Noir has always been one of the most popularand darkestsub-genres of the mystery field. Following in the footsteps of such masters of the form as James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett, some of the top writers of gay mystery explore this territory of amoral tough guys with a cynical view of the world by giving classic noir a gay twist. Edited by award winning author/editors Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann, Men of the Mean Streets changes the face of gay mysteryand the reader may never look at gay life and culture in the same way again.

What happens when you lose the one thing you'd give your life to save?

When Valentine Darrow loses her soul, she embraces her role as one of the vampire elite. As Blood Prime of the clan of the Missionary, Valentine spends her days transforming an old family bank into the financial capital of the Consortium and her nights painting the town red. Blood red.

Alexa Newland believes their everafter to be over. But then a new discovery about an ancient myth kindles her hope that Valentine can be saved. Alexa must trek through the mountains of Argentina to recover a rare flower with mystical powers.

Will Alexa succeed in her quest before Valentine irrevocably crosses over to the darkness?

Women. Crime. Justice. At least the search for it. On the mean streets, the back allies, the dark corners.

These are stories of tough women in hard places. The nights are long, the women are fast, and danger is always a short block or quick minute away. Edited by award winning author/editors J.M. Redmann and Greg Herren, Women of the Mean Streets is an anthology of some of the top, tough women crime writers today, noir stories with a lesbian twist.

When the world ends, what's left to care about?

Taylor Stone is no hero. She has three simple rules for life after the plague: Keep moving. Keep to yourself. Don't get involved. The plague took a particular joy in killing the women of the world, making it that much harder for the few who survived. The only thing that matters since she escaped from a small farm outside of Pittsburgh is the truth waiting at the end of her journey home. The rest of the world, or what's left of it, can go straight to Hell as far as she's concerned.

When a group of survivors offers her food and shelter, she is more than happy to spend a few days, take what she needs, and get out, like she always does. But in a place called Burninghead Farm, despite all her rules and plans, Taylor finds a group of people who have more to offer than the basics of survival. Most of all, there is Kate, a woman who makes Taylor realize love is still alive and makes her dream of a future she thought was no longer possible. If only Taylor can find the courage to fight for it.

It turns out that the end of the world isn't about the end of the world at all, but about what happens after.

Firefighter paramedic Mallory "Ice" James commands a crew of smokejumpers—twenty women and men who eat together, sleep together, and parachute into the face of raging forest fires together—and she has thirty days to whip the rookies into shape. Discipline and teamwork mean the difference between life and death on the line, and she's earned her reputation as cool and controlled in the face of danger. Mallory isn't happy when "Hotshot" Jac Russo shows up unannounced for boot camp along with a reputation for being trouble. Jac is none too pleased about her cold reception, even if the new boss is drop-dead gorgeous and hotter than the blazes they're supposed to be dousing. Mallory and Jac may not like each other much, but lust isn't something either can control—and they soon discover ice burns as fiercely as flame.

A First Responders Novel

Business and pleasure don't mix, especially when the business is murder.

When Aimee Howard, successful boutique real estate broker and socialite, is visited by a team of federal agents looking to arrest her wayward niece, she hires the best defense money can buy. But Aimee begins to question her confidence in the law firm when she learns they've hired a disgraced former police detective to take the lead.

Homicide detective Skye Keaton's shortcuts in the name of justice have finally tipped the scales in the wrong direction. She's lost her job, her pride, and the respect of her family and friends. When an old friend trusts her with a simple task, find a young woman in hiding, she's happy to have the work even though the client is a bossy former debutante who wants to micromanage her every move.

Skye reluctantly decides to let Aimee close to the investigation so she can manage Aimee's expectations, but their professional proximity quickly takes a turn toward passion. Despite their best defenses, as they work together to regain what they've lost, both women find the magnetic attraction that develops between them hard to resist.

One mixed-up girl, one dull boy, two hot distractions. How does one figure it all out?

Life sucks when you're seventeen years old, confused about your sexuality, and the girl of your dreams doesn't even know you exist. The sudden entrance of a hot new emo at school only adds to the confusion.

Clemmie Atkins thinks she's in love with her school friend, the mysterious and alluring J. Devastated that J doesn't even seem to know she exists, Clemmie tries to escape her feelings by dating the nice but dim Ben. Unfortunately for Clemmie—and Ben—J just won't leave her head, or her heart.

