L.A. Heat

L.A. #1

by P.A. Brown

When LAPD detective David Laine first encounters hunky party boy Chris Bellamere, it is to interrogate him about the murder of one of Chris's many sexual conquests. When Chris's efforts to prove his own innocence mark him as a victim, David steps in to save him, and finds himself falling in love with a man who might be a brutal murderer.
P.A. Brown's debut is a gritty mystery set in LA's edgy, less glamorous East Side, where gangs co-mingle with gays, gunfire is heard after dark, and where a gay cop like David Laine could live undetected. At least until now.

Genres: M M Romance, Mystery, Contemporary, Romance, Crime, Gay, LGBT

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2006

About the author

Pat Brown, writing as P.A. Brown, is the author of the Chris and David police procedural novels featuring LAPD homicide detective David Eric Laine and his lover, computer network engineer Christopher Bellamere. In L. A. Heat the first in the series, David is an uptight, in the closet cop living a life of denial and dark secrets he will protect at all costs. Then his life becomes entwined with Chris who is a suspect in the brutal slayings of young gay men. Neither of them ever expected to find love. L.A. Heat was followed by L.A. Mischief which follow Chris and David as they try to reconcile their vast differences and forge their relationship into one of true love. In L.A. Boneyard, a dark thriller that moves from the bright streets of West Hollywood to the gang ridden streets of East L.A. All the while David faces the temptation of his sexy new partner, Jairo Hernandez.

Reviews

[Betryal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has some real rip, shit-eating, heart stopping, erratic pulse humping action, suspense and drama all rolled into one hellova book.

I'm usually good at guessing, so I keep saying, on the who done it, but dayum I was so stumped and when I thought to say 'I fawking knew it' I'll be a monkey's uncle in saying I was soooo wrong!

It was a relief to see one character made it through what was clearly traumatizing at the hands of a sick sack-of-shit and for a sec I thought for Chris he was done in, but David is one on the ball cop in this story. I'd want him to track my sorry arse if I ever went missing. THAT should never happen or no more reviews from Dear Sid :snickering:

So check it out. I'm hitting up the next one: LA Mischief.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Um. 3.75! Rounded.. down. Which makes no sense, but who the fuck are you, the sovereign of my rating scale? PFT.

The mystery in this deserves at 6/5. It's fucking great. God, I loved the mystery. I always thought I knew what up but I read Ami's review and she said the killer isn't revealed until later so I can trying to be crafty. Did anyone but me FOR SURE think it was Ramsey?. I did after I initially thought Trevor. Anyway. Fantastic mystery.

The romance lacked for me a bit. I didn't see the connection all that well. Not even physical. I thought perhaps Trevor and Chris made a better couple. At least they both liked wine and rich shit. The I love you popped too soon, the chemistry lacked a bit (just for me).

But overall, a great book. I would rec it for a mystery lover far over a romance lover. Also the sex is pretty tame. So, there's that.

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a page-turner. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time! I really liked both David and Chris, their personalities, the fact that even though Chris was your usual cute Californian boy, David was anything but. And the mystery was quite intriguing too. I mean, I thought that I had the baddie pegged right away but boy, was I wrong or what? Also, it was a gay mystery without detailed sex scenes that would take pages and pages of text, the author didn't shirk the plot and that was quite awesome. Sure, the description of the murder scenes and of the victims was quite graphic but other than that, it was definitely R-rated. I hope that the author continues writing!

[Karel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I swear I'll keep it short I swear I swear I swear:

Things I like:

o Chris is a total bum and David is not really cute, because love should be an eye-of-the-beholder thing and once in a while it's great to read about people who can't stop traffic (unless David flashes his badge, in which case he can) getting laid.

o The mystery actually kept me guessing - there being multiple suspicious individuals - and the red herring also worked, so it's all good.


Thinks I did not like:

o David is a closet case who knows this guy for a week, max, and suddenly he says 'I love you' and actually means it.

o Ditto bum

o Occasional awkward explanations of police terms. If I'm interested, I would have known, and if I don't know, then clearly I'm not interested. Bitchmode aside, this would have been good if it was worked in a little more subtly.

o The whole romance is so bloody contrived.


Overall a decent, readable thing if you like mystery and your MM in a bundle. If you like the likes of Lanyon and Victor J. Banis' mysteries, this will be up your alley. It's got a good balance between the romance and the mystery, so you won't be left banging about screaming that only 1/20 of the book is about relationship anything (This is looking at you Josh Lanyon).

