Books in series
#1
The Cardigans
2018
When a string of young queer men turn up dead in grisly murders, all signs point to the ex-boyfriend—but what should be an open-and-shut case is fraught with tension when BPD homicide detective Malcolm Khalaji joins up with a partner he never wanted. Rigid, ice-cold, and a stickler for the rules, Seong-Jae Yoon is a watchful presence whose obstinacy and unpredictability constantly remind Malcolm why he prefers to work alone. Seong-Jae may be stunningly attractive, a man who moves like a graceful, lethal bird of prey . . . but he's as impossible to decipher as this case. And if Malcolm doesn't find the key to unravel both in time, another vulnerable young victim may end up dead. Contains mature themes.
#2
Junk Shop Blues
2018
A murdered night club mogul unlocks a web of infidelity and deceit. The most likely suspect? The daughter of the richest family in Baltimore, if only Detectives Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon can piece the evidence together. The clues just aren't lining up—but Malcolm can't tell if he's missing a piece of the puzzle or completely missing the mark. The McAllister case still haunts him. So many dead. So many he couldn't save. It's throwing him off his game. And the only one who really understands is his strange, coldly aloof partner. A partner he can never see the same way, after a moment of intimacy that haunts him as much as the voices of the dead. Seong-Jae Yoon is struggling in his own way. He can't solve the case when he can't trust Malcolm, and he can't trust Malcolm when the grizzled old wolf is growing increasingly erratic, increasingly dangerous. What disturbs Seong-Jae is how much he needs to trust Malcolm. He doesn't get that close. He doesn't get that involved. But he may have no choice, if they want to stop a powerful killer from slipping away. Contains mature themes.
#3
The Man with the Glass Eye
2018
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Multiple execution-style murders hint at a mob hit, but when Malcolm and Seong-Jae follow the clues the last thing they expect is a host of very familiar—and very dead—faces. They say dead men tell no tales, but if Malcolm and Seong-Jae can't even trust the words of the living, they'll never catch a hit man dead set on burying every trace of an underworld secret...along with a few more bodies.
But it's not just the cold bodies on their minds, when a little undercover work sends them to a nightclub once owned by none other than Marion Garvey. Forced to play at being lovers, neither man can ignore the distraction of the very warm body in his arms. To Malcolm, Seong-Jae remains as aloof as ever...but what's really smoldering under that icy mask?
#4
Changing Faces
2018
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
With Malcolm on forced bed rest and off duty, Detective Seong-Jae Yoon faces his first solo case since joining the BPD—and it's one that will challenge his morals, his sense of duty, and his insistence on adhering to the letter of the law, especially when his actions in the Bishop case leave him questioning his own integrity. When the supposedly accidental death of a husband and father points to foul play in the victim's family, how close will Seong-Jae look to determine if the ends justify the means...and will he be able to live with the choices he makes?
Especially when his mind is as far from the case as possible, and lingering on Malcolm Khalaji, Malcolm's ex-wife, and Seong-Jae's own conflicted feelings?
#5
It's Witchcraft
2018
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
An eerie ritualistic murder sends Malcolm and Seong-Jae down a bizarre path of the occult to find a killer—but when it comes to witchcraft, the suspect's not the only one casting a spell. With Seong-Jae haunting his dreams, Malcolm is practically bewitched, his trust in Seong-Jae growing deeper and deeper as both men learn to rely on each other.
But when the murder triggers memories from both Seong-Jae's and Malcolm's shadowed pasts, will the secrets they share bring them closer...or drive them further apart?
#6
Where There's Smoke
2018
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
They say where there's smoke, there's fire—but Malcolm and Seong-Jae have a lot of blood and no body in a case where the only witness to a murder may be the killer himself. Yet as they chase down a victim who may or may not exist in a crime that may or may not have happened, it's the sparks flying between them that threaten to ignite into dangerous flame...and by the time this case is over, their relationship may never be the same. One kiss, one case, one night may change everything...
...and when Malcolm and Seong-Jae come together, someone's going to get burned.
#7
Cult of Personality
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
"He pushed me."
