Book Title: Sun, Sea & Small-Town Secrets
Author: S. J. Coles
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: July 6, 2021
Genre: Contemporary M/M Mystery/Holiday Romance
Tropes: Forbidden Love / Small Town / Holiday
Themes: Healing / Hurt/Comfort / Travel / Self-discovery
Length: 48 634 words/ 193 pages
It is a standalone story.
Buy Links
Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Small towns are full of secrets, some harder to keep than most.
Blurb
Sebastian Conway is a professional psychologist and accomplished criminal profiler, but when one of his patients is sentenced to life in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, he simply cannot let it go. His borderline obsessive behaviour has embarrassed his boss and lover, Gerrard Wilson, and the relationship has come to a bitter end.
Seb has now grudgingly taken Gerrard’s advice and come to the small coastal town of Ruéier in the South of France to get some distance and clear his head—but he cannot sit by and do nothing.
He has started writing a book he believes will address the failings in the case, but when he gets swept up in a local investigation into suspected drug trafficking, which is led by the enigmatic and strangely enticing Antoine Damboise, the book—and Seb’s intentions to avoid active criminal cases—take a back seat.
He knows it’s a bad idea to get involved, but he can’t seem to help himself. And when it seems Damboise is tempted to make their relationship more than professional, Seb finds it easier than ever to ignore his better judgment. But when a local drug dealer is murdered and Seb is implicated, everything gets a whole lot more complicated.
Can the two men set aside their personal feelings long enough to figure out what’s really going on before Seb ends up in prison? Or worse…
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of murder and drug use.
I was passing the beach and doing my best to draft the opening paragraph to my Chapter on antisocial behaviour indicators when my attention was caught by a tall figure emerging from the water.
If it hadn’t been for his height and serious expression, I would not have recognised him. Freed from the outlines of his ill-fitting suit, Damboise did more than take my breath away. I stood and stared, unable to look away, even if I’d wanted to. His body was long, lithe and densely muscled, not with the layered, bulging curves of weightlifters and gym fanatics, but the lean shapeliness of the genetically favoured and naturally active. The wet swim shorts clung to his toned thighs and the hair was dark where it was plastered to his long, rounded calves. The smooth lines of his chest were dusted with light blond curls, already drying in the hot sun. His belly was hard with abdominals that begged to be touched. His shoulders and arms bunched and rippled as he stooped for a towel that lay on the sand, then he was scrubbing his hair, scattering drops of seawater that glinted in the sun.
Before I could gather the sense to turn and run, he spotted me. Blood rushed to both ends of my body, momentarily dizzying me, but I took a deep breath, schooled my features and strolled out onto the sand.
“Monsieur Conway,” he said smoothly, dabbing at his chest with the towel whilst levelling a penetrating look at me, “this is a surprise.”
“I’ve been trying to call you,” I said, gratified that my voice was steady.
“Apologies. I came for a swim. It helps me think.”
“I see you arrested your burglar.”
“How do you know that?” he said, a frown darkening his face.
“I saw her being brought in,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets. “Rayne was there, so I assumed it must be the same case. She looked satisfied.”
“Yes,” he said, tying the towel around his waist and stooping again for his shirt. “We are all relieved.”
“It’s not the person in your photograph.”
“Was there something you wanted, Monsieur?” “Call me Seb,” I said without thinking.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Seb?”
“Sebastian. Whatever.”
“Okay, Sebastian.”
I employed an embarrassing number of resources to ensure that I displayed no visible reaction to hearing my name in his accent.
“I thank you for your help. But now you must go.”
“You showed me that boy’s picture for a reason, Damboise.”
“I can discuss it no more with you.”
“Why did they arrest that girl?”
He shrugged his shirt on and turned his tie over in his hands, staring out to sea with a faraway look in his eyes. “An eyewitness identified her.”
“And the man in the photograph?”
He sighed. “Robert Fabron. He is her partner. I… We still believe he’s involved. But she was the one breaking in, it appears. Smaller, you see. Can get through windows easier. But the witness only saw Chloe, not Robert.”
S.J. Coles is a Romance writer originally from Shropshire, UK. She has been writing stories for as long as she has been able to read them. Her biggest passion is exploring narratives through character relationships.
She finds writing LGBT/paranormal romance provides many unique and fulfilling opportunities to explore many (often neglected or under-represented) aspects of human experience, expectation, emotion and sexuality.
Among her biggest influences are LGBT Romance authors K J Charles and Josh Lanyon and Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice.
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