And goddamit, it's a long review again.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner of this genre. The murder/mystery part is good -- Ms. Brown reveals the culprit in an effective way that keeps my toes till the end. It's more serious than few other books of this genre that I have read. More vicious and messy -- kinda reminded me of Karen Rose's novels. The romance part is also wonderful. The sex is fairly light (I like it that way) and the emotion between the main characters, David and Chris is just right without being pushed to your face.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars

I've had this on my TBR shelf forever and it finally took someone picking it for me in a challenge to get around to it. I don't know why I was so reluctant to read it or why I'm surprised it was actually quite good. Yeah, I don't know why I waited so long.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a refreshing change from typical detective mysteries in that there was actual detecting. The officers were smart and asked good questions and interviewed the right witnesses. There were real consequences for inappropriate actions. But like regular police work, sometimes it was a little dull.

I really liked the main detective. He was really a great guy and his motivations were clear cut and made sense. I didn't like Chris at all at first but he grew on me. He changed quite a bit but there wasn't enough reason for him to do so. I mean, it wasn't really talked about. I also wasn't quite clear why Chris liked David at first. He barely knew the man and it was quite clear he was not particularly good-looking. But as the story progressed it made sense, just not as early as he began the attraction. But Chris turned out to be a lot less shallow then he was initial portrayed. Their relationship was sweet and sex was even beautiful.

I think the secondary characters were good, too, although a couple of the jerks were a little too black and white. Martinez was believable and I liked how he was at the end. It was believable to me.

The mystery was very good. I didn't figure it out until about 70-75% of the way in. But then I can be dense about this kind thing because I try not to figure it out. The ending, the big action finale was excellent, lots of peril and pending death.

There were a couple of issues that left me thinking that this wasn't a five star book and yet I can't remember them anymore. So 4.5 rounded up to 5 because of my bad memory.

[DaisyGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars

LAPD Detective David Laine is gay but deeply closeted. He's assigned to investigate a string of murders targeting gay men. Chris Bellamere - an openly gay California "golden boy" - is their prime suspect. I loved both David and Chris. They were wonderfully imperfect characters (my fave) with admirable qualities. The mystery was riveting and had me guessing to the end.

Bottom line: A page-turner!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good gay mystery with a titch of romance about a sexy, slutty IT geek accused of murder and the deeply closeted cop conflicted between attraction and duty. Be aware that there are some graphic descriptions of mutilated bodies...

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. Sounds funny, but I really could have gone without David and C hooking up even though it rounded out the book. Highly recommended for those who like mystery suspense!

[k reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tricky one to rate - more like 2.5 stars.

The mystery is good. Vicious, unsettling and absorbing. I was convinced I knew who the murderer was but I was waaay off and I dug that. I always enjoy a mystery that can keep me guessing. It goes a little off the rails towards the end (note to MC: When you discover major evidence, its best to tell the cops - especially when you are fucking one of them.), but still remained absorbing.

So, yeah, I liked the mystery.

My big problem with this? Pretty much every time the characters opened their mouths.
The dialogue was horribly written. Its as if each character was defined solely by one character trait and thus, every conversation they had needed to reflect this character trait.
The homophobic cop couldn't seem to have one conversation without dropping multiple homophobic slurs. It was awkwardly done and felt contrived.
Kyle disliked Chris and so, in their interactions, we were hit over the head with this again and again. The level of open hostility shown was just unbelievable.

As I said, I enjoyed the mystery but the dialogue did not come close to feeling emotionally real. It indicated the character's emotions without bringing them to life fully.
It made me feel stabby.

[Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written crime story with interesting characters. It is a serial killer story, not exactly original, but with the gay story line also not too cliched. I liked both MCs, I liked how things developed between them.
The "heat" in the title is a little misleading - it only describes the weather in this case. I didn't miss the step by step accounts here, but just for managing expectations: no explicit descriptions, just hinting. The book was good and entertaining, so I didn't miss this part.
Why not 5 stars? Because the suspense was good, but not great. The love story was more in the background, very good, but not favorites-material.

[Nancy L · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn't like Chris' character and I couldn't see him in a relationship with David at all. Then the kiss happens and everything seemed to change. Kyle was an ass, Dev was a great secondary character and Martinez....well, he seems to have improved his likeability when he stood up for David.