Until...

In walks sexy new-girl, Hannah Harrison. Before long, dreams of Hannah begin to eclipse the impossible thoughts of J and the boredom of Ben. Clemmie has exactly 365 days to discover herself, and she's going to have a blast doing it!

What Jude Jaeger seeks is simple. What she needs is complicated. Woman. She has one a night at Conquest, sometimes two. And she gives them what no one else can or will. Pleasure. But outside the club, Jude isn't interested in women, keeping them at arm's length. That is until she's meets Mary, a woman who responds to her touch like none of the others. When Mary shows up at the college where Jude teaches, all the emotions Jude thought she could live without come rushing back stronger than ever.

Mary Brunelle is a socially awkward loner who goes to a private club and finds herself in the arms of a beautiful stranger who conquers every last inch of her and then disappears into the night. Mary tries to find her, desperately wanting to see her again, but has no success until one day in class she looks up to see that the mystery woman is there. And she's her professor. Mary soon sets forth on her own conquest, but can she tame the ultimate dominatrix?

Cancer survivor Addison Hunt knows she can't offer any guarantees, in love or in life, and after experiencing a loss of her own, Brooke Donahue isn't willing to risk her heart.

Addison hasn't been with anyone since her cancer treatment and has convinced herself she is happy with the life she is building on her own. Brooke is attracted to Addison, but that's as far as she is willing to let it go. She doesn't want to get involved, especially not with someone whose future is uncertain. But spending time together while working on a project to raise money and awareness for cancer research has them both questioning their convictions.

Can Brooke and Addison find hope for love, even against their will?

London 1889. For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard's blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone's after it, including Ira's bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus. No sooner does Ira have the porcelain dog in his hot little hands, than he loses it to a nimble-fingered prostitute. As Ira's search for the dog drags him back to the mean East End streets where he grew up, he discovers secrets about his own past, and about Goddard's present business dealings, which make him question everything he thought he knew. An old friend turns up dead, and an old enemy proves himself a friend. Goddard is pressing Ira for a commitment, but every new discovery casts doubt on whether Ira can, in good conscience, remain with him. In the end, Ira must choose between his hard-won life of luxury and standing against a grievous wrong.

The only thing that frightens shapeshifter Selene Rhodes more than the full moon is the idea of falling in love.

Selene Rhodes has lived her whole life with a terrible secret: not only can she take the form of any animal at will, but once a month the full moon transforms her into a fierce wolf-creature without a human conscience. Managing her condition means living by a strict routine, and more importantly, abstaining from intimate relationships with human beings. Selene is convinced that love and friendship can only bring her pain.

Forensic pathologist Eve Thomas is well-acquainted with the pain of romantic love. Swearing off relationships after having her heart broken by a cheating ex, Eve throws herself into her work: catching murderers. When Selene comes to her aid after an attack by a masked man in Golden Gate Park, Eve is shocked by how powerfully she is drawn to her mysterious savior.

Shaken by her own feelings for Eve, Selene is even more terrified to realize she isn't even close to being the scariest monster stalking San Francisco. There is someone out in the city who is killing for pleasure, and his next target is the one woman he thinks might be able to stop him: Eve.

Falling in love and saving the world are not in the cards, or are they?

Devorah Rosten receives a pack of tarot cards for her Bat Mitzvah, hides them away, and forgets about them. Years later, she resurrects the cards and discovers her ability with tarot is anything but run-of-the-mill. She uses her extraordinary talents to 'reorganize' her wealthy clients' futures. Dev's ethically challenged efforts come to the attention of the cosmic powers. To her dismay, she is chosen as their next gladiator. Rich, brilliant, but flawed, Dev has no intention of becoming anybody's hero.

Laura Bishop, a successful Seattle attorney, has information about her old boss, Senator Elizabeth Stratton. The secrets Laura carries have placed her squarely in the gun sights of Stratton's political movement, a movement that will tolerate no threat to its plan for dominating the country. Alone and endangered, Laura turns to Dev's talents to help her navigate to safety.

Fighting for survival and unsure whether they are prey or predators, Dev and Laura realize their growing desire for each other. Reluctantly, Dev must decide if she will use her unique skills to save Laura, herself, and even humankind from a force called The Malignity.

In most games, you play to win. In matters of the heart, you play for keeps.

