It’s winter in New York City, and Rufus O’Callaghan is trying to make things work. He’s still got his job as a confidential informant, and he’s still got Sam Auden. The ex-Army drifter has moved in with Rufus, and the two men are trying to build a lasting relationship as Sam struggles to find his footing in the city.

When Sam gets a call from a woman offering to sell him information about Project Stonefish, though, neither man knows what to make of it. Sam still has questions about the training operation that caused him to leave the Army—and that ended in the death of someone Sam cared about. And Rufus is all too aware that when it comes to Stonefish, Sam’s judgment might be in question.

Everything changes when Sam and Rufus learn that the woman who called Sam has died from a suspicious overdose—and that, before she died, she contacted someone else about Stonefish. Someone who wants Stonefish to stay buried in the past. Someone with the power—and the ruthlessness—to make sure it stays buried. And to learn the truth about what happened all those years ago, Sam and Rufus will have to place themselves in the crosshairs.

An Auden & O'Callaghan Mystery series reading order:

#1 A Friend in the Dark

#2 A Friend in the Fire

#3 A Friend in the Glass

Keywords: gay romance, whodunit, opposites attract, slow burn, big city, red herring, partners-in-crime, crooked cop, mm romance, dark and gritty, law enforcement, medical condition