There wasn't a lot of sex in the book, but it was written well and even tho there were quite a few misdirects as to who the killer was, I wasn't surprised in the end.

Overall, a solid 4 star read.

[Lois - Who Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a few chapters to really get into this book, but once it grabbed me I didn't want to put it down. The author did a great job of throwing out several suspects and I could not decide which one is the baddie. I changed my mind uncountable times and still did not get it right! The baddie is a brutally murdering a string of gay men who all have crossed paths with Chris, which makes Chris suspect number one. This one is full of twists and turns; one of those books that keeps you guessing. There is a little romance thrown in, but it really is a secondary story line.

[Fani *loves angst* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyable romance, well written mystery with a couple of twists that I never saw coming, interesting MCs, but some parts in the plot didn't make too much sense. I liked it anyway.

[Ariel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent mystery but the romance is awful. I despise InstaLove.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis from here at Alyson Bookstore.
When LAPD detective David Laine first encounters hunky party boy Chris Bellamere, it is to interrogate him about the murder of one of Chris's many sexual conquests. When Chris's efforts to prove his own innocence mark him as a victim, David steps in to save him, and finds himself falling in love with a man who might be a brutal murderer. P.A. Brown's debut is a gritty mystery set in LA's edgy, less glamorous East Side, where gangs co-mingle with gays, gunfire is heard after dark, and where a gay cop like David Laine could live undetected. At least until now.
First of all, I throughly enjoyed this book. Being a total mystery and thriller geek this appealed to me immediately. And in paperback? The inner bibliophile is quietly content.

Chris appealed to me on many different levels. He is the kind of hero who does seem just a little morally ambivalent. But you forgive him because he has just not met the *one*... (god, I'm channeling the Matrix.ha!) He is just a boy, out having a good time and it's all about the nookie. He does have the odd moment when he wants something more but I felt there was a hesitance to commit as no one had really touched him emotionally. So, he's out looking, alot. Chis is also beautiful which got me thinking about this post here and the beauty of men.

David is a cop and firmly in the closet at work. He makes a trip every now and then to Palm Springs to indulge the smexin, and is out to his family but his colleagues are still in the dark. This made him seem very alone and he has walls to keep people, like Chris, out. He is older, darker and more of a strong silent type. A perfect foil for our other hero, who is more of the shiney, bright variety.

The mystery was well paced and had surprising twists and turns that kept me going till the end. Which was cool, because I am a shocker for deciding who did it and wrapping the crime up by page 10. It does not pull any punches in the violence department and some of the material about the crime and the killer was pretty graphic but it did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

The sex is very brief and not at all explicit. Kind of a kiss at the door and fade to black affair. But I was so wrapped up in the story I did not care. A shock, I know! I do love the sex in my books! But what you did read was enough and you just know it was hot (over active imagination).

I seriously have my toes, eyes and fingers crossed AGAIN, that this wonderful author has some more books coming soon. This was a perfect rainy night thriller and kept me up waaaay past my bedtime.
Check out my live and in color version on my blog here
http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2008/07/...

[Deeze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have pretty mixed feelings on this one. 3.5

Firstly I loved the mystery. It certainly kept me guessing and second guessing then had me totally shocked. The cops angle worked well, and while I disliked Martinez I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at the outcome, not that I like him still lol. He still has a long way to go.

What I didn't feel was the love connection, while I liked both Chris and David I did not feel their chemistry. The I love you's were to rushed for me.

I also found a few technical things niggled me, like being told there were 3 blood groups at the crime scene, that would only be found out at the lab later not at the scene. The sex was also to corny for me but luckily was easily skipped over.

Overall a good read for a murder mystery.

Hopefully book two will let me decide if this series is for me.

ETA After reading a few reviews of the next two books I think I'm going to pass on this series.

[leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent plot-driven thriller in which a serial killer is targeting gay men, and the deeply closeted lead detective finds himself terrifyingly attracted to the pretty blond playboy who is either the prime suspect--or next victim. Not an original premise, but very well handled here.

The mystery aspect of this one takes precedence over the romance. There are numerous characters among whom to search for the killer, and the ultimate reveal came as a surprise at least to this reader. The danger plot builds slowly and then picks up momentum. When we first meet Chris, he is entirely outside it, a goodlooking and professionally successful IT worker who has no difficulty picking up short-term lovers in the area bars. Emotionally, he is unfulfilled, and he is attempting to address this issue when he meets detective David Laine in the course of investigating an act of vandalism on Chris's car.