Three words turn a suspected suicide into an unsettling murder, pointing to a killer whose methods and motives threaten to expose buried memories of Seong-Jae's past. Yet neither Malcolm nor Seong-Jae are ready for the shadowed secrets that could shatter their tenuous new relationship, when a haunting presence seems to stalk them around every corner, watching their smallest move, baiting them and flirting just out of reach. Is it the killer, always staying one step ahead?
Or a green-eyed ghost, luring both Malcolm and Seong-Jae toward the point of no return?
#8
Collateral Damage
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Tragedy strikes on the homefront when a husband and father snaps...but if Detectives Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon can't track down a killer on the run, this crime of passion may take one more victim. Moral boundaries blur, lines cross, and even as a secretive puppetmaster watches from the shadows, both Malcolm and Seong-Jae must make a choice. One path leads to salvation.
While the other may leave an innocent dead.
And not even the feelings growing between them will stop Malcolm and Seong-Jae from shattering for good.
#9
A Single Bright Candle's Flame
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Detective Malcolm Khalaji is at a loss.
For the second time in his life, he wasn't there when his lover needed him. And with Seong-Jae Yoon on leave pending an internal investigation, Malcolm doesn't know what to do with a shattered partner and boyfriend who's retreated from him into a dark and broken place. It's Gabrielle all over again...yet this time, Malcolm is determined to do this right. This time he's determined to be there no matter what Seong-Jae needs, even if it means taking time off from the pressures of their job to hold Seong-Jae through every moment of trauma, of guilt, of self-recrimination.
Until a frantic phone call from Seong-Jae's parents destroys any hope of peace.
Because Seong-Jae's younger sister is missing—and there's only one place she would go.
Yet even if the desperate search breaks Seong-Jae's numbness, it's the warmth of family that brings him back from a black and dangerous edge—and shows Malcolm a side to Seong-Jae he never could have imagined. But not even these idyllic moments of calm are safe, as the twisted machinations surrounding them continue. If each player in this game is a chess piece, then none other than Edmund Bishop is a pawn, sacrificed to save his queen. Yet is Lillienne Wellington really the one pulling the strings?
Or is someone else trying to eliminate Bishop for their own dire ends?
#10
Backdraft
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
When a 911 call goes wrong and a young man goes missing, it falls to Malcolm and Seong-Jae to investigate the responding officers when Internal Affairs' internal politics leave the case compromised and the officers aren't willing to talk. But with Seong-Jae on the wrong side of the thin blue line, tensions just may turn violent before the detectives find their answers—and only their trust in each other will keep this investigation from hitting a dead end. Will Malcolm and Seong-Jae's savage love survive the test, or will this case end in self-destruction?
With Sade mysteriously vanished once more, taking one of their major assets out of commission, it's anyone's game. Especially when their missing young man becomes a dead young man...and no one will admit who's truly responsible for his violent demise.
#11
Crescendo
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
"I'm sorry."
A stage play turns into high drama when the leading man's mutilated body takes center stage—and the remorseful note pinned to his chest is Malcolm and Seong-Jae's only clue to finding the killer. What should be a simple case is complicated by secrets and lies; as more and more of Seong-Jae's past surfaces, every deflection and careful half-truth builds the walls between partners-turned-lovers higher still.
When Malcolm and Seong-Jae can no longer see eye to eye...will the closing act of their story turn into a tragedy?
#12
The Hatter's Game
Part I
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Broken trust. Shattered hearts. Secrets exposed—and yet still no closer to the truth. When Malcolm and Seong-Jae's relationship hits a wall, their partnership fragments as well...and they may not be able to withstand the crushing tide when protests over Tomasz Kowalczyk's death turn into deadly riots. Too many familiar faces return, and one will be leaving in a bodybag.
But for the puppetmaster guiding their every move, the chaos that descends on Baltimore is the perfect opportunity to capture his mark.
And when Sila sets his eyes on Malcolm...
Malcolm will discover that nowhere is safe. There's no one he can trust.
And no one to save him from the man who taught Seong-Jae to love through pain. Through suffering. Through hatred. Through lies.
Through betrayal, when nothing and no one are what they seem.
Part I of the thrilling Season One finale!