Trent Williams's entire world revolves around her love of gaming. She has little time for romantic distractions and prefers instead to be with her closest friends who, like her, live for the thrill that comes from a competition well played. Happy in her job, seemingly content with her life, Trent still finds herself haunted by the past that threatens to keep her alone forever. The self-imposed solitude she places on her heart only leaves her all too aware of just how lonely she is.

All work and no play in her executive job forces Juliet Sullivan to search for a different direction in life. Disillusioned by it all, Juliet is desperate to seek out new horizons. When Trent unwittingly comes to the rescue of her younger sister, Juliet immediately finds herself drawn to Trent's silent strength and undeniable charm. Now the new direction Juliet so desperately desires seems intent on leading her straight into Trent's arms.

What do you do when you fall through the loopholes in the system and all you have to rely on are your own wits?

Lois and Sophie have scrambled and saved for years, planning for their retirement in Florida. But now they've lost it all, and Lois's sniper training from her long-ago service as an Army nurse leads to a desperate career choice.

When Detective Morgan Holiday is assigned to investigate a spate of sniper killings, it's just one more stress point in her already overburdened life. But as she grows increasingly solitary—coping with an Alzheimer's-plagued mother who refuses to be confined to a nursing home, and a police partner counting the days to retirement—she comes to realize that these murders may cut close to home.

A modern morality tale of justice, retribution, and women who refuse to be politely invisible.

The Saints' victory in the Super Bowl just prior to the start of Carnival season has everyone in New Orleans floating on Cloud Nine. But for Scotty Bradley, Carnival looks like it's going to be grim yet again when his estranged cousin Jared--who plays for the Saints--becomes the number one suspect in the murder of his girlfriend, dethroned former Miss Louisiana Tara Bourgeouis. Scotty's not entirely convinced his cousin isn't the killer, but when he starts digging around into the homophobic beauty queen's sordid life, he finds that any number of people wanted her dead. With the help of his friends and family, he plunges deeper and deeper into Tara's tawdry world of sex tapes, fundamentalist fascists, and mind-boggling secrets--secrets some are willing to kill to keep!

A Scotty Bradley Mystery.

When it comes to family secrets, Southern gentry would rather let sleeping dogs lie.

Abigail Wetherington believes the evil that stalks her family in the streets of London is a sleeping dog come back to bite them. So with her last breath, she implores her beautiful granddaughter, Lillie, to flee to the family's polo estate in South Carolina and seek the protection of someone Abigail has come to trust—Swain Butler. What Lillie doesn't know is that she is putting herself in the hands of a woman who may be the biggest family secret of them all.

Be careful, Abigail cautions Lillie. If sleeping dogs must be roused, then call them forth softly.

Love, desire, and secrets—a trail littered with murder and the choice one vampire will have to make that will seal her fate or set her free...

Spokane County Medical Examiner Riah Preston has a job to do and a secret to keep. Riah is a vampire and she's on a mission to discover a cure for the very thing that has kept her a prisoner of darkness for over five hundred years. With the help of Moses Lake Coroner Ivy Hernandez and genetic scientist Adriana James, they are on the verge of a breakthrough. When victims of a rogue vampire begin to show up along the I-90 corridor, things get complicated. The appearance of vampire hunter Colin Jamison complicates the situation even further. Will they be strong enough to stop this vampire killer cutting a wide path of death and destruction? Or will the secrets Riah holds in her heart destroy them all?

Can Ros Wynne, who has lost everything she thought defined her, find her true life— and her true love—surrounded by the lingering history of the once-grand Winter Manor?

When Ros unexpectedly inherits Winter Manor on the condition that she oversee the restoration of the remote and dilapidated house, it seems the perfect place for her to retreat from her recently failed relationship, the death of her mother, and the loss of her job. But Winter Manor is not entirely at rest. The echoes of its past reach forward into the present, and Ros's life is perceptibly shaped by the lives—and loves—of the people who inhabited those rooms and corridors in the centuries before her.

Then Anna arrives. The architect—with her designer clothes, hot car, and air of supreme professionalism—is at first an unwelcome, if necessary, intrusion. But as Ros learns Anna's truths, she finds solace from her past losses in their developing intimacy. And when their love is threatened, Ros must decide whether her own ghosts will forever define her, or if she can embrace her life for what it is—past, present, and future.