The graffiti sprayed on the car contains a reference to a string of serial killings, and Chris becomes the focus of David's investigation, together with David's openly homophobic partner. As the book is narrated from alternating viewpoints including Chris's, the reader knows that Chris is not the killer, but can see from David's perspective the evidence suggesting him.

The two men are mutually attracted but any chance they have of finding their way to each other must survive both the killer and their own issues. The sex scenes were disappointing--formulaic and a bit crude, they had a feel almost of being inserted after the fact, and were a contrast to the rest of the writing, which was stylistically mature and sophisticated. However, the emotional aspects were nicely done, well paced and touching, and the reader is easily invested in the potential success of the relationship. The action plot rollercoaster provides plenty of engrossing distraction in the meantime.

A fast, absorbing read.

[ElaineY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one! And it was such a treat to get to read it in print format.

Of the two protagonists, I have to say I liked David over Chris. I found Chris too emotionally immature even at the end of the book whereas I felt David had come a long way from his tightly closed closet. It was as if the guy had locked himself in and thrown away the key!

I liked how their romance developed, not in a rush, but rather well-paced and in keeping with L A Heat being a murder mystery. The relationship development between David and Chris was riveting enough for me not to even notice the gruesome bits Jo mentioned....er, what gruesome parts? Granted, L. A. Heat isn't a light, fluffy read but I did not find it overly violent either. Someone compared it to Karen Rose but then I love Rose's books specifically because she doesn't pull punches with the violent scenes yet not turn me off so to find another author like Rose but writes gay RS, well, that just makes my day.

...unfortunately, I started on L. A. Mischief last night. Just a few pages, though, as my meeting only ended at midnight and I had to wake up at six but I really wanted to see how David and Chris get on in the sequel.

I HATED WHAT I READ in the first chapter or so. I'm hoping it gets better but it was weird to move from loving L. A. Heat to hating the sequel before I've even read two chapters. Tell you why later in Mischief's review.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. I enjoyed the mystery but the romance was a total bust. The book moves along at a decent clip and the author mostly succeeded with the dry, realistic tone of the investigation. However, when she tried to interject romance the tone was completely at odds with the rest of the book. I simply couldn't accept grown men falling in love at the drop of the hat and acting like overgrown teens, especially in the context of the larger story. Having a detective be attracted to someone he suspects could be a serial killer is both cliched and a tough sell. Being attracted to the guy who suspects that you are a serial killer is an even bigger stretch. There is no trust at the start of this kind of relationship, which makes the notion that two men who have done nothing more than have sex a couple of times and gone out to dinner could fall in love even more preposterous.

I have to say that I'm not particularly interested in reading any more books featuring these two charters, neither of whom is particularly interesting. I also hope to never read another sex scene that uses the word "orifice". Given the fact that this is a mystery serious featuring the same detective, I am really puzzled why the author rushed the romance. It would have been far more satisfying to see their relationship grow over several books.

[Krummi í klettagjá · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, especially for a first novel from an author.
I really liked the build-up to the relationship and I also liked that Chris's 'I love you' was said in his own time, not because David said it.
The revelation of who the murderer was actually surprised me, I was dead set on Trevor being the murderer.
I liked most of the characters and I liked Martinez's reaction, how he wasn't really supportive but wasn't a complete ass, either.
The thing that really bothered me was the specific timing, it was always specifed at the beginning of each "chapter" exactly what time it was, which honestly was just confusing. It also wasn't always accurate, an example of this is in chapter 2, where the time specified is 12:40 and a few pages later, the time specified is 01:50 but yet Chris says that three hours have gone by in that time.
It also seemed silly to always specify the time when it didn't matter, like in chapter 16 where the time specified is 11:20 pm and then David sleeps for a few hours and it's seven in the morning - it didn't matter to the story if he went to sleep at 11:20 or at 3 am.
All in all: good story, wasn't completely perspicuous, okay written, good characters.
3.4 stars

*2nd read - a completely new review*
It was good and had a good pace. I liked the characters, the romance and the mystery. I'll admit though that the mystery was a bit unoriginal, but it was still fun to read.

I would have liked to read more about what happened after the events at the cabin, instead of getting a *four months later* type of thing that didn't really give me any answers. I wanted to know what happened with David's job and how David and Chris would deal with all the aftermath.

