Books like 'Sparring with Shadows'
Readers who enjoyed Sparring with Shadows by Erin O'Quinn also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance mystery mlm kidnapping historical-fiction investigator humor lgbtq dark
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Balefire by Jordan L. Hawk
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhyborne’s Endicott relatives have returned to collect on the promise he made to help them take back their ancestral manor from an evil cult. In exchange, they’ll give him the key to deciphering the Wisborg Codex, which Whyborne needs to learn how to stop the masters... -
![Murder Book by Marshall Thornton]()
Murder Book by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the second of the Boystown mysteries to be a finalist for the Lambda Award, it’s fall 1982 and Chicago is gripped by panic after five people die from poisoned Tylenol capsules. Amid the chaos, the Bughouse Slasher takes his eighth victim, this time striking close to private investigator Nick Nowak. With the Chicago Police Department stretched to its limit, Nick takes matters into his own hands... -
![The Tell Tale by Clare Ashton]()
The Tell Tale by Clare Ashton
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA small town, enduring love, a web of secrets.The Tell Tale has been watching and waiting, because there’s something queer about the village of Foel.Beth Griffiths has returned home to raise her daughter in the Welsh hills. They arrive to the open arms of the community, but not all is what it seems and Beth isn’t home for the reason she pretends either... -
![Stranger at the Grove by Mary Kingswood]()
Stranger at the Grove by Mary Kingswood
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn estranged brother is forced to return to his home and face up to his past.Malcolm Gage walked out of his brother’s life sixteen years ago when they both wanted to marry the same woman. Malcolm lost that battle, and he’s never forgiven his brother for it, preferring to live in poverty as a schoolmaster rather than swallow his pride and go home... -
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![From the Ashes by Marshall Thornton]()
From the Ashes by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s winter 1984. Private Investigator Nick Nowak has allowed his life to fall to pieces: He’s stopped taking cases, given up his apartment and taken a job as a bartender at a sleazy joint tucked under the El. All he wants to do is stay hidden and lick his wounds after the death of his lover, Detective Bert Harker... -
![Carved in Bone by Michael Nava]()
Carved in Bone by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWas Bill Ryan's death an accident? Henry Rios has his doubts.The first new Henry Rios novel in 20 years from six-time Lambda Literary award winner Michael Nava is a brilliantly plotted mystery that weaves together the gripping story of two gay men against the backdrop of 1980s San Francisco as the tsunami of AIDS bears down upon the city... -
![Sleepless in Southampton by Chasity Bowlin]()
Sleepless in Southampton by Chasity Bowlin
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEvery touch brings with it a world of temptation. Eventually, there is a point of no return. Miss Sophia Upchurch is not having a good day. Her employer is dead, she’s been robbed, she’s now stranded in a strange city, and the handsome man she’d met on the stage, the man she’d flirted with, is no longer simply Mr. Henry Meredith, a possible suitor... -
![Taking the Spinster by Samantha Holt]()
Taking the Spinster by Samantha Holt
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Earl of Henleigh has no time or desire for women. Well, that’s a lie. He has the desire, but since his disastrous engagement, he’s avoided the opposite sex at all costs.It’s a shame Miss Haversham has not received the message, though.The determined reporter refuses to leave Guy alone, convinced he’s the key to a story... -
![A Killer in the Crystal Palace by Deb Marlowe]()
A Killer in the Crystal Palace by Deb Marlowe
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA grand showcase for technology, art, design and . . . murder. London, 1851, and the Great Exhibition is on. A soaring success despite months of dour predictions, it is the event of the year, on front pages and wagging tongues the world over—and Miss Kara Levett is thrilled to be in the middle of it... -
![Belle by Lesley Pearse]()
Belle by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLondon 1910 Fifteen year-old Belle has lived in a brothel in Seven Dials all her life, with no understanding of what happens in the rooms upstairs. But her innocence is shattered when she witnesses the murder of one of the girls and, subsequently snatched from the streets by the killer, she is sold into prostitution in Paris... -
![The Lies That Bind by Marshall Thornton]()
The Lies That Bind by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe eighth book of the best-selling Boystown Mystery Series begins with a phone call in the middle of the night. Private investigator Nick Nowak is pulled into the troubled world of freelance journalist, and all around pain-in-the-ass, Christian Baylor. When Christian can’t stop lying about the corpse in his bathroom things slip slowly out of control... -
![Bloodlines by Marshall Thornton]()
Bloodlines by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the latest book in the Boystown Mystery series, Private Investigator Nick Nowak finds himself simultaneously working two cases for his new client, law firm Cooke, Babcock and Lackerby. A suburban dentist has just been convicted of murdering her adulterous husband, Nick is asked to interview witnesses for the penalty phase of the trial—and possibly find the dead man’s mistress... -