#13
The Hatter's Game
Part II
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Malcolm Khalaji is missing.
And Seong-Jae Yoon is the only one who can find him.
But to do so means walking paths he swore he would never tread again. Descending into the blackest hallways of a twisted and sadistic mind. Breaking down every wall he's ever built around himself, to try to predict what Sila will do next.
Yet not even Seong-Jae can anticipate the outcome of this deadly game.
One chance.
One choice.
Will Seong-Jae sacrifice himself to save Malcolm...
...or become the monster that Sila knows him to be?
Part Two of the explosive finale and the climactic ending to Season One!
#14
The Golden Ratio
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
The boys are back, and an old face from Seong-Jae’s past plunges BPD Detectives Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon from a two-month suspension right into the depths of hell—and into one of the most horrific, grisly cases of Malcolm’s life.
He's never seen anything like it. Macabre ritual killings, and the only one who's ever been able to crack the killer's pattern has been his partner and lover.
But Malcolm and Seong-Jae aren't the only ones tracking this case.
And with the return of FBI Division Chief Aanga Joshi, Malcolm may have to contend with more than a rogue killer.
A jealous ex. More of Seong-Jae's buried secrets. A prison break turned into a blood-soaked crime scene.
And two men, far from home, standing on the brink.
Where nothing may be safe.
Not even each other.
ABOUT SEASON TWO
Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon are back on the case—and partnering with the FBI on a horrific serial murder case that will test Malcolm's faith and revive the darkest parts of Seong-Jae's past. With an enigmatic killer leading them on a wild goose chase through city after city and body after body, both Mal and Seong-Jae will find themselves pushed to their limits as they discover the worst of what humanity can do.
Even two minds against one may not be enough as they track the devious Golden Ratio Killer, and try to find the key to his pattern. But the trail of breadcrumbs left by the white rabbit will lead them suspiciously close to home, and a connection they never could have predicted. With their worlds exploding around them and everyone they know suddenly cast into doubt...
Can their partnership—and their love—survive the greatest trial of their lives?
#15
In Sequence
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
The Golden Ratio killer resurfaces in California to target a former victim, and this time the case takes Malcolm and Seong-Jae hunting deep into his past, searching for connections between victim and killer that may reveal his identity. But with the killer one step ahead of them, toying with them, leaving false trails at every turn, it's like playing Russian Roulette—and if they guess the wrong suspect out of a potential five, one misstep could leave many more dead.
With Malcolm and Seong-Jae's domestic life—and sex life—up in the air they're off their game, off the mark, and already starting to crack. But they aren't the only ones, as back in Baltimore Huang kicks a new plan into motion and Anjulie finds herself under unwanted scrutiny. Everyone's lives are falling apart.
And if they can't get their sh\*t together, more than their relationships may crash and burn.
ABOUT SEASON TWO
Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon are back on the case—and partnering with the FBI on a horrific serial murder case that will test Malcolm's faith and revive the darkest parts of Seong-Jae's past. With an enigmatic killer leading them on a wild goose chase through city after city and body after body, both Mal and Seong-Jae will find themselves pushed to their limits as they discover the worst of what humanity can do.
Even two minds against one may not be enough as they track the devious Golden Ratio Killer, and try to find the key to his pattern. But the trail of breadcrumbs left by the white rabbit will lead them suspiciously close to home, and a connection they never could have predicted. With their worlds exploding around them and everyone they know suddenly cast into doubt...
Can their partnership—and their love—survive the greatest trial of their lives?
#16
Cold Calculation
2019
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
How do you profile a serial killer who keeps changing his pattern?
A body encased in ice and a cryptic message make Malcolm, Seong-Jae, and Aanga Joshi question everything they thought they'd learned about the Golden Ratio Killer. If their suspect can change his methods and alter his patterns, he could easily disappear...
...along with any chance of catching him before he completes his deadly game.
To keep up, Malcolm and Seong-Jae will have to find the bigger picture, the larger plan to intercept their target before that strange message turns into another victim—but it's the small things tripping them up when their relationship and some unsettled business between them leaves them stumbling around each other and falling head-first into mistakes that could cost them more than just the case.
