Books by Jl Merrow

Customer service has never been this personal. Robin Christopher, beleaguered retail worker, isn't having an easy November. His boss is raising stress levels planning a Black Friday to end all Black Fridays, his family doesn't understand him, and his best friend thinks his new crush is a hallucination brought on by watching too many episodesof Doctor Who. Archie Levine dresses in Victorian style and divides his time between caring for his young son and creating weird and wacky steampunk gadgets from bits of old junk-when he's not looking after his mum and trying to keep on good terms with his ex. The last thing he's got time for is a relationship, but the flustered young man he met while disembowelling a fridge is proving very tempting. When his mum's social conscience is roused by a local store with a cavalier attitude to the homeless, former rough sleeper Archie shares her anger. Little does he know that Robin works for that same store. When Archie finds out he's sleeping with the enemy, things could cut up very rough indeed.

Tom Paretski, plumber with a talent for finding hidden things, and his private investigator fiancé Phil Morrison have been hired to locate a runaway husband, Jonathan Parrot. The job seems simple enough-until their quarry turns up dead in a canal, and a photofit of Tom's face is splashed all over the news, making him chief suspect. The widow, petite ex-porn star Lilah Lovett, is convinced her husband was killed by his gay lover, but Tom and Phil aren't so sure. Worried they may have precipitated Jonathan's death, they're determined to find the real killer. But with a web of incestuous ties linking the suspects, it's hard to know who to trust. Especially when a second victim dies a gruesome death. Meanwhile, with their wedding looming and them sharing a house now, Tom's worried it may all be too much, too fast. The last thing he needs are the mixed messages Phil seems to be sending out. They'll need to get back on the same track if they want to make it to their honeymoon together-and alive.

Old flames can leave a nasty burn. It's been six months since plumber Tom Paretski was hit by a shocking revelation about his family, and he's been avoiding dealing with it ever since. His lover, PI Phil Morrison, wants Tom to dig deeper into his history and try to develop his psychic talent for finding things, but Tom's not nearly so keen. Just as he decides to bite the bullet, though, worse problems crawl out of the woodwork. Young Devil's Dyke barmaid Marianne has an ex, Grant Carey, who won't accept that things are over between them, and he's ruthless in dealing with anyone who gets in his way. When Carey threatens an old friend of theirs, Phil and Tom step in to help-but that makes them targets themselves. What with his uncertainty about Phil's motives, Tom's family doing their best to drive a wedge between them, and the uncovering of an ugly incident in Phil's past, Tom's not sure who he can trust-and the body he finds in the pub cellar isn't the only thing that stinks. Publisher's note: This is a lightly edited reprint of a previously published novel.

London Underground worker Mal Thomas is staying in Porthkennack to recover from a traumatic experience. Getting more bad news from home is the last straw-until big, blond museum curator Jory Roscarrock steps up to offer some comfort. As a doctor of English literature, Jory should be in a prestigious post at a top university. But a youthful indiscretion led him to abandon academia to come back to his hometown, Porthkennack, and the controlling family he's never really felt a part of. He's delighted to find a kindred spirit in Mal. But Jory's family hurt Mal's best friend deeply, and while Jory is desperate to repair the damage, his own mistakes threaten to keep him and Mal apart. Meanwhile, Mal is torn between his feelings for Jory and his duty to his friend-and his fears that a failed relationship could be more than his shattered confidence can take. Jory must convince Mal it's worth risking everything for their love.

Death is what happens while you're making other plans . . . The last thing newly engaged plumber Tom Paretski needs is to stumble over another dead body. He's got enough on his mind already as the reality of his impending marriage sinks in. Not only is his family situation complicated, but his heroism at a pub fire has made him a local celebrity, and now everyone knows about his psychic talents-and wants a piece of them. Hired to recover a missing necklace, Tom and his fiancé, private investigator Phil Morrison, find themselves trying to unmask a killer. And there's no shortage of suspects, including the local bishop. As Tom and Phil try to uncover the truth, they're pulled in all directions by the conflicting pressures of their families and their own desires. But the murderer they're up against is a ruthless schemer who won't baulk at killing again. If Tom and Phil don't watch out, their love-and all their plans for the future-could be blown down like a house of straw. Publisher's note: This is a lightly edited reprint of a previously published novel.