![An Agent for Alexandra by Rebecca Connolly]()
An Agent for Alexandra by Rebecca Connolly
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlexandra Drake is determined that her spoiled, Southern upbringing will have no effect on her new life as one of the few female Pinkerton agents. Tucker Waite is convinced that the wealthy heiress has no idea what she is in for and will get him killed... -
![Fade Out by Marshall Thornton]()
Fade Out by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Lambda Award-winning Boystown Mystery series comes to a close with Boystown 13: Fade Out. When a box containing a woman’s corpse shows up at his doorstep, Private Investigator Nick Nowak finds himself accused of murder. The police are convinced it’s Rita Lindquist—a woman who once shot Nick. Their case is thin, but they and the state’s attorney are determined to prosecute him... -
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![A Time For Secrets by Marshall Thornton]()
A Time For Secrets by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the first full-length novel of the Boystown series, it’s late summer 1982 and private detective Nick Nowak is asked to find a retired gentleman’s long lost lover. Instead, he finds himself embroiled in a decades old murder connected to the man who wants tobe Chicago’s next mayor... -
![Rag and Bone by Michael Nava]()
Rag and Bone by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOne of the most highly acclaimed writers in the mystery genre "explores new emotional depths" in this last Henry Rios novel. The gay Mexican-American attorney, after the loss of his lover, must face his own mortality while recovering from a heart attack-and reach out to a family he didn't know he had... -
![Lay Your Sleeping Head by Michael Nava, Michael Hames-García]()
Lay Your Sleeping Head by Michael Nava, Michael Hames-García
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThirty years ago, The Little Death introduced Henry Rios, a gay, Latino criminal defense lawyer who became the central figure in a celebrated seven novel series... -
![A Deep Divide by Kimberley Woodhouse]()
A Deep Divide by Kimberley Woodhouse
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter being kidnapped as a child, heiress Emma Grace McMurray has seen firsthand the devastation that greed causes in the world, and she wants nothing to do with it--including her father's offering her hand in a business deal. She sneaks away to be a Harvey Girl at the El Tovar Grand Canyon Hotel, planning to stay hidden even if it means always looking over her shoulder... -
![Golden Terrace, Vol. 2 by Cang Wu Bin Bai, 苍梧宾白]()
Golden Terrace, Vol. 2 by Cang Wu Bin Bai, 苍梧宾白
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAs the bond between Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan deepens, the looming threat above the empire of Great Zhou remains omnipresent. After the settlement of the Kuangshan Academy case, Yan Xiaohan accompanies Prince Qi southward to Jingchu. However, an unexpected storm traps Prince Qi’s party inside a mysterious temple and leads Yan Xiaohan into a hidden lion’s den... -
![Late Fees by Marshall Thornton]()
Late Fees by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s Thanksgiving, 1992 and Noah Valentine is late picking his mother up from the airport. When he arrives he discovers that she’s made a friend on the flight whose also waiting for her son. When women’s son doesn’t show up, they eventually take the woman home for breakfast with neighbor’s Marc and Louis... -
![Hell in a Hand Basket by Annabelle Anders]()
Hell in a Hand Basket by Annabelle Anders
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSophia Babineaux has landed a husband! And a good one at that! Lord Harold, the second son of a duke, is kind, gentle, undemanding. Perhaps a little too undemanding? Because after one chance encounter with skilled rake, Captain Devlin Brooks, it is glaringly obvious that something is missing between Lord Harold and herself… pas-sion… sizzle… well… everything... -
![Fall from Trace by Rebecca Connolly]()
Fall from Trace by Rebecca Connolly
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGone, but not forgotten...Alex Sommerville should have been dead. To the world, he had been dead for almost five years, and with him, the secrets he had carried as Trace, the most elusive member of the London League. When a chance to escape finally comes, Alex finds just enough life left in him to take it, and races off to return to the woman he loves... -
![Meeting Her Match by Jen Turano]()
Meeting Her Match by Jen Turano
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMiss Camilla Pierpont, a renowned matchmaker and influential member of the New York Four Hundred, has vowed never to marry after suffering a devastating heartbreak during her debut years ago. However, when she is nearly abducted along the Hudson River, she finds herself rescued by an annoyingly outspoken, albeit fascinating, gentleman who challenges her in a manner she wasn't expecting... -
![The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 3 by Natsu Hyuuga]()
The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 3 by Natsu Hyuuga
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMaomao must help keep Consort Gyokuyou safe during her pregnancy. An imperial consort being with child is supposed to be a matter of the utmost secrecy, but this is the rear palace, where maneuvering and backstabbing are as commonplace as banter and tea parties. Threats seem to lurk around every corner—but it’s not just the rear palace keeping busy... -