It could cost another innocent life, and leave that blood stained on their hands.
ABOUT SEASON TWO
Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon are back on the case—and partnering with the FBI on a horrific serial murder case that will test Malcolm's faith and revive the darkest parts of Seong-Jae's past. With an enigmatic killer leading them on a wild goose chase through city after city and body after body, both Mal and Seong-Jae will find themselves pushed to their limits as they discover the worst of what humanity can do.
Even two minds against one may not be enough as they track the devious Golden Ratio Killer, and try to find the key to his pattern. But the trail of breadcrumbs left by the white rabbit will lead them suspiciously close to home, and a connection they never could have predicted. With their worlds exploding around them and everyone they know suddenly cast into doubt...
Can their partnership—and their love—survive the greatest trial of their lives?
#17
Hard Angle
2020
Unsettled tensions from the last case come to a head as Seong-Jae reveals his secrets—but will it be enough to repair the fractures in his relationship with Malcolm?
Especially when their only promising lead on the Golden Ratio Killer's identity falls apart, along with any hope of returning home to Baltimore and to their life together.
When their primary suspect turns up dead...
...after attempting to kill the daughter of another suspect.
The Golden Ratio killer's strange web of deception, double-backs, and doppelgangers grows ever more tangled, and as those twisted threads ensnare Malcolm and Seong-Jae, they find themselves pulled ever further apart. Not even Malcolm's patience may be able to save them, their relationship a painful casualty of their job.
That doesn't mean he won't try.
But Malcolm's desperate attempts to hold them together put them in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And that unfortunate coincidence?
Might just end both their lives.
#18
Deep Spiral
2020
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
A deadly, unstable shooter.
A trap Malcolm and Seong-Jae can't escape.
And more than one life on the line as they find themselves facing down one of the Golden Ratio Killer's proxies in a high-stakes hostage situation that could ramp up the serial murderer's mathematical body counts exponentially.
And if Malcolm and Seong-Jae aren't careful, they'll be among the tally.
While back home, Huang's life hangs in the balance—and Anjulie walks a thin line between justice and deception.
Everything's spiraling out of control.
And the more they fight to survive, the deeper they sink into a twisted game governed by not one, but two minds.
With Sila and the Golden Ratio Killer as the players...
Will our heroes end up as nothing more than pawns?
ABOUT SEASON TWO
Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon are back on the case—and partnering with the FBI on a horrific serial murder case that will test Malcolm's faith and revive the darkest parts of Seong-Jae's past. With an enigmatic killer leading them on a wild goose chase through city after city and body after body, both Mal and Seong-Jae will find themselves pushed to their limits as they discover the worst of what humanity can do.
Even two minds against one may not be enough as they track the devious Golden Ratio Killer, and try to find the key to his pattern. But the trail of breadcrumbs left by the white rabbit will lead them suspiciously close to home, and a connection they never could have predicted. With their worlds exploding around them and everyone they know suddenly cast into doubt...
Can their partnership—and their love—survive the greatest trial of their lives?
#19
Divine Proportion
2020
20% of monthly revenues from sales of this book from now until January 1st, 2021 will be donated to causes supporting #BlackLivesMatter and the families of victims of police violence.
While Captain Anjulie Zarate y Salazar faces a crisis of loyalty at home, Malcolm Khalaji faces another crisis in Los Angeles—one that will test him to his absolute limits.
And that crisis is named Yoon Eun-Ji.
When mandatory mental health leave turns into a not-particularly-optional dinner invitation from Seong-Jae's parents, Malcolm finds himself thrust into the pure chaos that can only be the entire Yoon family within the same four walls. Multilingual mortification. Sassy sisters. Scorchingly spicy steak. And intimate moments that are exactly what Malcolm needs to distract himself from the building tsunami of trauma inside him, threatening to break and crash down at any moment.
But Malcolm isn't the only one taking advantage of the distraction to confront difficult issues—and a story within a story unravels as Seong-Jae descends deep into memories of his time with Sila, searching for anything that could unearth clues about who the cat-eyed man truly is, where his path will take him next, his connection to the Golden Ratio Killer...and the dangers that threaten the people Malcolm and Seong-Jae love most.
