog Press

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Blurb

Some relationships are just murder

It’s 1985, and Joe Stone is excited to be joining his old school friend, and lifelong crush, Chris, for a long weekend in London’s Soho—home to a vibrant, developing gay scene, and a million miles from the small town Joe and Chris grew up in.

When Chris is found brutally murdered, the police write his death off as another rent boy fallen foul of a bad hook up. But Joe knows his best friend was killed deliberately, and joins forces with former police detective, Russell Dixon—Chris’s flatmate—to find out why.

Spiralling debt, illicit sex, blackmail, spurned lovers and hard-nosed gangsters all play their part, but who among the celebrities, fashionistas, drag queens, ex-lovers and so-called friends is Chris’s killer?

Tainted Love is the first book in the Soho Noir series of cosy crime novellas.

About the series

The Soho Noir series is set in the decade of big hair, shoulder pads, pastel suits and bright, cheesy pop, in a part of London which, on the surface at least, seemed to accept and adore people from all walks of life—a melting pot of gender, sexuality, colour and race, where celebrities rubbed up against the average Joe in cafes, bars and hair salons on every street.

But the 1980s had a darker underbelly, even in Soho. This was a time when gay rights were hard fought, where the police actively targeted gay men as easy victims for arrest and extortion, the government deliberately restricted gay rights and the tabloids screamed about The Gay Plague—the AIDS epidemic. And yet, gay icons who would go on to endure lasting fame and success were springing up all over the pop and fashion world.

The 1980s forms a strangely fitting, sometimes nostalgic, always entertaining backdrop to this colourful series of cosy crime stories.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1

SOHO, LONDON. 1985.

THE DANK WINTERY STREETS outside were a distant memory now. Tonight, this hot, sweaty, neon-lit club was Joe’s whole universe. Music pulsed through his body like a brand new heartbeat. London was already changing him.

Sweat sticking his T-shirt to his ribs, arms raised high above his head, grinning wildly, hips pumping to Frankie’s repetitive calls to “Relax”. Joe hardly recognised himself and he was happier than he’d ever been.

It had been a night of Bronski Beat, Sister Sledge, Culture Club and Madonna—the kind of upbeat pop Joe usually hated. He was into more brooding, melancholic stuff—miserable shite, according to his friend Chris—and yet these pulsing, happy beats felt like they defined him right now. The new him. His new start.

This whole weekend had been like none Joe had ever known. He’d always been the quiet one, never even daring to come down to London on his own. Not confident enough to admit who he really was. This year was different already.

His oldest friend from school, Chris Sexton, had called him out of the blue to invite Joe to join him in London for a long weekend. A friend is having a party, he’d said. It’s going to be wild. You should come.

Chris had been the only person Joe had stayed in touch with from his school days. His first and only love, though he knew that particular accolade was one-sided, and Joe had long since given up hope of anything happening between them, even if he was still—and always would be—a little besotted with Chris.

Chris wasn’t the kind of guy who went around falling in love, though. Handsome, confident, reckless, funny and the bravest man Joe knew—Chris had left a trail of broken hearts behind him of those who’d fallen for him before they realised he’d never settle down.

So Joe and Chris had stayed friends, meeting up less frequently now that they had both left their respective universities, and Joe had secured a boring but well-paid job with the council back in their old home town.#

Chris, on the other hand, had moved to London seven years ago to study Fashion at St Martin’s College. Two fingers up to his father, who’d wanted him to join the family accountancy firm. Maybe he’d go back to it, when he’d settled down a bit. Though there was no sign of that happening any time soon.

After college, Chris had hooked himself up in a partnership with a couple of other young designers, and had been making a name for himself on the fashion scene ever since.

He was renting a flat in the heart of Soho and seemed to have a wide circle of friends of all shapes and ages. Joe wished he had Chris’s life. Or his talent. Or his looks. Any one of those would do.

Joe laughed as his friend bounced across the floor in a series of typically ostentatious dance moves, deliberately bumping into a tall, skinny, blonde guy—exactly Chris’s type—and planting a sly kiss on his cheek before sashaying away again. Oh, for that confidence.

Joe hadn’t even come out to his family yet. In fact, Chris was the only person he’d ever confided in, though he was sure others knew.

His oldest sister suspected. She’d asked him outright once, but he’d just changed the subject. It was none of her business. She was like the mirror of their mother. She wouldn’t understand. She would just worry.

All of that felt a lifetime away right now. Here in this club, Joe had found his spiritual home. This was living. This was who he really was. “Like a Virgin” by Madonna blasting out of the speakers, bodies bouncing and writhing together, very few of them remotely like a virgin.

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About the Author

Claiming to be only half-Welsh, T.S. Hunter lived in South Wales for much of his later teens, moving to London as soon as confidence and finances allowed. He never looked back.

He has variously been a teacher, a cocktail waiter, a podium dancer and a removal man, but his passion for writing has been the only constant.

He’s a confident and engaging speaker and guest, who is as passionate about writing and storytelling as he is about promoting mainstream LGBT fiction.

He now lives with his husband in the country and is active on social media as @TSHunter5.

Author Links

Blog/Website

Facebook

Twitter: Red Dog or TS Hunter


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one of five ebook copies of Tainted Love.

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