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![The Jackal’s House by Anna Butler]()
The Jackal’s House by Anna Butler
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSequel to The Gilded ScarabSomething is stalking the Aegyptian night and endangering the archaeologists excavating the mysterious temple ruins in Abydos. But is it a vengeful ancient spirit or a very modern conspiracy…... -
![Beyond the Grave by Pandora Pine]()
Beyond the Grave by Pandora Pine
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Cold Case Psychic Spin off NovellaMuseum curator, Harrison Kirkpatrick, has been fascinated by the American Revolution since childhood, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine falling in love from afar with a soldier who fought for America’s freedom... -
![Claw Marks & Card Games by Maz Maddox]()
Claw Marks & Card Games by Maz Maddox
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCooper Woodlock is a man who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Between his gambling debt and being a widowed father, he can never seem to get Lady Luck back on his side. Desperate for a winning hand, Cooper starts hitting saloons and tempting fate in order to keep the bloodthirsty Spades at bay... -
![Hidden Treasures by Marshall Thornton]()
Hidden Treasures by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s about a dress. A valuable blue sequined dress worn by a famed actress in a film from the 1940s. For some reason everyone thinks video storeowner Noah Valentine has it. Which might not be a big deal except that it’s connected to the murder of a prominent Hollywood costumer.In the second of the Pinx Video Mysteries, Noah attempts to solve the mystery of the dress... -
![All Lessons Learned: A classic mystery romance by Charlie Cochrane]()
All Lessons Learned: A classic mystery romance by Charlie Cochrane
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“A sparkling, intelligent series, not to be missed” – The Historical Novel Society The Great War is over. Freed from a prisoner of war camp and back at St. Bride’s College, Orlando Coppersmith is discovering what those years have cost.... All he holds dear—including his beloved Jonty Stewart, lost in combat... -
![Fitzwilliam Darcy, Man of Fortune by Jennifer Joy]()
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Man of Fortune by Jennifer Joy
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFitzwilliam Darcy wants nothing more than to win Elizabeth Bennet's good opinion, so when her family's reputation is threatened with ruin, he plans to use his influence and fortune to save them. He carries out his plans perfectly … until he wakes up on a pirate ship...Categorized as:
historical-fiction kidnapping humor dark industrial-era regency forced-proximity action-adventure -
![The Anarchists' Club by Alex Reeve]()
The Anarchists' Club by Alex Reeve
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's been a year since Leo Stanhope lost the woman he loved, and came closing to losing his own life. Now, more than ever, he is determined to keep his head down and stay safe, without risking those he holds dear... -
![Just a Little Seduction by Merry Farmer]()
Just a Little Seduction by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDavid Wirth has made it his life’s work to fight for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves and to navigate England’s choppy legal waters for fellow members of The Brotherhood. Tracking down the three villainous noblemen, including a powerful duke, who have masterminded a child kidnapping ring promises to be the pinnacle of his career seeking justice for the helpless... -
![A Shimmer in the Night by Kelley York]()
A Shimmer in the Night by Kelley York
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBenjamin Prichard has spent much of his life feeling like an outsider. Growing up, his odd behaviour and visions of ghosts left him isolated, not to mention being the child of an immigrant mother and an absent father. Benjamin walks the line between not being Chinese enough for one community, and not English enough for the other.Whisperwood School for Boys changes everything... -
![Two Nick Nowak Novellas by Marshall Thornton]()
Two Nick Nowak Novellas by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the two novellas that make up the third book in the popular Boystown Mysteries private Investigator Nick Nowak works two challenging cases and grapples with an even more challenging personal life. In Little Boy Boom, Nick’s car explodes when a thief attempts to steal it... -
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![The Burning Plain by Michael Nava]()
The Burning Plain by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGay Mexican American lawyer Henry Rios has fought bigotry and prejudice, battled alcoholism, and watched his lover die from AIDS. In The Burning Plain, he's wrongly accused of murder after a male prostitute he spent an evening with is savagely murdered... -
![Howtown by Michael Nava]()
Howtown by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic and Michael Nava has been hailed by the New York Times as "one of our best" crime writers. Upon its original publication, the Los Angeles Times said of Howtown and its author: "Nava's mysteries are faithful to the conventions of the genre, but they are set apart by their insight, compassion, and sense of social justice. -
![The Hidden Law by Michael Nava]()