Echoes of the past. Remembered pains. Emerging patterns. New revelations.
And a confession that could change everything.
For better or for worse, by the end of this case...
Malcolm and Seong-Jae will never be the same.
#20
Triangulation
2020
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Less than a day.
Less than a day of peace, of calm, of comfort before the white rabbit returns to tear Malcolm and Seong-Jae's lives apart. An eerie video presents them with a deadly ultimatum, which leaves our intrepid pair racing to discover the identity of the latest victim—and desperate to protect their families from the threat hanging over their heads.
As tension rises to a screaming point and conflict comes to a head between Mal, Seong-Jae, and Aanga Joshi, the detectives dive deeper into the pasts of their remaining suspects, searching for the clue that will unmask the white rabbit once and for all.
Two men. One killer. And that tenuous connection to the darkness of Seong-Jae's past, now cast into doubt as Sila's true identity comes clear. For Malcolm and Seong-Jae, there seems no escape from this endless night.
Unless they trust each other.
And trust the love between them to light the way.
ABOUT SEASON TWO
Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon are back on the case—and partnering with the FBI on a horrific serial murder case that will test Malcolm's faith and revive the darkest parts of Seong-Jae's past. With an enigmatic killer leading them on a wild goose chase through city after city and body after body, both Mal and Seong-Jae will find themselves pushed to their limits as they discover the worst of what humanity can do.
Even two minds against one may not be enough as they track the devious Golden Ratio Killer, and try to find the key to his pattern. But the trail of breadcrumbs left by the white rabbit will lead them suspiciously close to home, and a connection they never could have predicted. With their worlds exploding around them and everyone they know suddenly cast into doubt...
Can their partnership—and their love—survive the greatest trial of their lives?
#20
Triangulation
Criminal Intentions: Season Two, Episode Seven
2020
Less than a day.
Less than a day of peace, of calm, of comfort before the white rabbit returns to tear Malcolm and Seong-Jae's lives apart. An eerie video presents them with a deadly ultimatum, which leaves our intrepid pair racing to discover the identity of the latest victim—and desperate to protect their families from the threat hanging over their heads.
As tension rises to a screaming point and conflict comes to a head between Mal, Seong-Jae, and Aanga Joshi, the detectives dive deeper into the pasts of their remaining suspects, searching for the clue that will unmask the white rabbit once and for all.
Two men. One killer. And that tenuous connection to the darkness of Seong-Jae's past, now cast into doubt as Sila's true identity comes clear. For Malcolm and Seong-Jae, there seems no escape from this endless night.
Unless they trust each other.
And trust the love between them to light the way.
Contains mature themes.
#21
Trajectory
2020
Rising tensions between Malcolm, Seong-Jae, and Aanga Joshi reach a tipping point—and send our devilish duo on a rogue mission. Mal and Seong-Jae are off the radar, off the rails, and determined to track down the connection between Sila and the Golden Ratio Killer, no matter who stands in their way.
One way or another, they'll put a name and a face to the nightmare.
One way or another...they'll bring this to an end.
But to unravel a decades-old case, they must walk the path of others' bitter memories. Unearth what's been buried. Rip the scars off old wounds. Yet amidst the pain, the loss...there is hope. Courage. Truth. And what they uncover will bring them face to face with the true nature of their suspect. A glimpse inside the white rabbit's mind. His past...
And the clues that just might let Malcolm and Seong-Jae stay one step ahead, as they close the trap around their prey.
#22
Occam's Razor
2021
It's said the simplest solution is usually the right one—but there's nothing simple about the complications that arise when their primary suspect for the white rabbit killer shows up on Malcolm and Seong-Jae's doorstep, dead and mutilated beyond recognition. All it takes is one body to make their entire case timeline fall apart.
Unless it's not the body of their suspect at all.
With a suspiciously cooperative Aanga Joshi on board, Malcolm and Seong-Jae take a trip into the white rabbit's past in the hopes of predicting his future. Nothing can divert them from their course—not decoys, not lies, not even the discovery of motives driving the killer's choice of victim.