The Hidden Law by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic. In The Hidden Law, Rios delves deeply into his Latino identity as he defends a young man charged with assassinating a prominent Los Angeles Latino politician... -
![Desiring the Devil of Duncraven by Jillian Eaton]()
Desiring the Devil of Duncraven by Jillian Eaton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe's a dangerous bounty hired to track her down...she's a beautiful duchess with a wounded heart. When these two meet, one thing is certain: the Devil of Duncraven is never letting her go... -
![Lessons in Power by Charlie Cochrane]()
Lessons in Power by Charlie Cochrane
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe ghosts of the past will shape your future. Unless you fight them. Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 4 Cambridge, 1907 After settling in their new home, Cambridge dons Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart are looking forward to nothing more exciting than teaching their students and playing rugby... -
![Promise: A Lords of Action Novel by K.J. Jackson]()
Promise: A Lords of Action Novel by K.J. Jackson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings***** $0.99 for a VERY limited time ***** A deal with a notorious rake may be her only hope. In a desperate search for her missing sister, Lady Natalia Abbingale is out of money, out of options, and out of hope—until she spies the one man that may be the key to finding her sister—the Marquess of Lockston. He was a rake. A connoisseur of young widows. She knew that... -
![How Goes The World? by K.J. Charles]()
How Goes The World? by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Positively Final Appearance: a two-part epilogue with Daniel and Archie at a house party and Kim and Will in a gentleman's club, because those are definitely settings that go well for them... -
![To Trust Man On His Oath by K.J. Charles]()
To Trust Man On His Oath by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Will Darling Adventures interlude.Set a week after the ending of The Sugared Game (so containsmild spoilers for that book)... -
![Song for a Viking by K.J. Charles]()
Song for a Viking by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 11 ratings‘Song for a Viking’ takes place during/just after the events of the last chapter of Think of England and will be of no use at all to anyone who hasn’t read that book. It is not a standalone. You will definitely get the most out of it if you remind yourself of Think of England’s last chapter before reading... -
![Masters in This Hall by K.J. Charles]()
Masters in This Hall by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJohn Garland was in love: now he's in disgrace. He's jobless, alone, and determined to avenge himself on the thief who ruined his life. All he wants for Christmas is to see Barnaby Littimer in gaol.Barnaby has secured a job running the extravagant traditional Christmas at a rich man's country house. John intends to thwart whatever he's up to... -
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![Tangled in Time by Barbara Longley]()
Tangled in Time by Barbara Longley
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA time-travel romance for fans of Diana Gabaldon and Hazel Hunter. To set him free from an ancient curse, she must travel to a time of myth and legend… Regan MacCarthy’s ability to see ghosts is a gift inherited from her Irish ancestors, but it’s one she’d dearly like to give back... -
![My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy]()
My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"The accounts of these cases are too bound up with events in my personal life which, although they may provide a plausible commentary to much of my dealings with Mr Sherlock Holmes, can never be public while he or I remain alive... -
![Murder Aboard the Flying Scotsman by Lee Strauss]()
Murder Aboard the Flying Scotsman by Lee Strauss
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne blustery day in October of 1924, newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Basil Reed travel aboard the recently christened Flying Scotsman, a high-speed steam engine train that travels from London to Edinburgh, for their honeymoon. With only one short stop at York, Ginger anticipates time with her new husband will fly by.She’s wrong... -
![Peerless: Wu Shuang (Novel) Vol. 3 by Meng Xi Shi]()
Peerless: Wu Shuang (Novel) Vol. 3 by Meng Xi Shi
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA RACE AGAINST TIMEAfter the long journey to the Western Khaganate, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao find their diplomatic efforts stymied when they are accused of murdering a Göktürk prince. Thinking on his feet, Cui Buqu requests a single day to crack the case and clear their names... -
![Innocence & Carnality by J. Alan Veerkamp]()
Innocence & Carnality by J. Alan Veerkamp
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings(Please note: This is a re-release with no additional content added.) Innocence is his only currency. The gilded cage of propriety where Nathan grew up as a member of the Deilian aristocracy became a true prison when, at fifteen, his homosexuality came to light and created a terrible scandal... -
![An Earl Out of Time by Louise Allen]()
An Earl Out of Time by Louise Allen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn impulse buy in an antique shop sends 21st century Special Constable Cassie Lawrence spinning back through time to 1807 and into the middle of a fight in a London alleyway. Someone wants to stop Lucian Franklin, Earl of Radcliffe from finding missing Arabella Trenton, even if it means killing him in the process...
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