Until one fateful phone call.
And a connection that could spell the end for the people they love.
#23
Fractal Recursion
2021
It's first blood drawn as the white rabbit dangles the lives of innocents in the balance, forcing Malcolm to choose between his parents and a missing FBI agent. Yet Malcolm's attempts to stall for time and find a better solution open a doorway into the Golden Ratio Killer's thoughts, his secrets...and the truth of the past that made him who he is today.
With the thread of the phone call stitching past and present together, Malcolm remains dangling on the wire while Seong-Jae and Joshi race to trace the signal and track the white rabbit down before anyone has to die. But with unexpected players in the works and ongoing machinations behind the scenes...
...no matter who Malcolm chooses as the loser in this wicked game, someone will end the day with blood on their hands.
#24
Convergence
2021
With Aanga Joshi's life hanging in the balance, it's Nico Madsen up against the ropes as Malcolm and Seong-Jae lock him in their sights. One boy could be the key to identifying the lodestone drawing Sila and the white rabbit to an unknown focal point—the place where summer ends.
Yet Nico's loyalty to Sila may be stronger than even our detectives' unbreakable wills...unless unexpected allies can make this broken bird squawk. The white rabbit may have ended his countdown, but the clock is still ticking.
How much longer before time runs out?
#25
White Rabbit, Part I
2021
A tense standoff with Sila uncovers more than Seong-Jae ever wanted to know about the strings Sila's pulled in his past. The pain he's caused. The deaths he's responsible for.
And he may be responsible for yet one more, as Sila uses his own life as a bargaining chip to keep Malcolm and Seong-Jae at bay. Throughout Sila's twisted reconstruction of his past, the full story comes clear, yet one question remains hanging over their heads:
Where is the white rabbit?
#26
White Rabbit, Part II
2021
The white rabbit crashes storytime with Sila, Malcolm, and Seong-Jae—a little too literally, leaving our intrepid detectives battered but not broken. Yet what they find with the white rabbit's arrival could destroy even the strongest man: a diabolical game with over two dozen lives at stake, turning their final showdown into a macabre stage play with the white rabbit as its star.
Injured, limping, Malcolm and Seong-Jae must not only survive, but protect others until help can arrive; until they can corner their targets, and finally end the horror of the white rabbit's reign. The odds are evened—but the white rabbit has a more sinister plan in mind.
One must die so the other can live.
And carry on to tell the tale of his legacy, as he brings his performance to a shattering end.
#27
Gently Come Knocking
2021
\\ Warning: the following description contains heavy spoilers for the ending of Criminal Intentions: Season Two. \\
Malcolm Khalaji is one paternity test away from a breakdown.
When a one-night stand from a year ago shows up on his doorstep, she's bringing more than a trip down memory lane—and her little bundle of joy may just be a bundle of trouble if it turns out the baby is actually his.
Especially when he and Seong-Jae are called back to active duty, partnering again with Internal Affairs on the murder of a fellow officer, caught on tape and seemingly cut and dried. But nothing is easy about this case, and what looks simple on the surface hides something deeper. Something that crosses Santiago Vasquez's path.
And Vasquez isn't feeling too cooperative.
Not when Malcolm and Seong-Jae are working another case under the table. Anjulie's asked them to find Daniella Vasquez, living or dead.
But can Malcolm keep his head in the game, as years of buried trauma boil to the surface?
Or will Seong-Jae be left to shoulder this alone, when Malcolm succumbs to old pains?
ABOUT SEASON THREE
It's back home to Baltimore and the BPD for Detectives Malcolm Khalaji and Seong-Jae Yoon—where more waits for them than old friends, new cases, and Swabbie's seasoned goat cheese fries. Working the homicide beat may be a welcome return to normalcy, but there's trouble brewing beneath the surface... in more ways than one.
A string of cop killings whipping the BPD into a frenzy. A city on fire against police violence. A hidden collaboration behind the scenes of Baltimore's underworld. A deadly plot to claim power. And a shattering introduction into Malcolm's personal life, which could break his heart. Malcolm and Seong-Jae have held each other together through thick and thin.
And in our third and final season, we'll discover how strong their bonds truly are.
#28
And So We See Darkly
2021
COP KILLER.
That's the accusation scrawled on the home of a dead man, found executed in his own bedroom. That's the tawdry headline thrown around every news channel, every social media feed, every conversation taking over Baltimore.
That's the name given to a man who may have been innocent, but never had the chance to prove it—and now Malcolm and Seong-Jae must solve his murder. A death that never should have happened; a death on their watch, when legal technicalities tied their hands.
But with the paternity test results hanging over his head, Malcolm grows increasingly erratic, threatening to take his mind from a critical case that could tear Baltimore and the BPD apart. With a dead cop, a dead suspect, and the question of what to do about Juliette and Chrysanthe, there are no easy answers.
Only with Seong-Jae can Malcolm keep himself together.
And only with Seong-Jae will he find the path he needs to tread.
#29
Like a Lion
2022
A new homicide case raises a question with no clear answer:
Who is the victim?
When a charred body is recovered inside a burned-out car, before Malcolm and Seong-Jae can solve the case they must first trace the victim's identity. License plate removed. ID missing. Teeth pulled from the skull. The victim's killers knew exactly how to hide their tracks, but careful forensics work and two stubborn detectives mean the name of the dead won't remain buried for long.
A name for a name.
Will the dead speak, then, and cry out for the one who killed him?
Or whisper secrets that may take this case deeper—and uncover truths someone would kill to keep buried?
Author
Cole McCade
Author · 47 books
Slender. Angry. (Part) Asian. Yeah, that about sums me up. Hi. I’m Cole. Xen. Whatever you want to call me; both are true, and both are lies. My pen names are multitudes, my nicknames legion. Tall, bi/queer, introverted author of a brown-ish persuasion made up of various flavors of Black, Asian, and Native American. I’m cuter than Hello Kitty, more bitter than the blackest coffee, and able to trip over cats in a single half-asleep lurch; I’m what happens when a Broody Antihero and a Manic Pixie Dream Boy fight to the death, and someone builds a person from the scraps left behind. Beardless, I look like the uke in every yaoi manga in existence; bearded or not, I sound like Barry White. About half my time is spent as a corporate writer, and the other half riding a train of WTFery that sometimes results in a finished book. Romance, erotica, sci-fi, horror, paranormal; LGBTQIA and cishet; diverse settings and diverse characters from a diverse author. Sometimes I shout about things on the internet. Usually intersectional feminism and marginalized voices, and whomever’s punching down in those directions today. Sometimes human sociology, the psychology of sex and gender, and my own gender non-conforming arse (he/him, by the way). Sometimes I get really mad at Stephen Hawking and nerd out all over the place about hairy black holes, and believe it or not, that’s not a terrible pun or even worse innuendo. That’s it. I’m a huge dork. My humor’s so dry it could empty oceans. I’m a native Southerner from the New Orleans area with zero Southern accent; I’m a mess of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual influences; I have two cats. I wake up at daft hours of the morning to go running. I crochet terrible, lumpy things that never really turn into anything. I’m older than you think I look. I’m much more shy than my fury makes me sound (signifying gods only know what, but probably nothing). Recently I decided, at 36, that I needed to restart my life and move cross-country, so I tossed 75% of my possessions in the trash and randomly trucked it to Seattle. I’m in love with books and music and technology, and they war with each other for dominance and sometimes come together in a beautiful confluence. Most of the physical books I own are strange, obscure, out of print, overseas imports, or any combination of the four. Most of the physical books I used to own were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, and have been replaced with the infinite library on my Nook. My wallet has a dangerous attraction to anything with pages; it flirts and teases and gives its all, until there’s nothing left but emptiness and ruin. There will always be things you don’t know, and I won’t tell. But ask me late at night over live music in a seedy bar, and you might just get an honest answer. ...or you can poke me via: * Email: blackmagic@blackmagicblues.com * Twitter: @thisblackmagic * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/xen.cole * Website & Blog: http://www.blackmagicblues.com * Tumblr: http://thisblackmagic.tumblr.com/ And there's my Xen Sanders SFF / Horror profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