There were some minor inconsistencies that were hardly noticeable but still bothered me a bit - nothing that's worth mentioning though.

I think what bothered me the most was everything with Trevor, it was a bit too unrealistic how guilty he looked and even acted considering he wasn't the perp. He just up and vanished, and didn't leave any contact information, he lied about his job for really no reason at all, all of his actions just screamed guilty. It was a bit too fictional for my tastes.

All in all: good characters, good romance, okay plot, well written.
3 stars

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always have soft spot for law enforcement who fell for his witness/suspect, but the romance between David and Christ took 30% to spark, I kinda tired waiting. Also the ILU was too soon, considering that David has been in the closet far too long and they knew each other only for weeks. I need more bonding...

The mystery though, while it manage to keep me guessing, it has gaping plot hole Christ never mentioned that when Kyle was called and tell him that he been followed, Trevor was with him.

[Matthew Vandrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit reluctant at first because deeply-closeted-cop-falls-for-an-openly-gay-suspect-who-turns-out-to-be-a-victim - just how many times we've read that? Together with the final scenes of gay-boy in distress and the knight in his shining armor coming to rescue, all by himself? Fortunately, this book is written well, with some cleverly placed red herrings and is more thriller than m/m romance. Some way too convenient clues towards the end but otherwise it's a decent book.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good mystery/detective book but if you're looking for a strong romantic aspect then forget it. I would have given a higher rating if I loved crime suspense books because it was well written and the story line was very good but just not my thing. I like waaay more love and sex in my books. :D

[Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waaaay to long. This was a hard book for me to finish. I didn't like the MC's, I wasn't a fan of the writing but the plot, in theory, was good. Just felt like was a lot of "filler" words that didn't do anything to help tell the story.

[OkayKim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good gay murder mystery thriller. I could not put this one down the minute I hit the first page. Look forward to reading more from this author.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taut, riveting, gritty and gripping! I was glued to my Kindle. The mystery was excellent. A gruesome number of murders of gay men, lots of suspicion cast among many people with Chris, a beautiful gay man who just happens to know a number of the dead men. And David, a deeply closeted older cop who is investigating the murders. Good thing the mystery kept me from DNFing because the homophobia is positively off of the charts. Granted it was probably due to the time period in which this takes place - sometime in the early 2000s. People were a lot less tolerant then but still, the things that people, especially David's partner, Martinez, were saying were terribly upsetting. Regular readers of crime/mysteries know who will be the prime suspect in the murders. It was easily broadcast in the early parts of the book but still done well. My main issues are those I have with other romantic suspense novels - uneven balance between the romance and the crime. Some I love yous being thrown around fairly early but I didn't really get a good connection between David and Chris. That needed more development. I also wanted to dig into David's issues a bit more. But the last 20% - wow! I was truly gobsmacked at who was the bad guy. This line cracked me up - David says at one point when he confronts the baddie "boy I didn't think he would have a gun!" Really!? He's a bad guy, of course he would have a gun. One other thing I really like - the author has a deep knowledge of Los Angeles and the roads. Lot of good detail that adds to the verisimilitude of the story. The book definitely has a film noir vibe. I think the author is a person of a certain age who watched one too many crime movies. One of characters says who is viewing a line-up, "if I finger him, will he get put in jail." Finger?! Anyway, really good read. Just needs more romance. Definitely reading the next book in the series.

[Nic · Rating 2 out of 5]

The relationship between Chris and David needed a little more effort to be convincing. They went from a stolen kiss to love faster than David's Chevy could go zero to sixty. I wasn't sold on their attraction to one another, and I thought that Chris was immature. I had trouble believing that he was falling for a man who was trying to pin a bunch of serial murders on him. At one point, I think after they have sex for the first time or maybe its just blowjobs (I am not making the effort to double check this) Chris tells someone that he barely knows that he and David, yes, the David who is an in-the-closet detective, are in a relationship. Woah, Chris, you might want pull back on the reins because you just put the cart in front of the horse. I don't think he knows what a relationship is, and if you care about someone, you don't out them like that to an attorney who could use it against David in court. Stupid things like that got on my nerves. If the writing had been stronger, the characters and plot would have been so much better.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A serial killer is preying on L.A.'s gay community. Detective David Blaine and his partner hone in on party boy Chris Bellamere as their prime suspect thanks to his connection to several of the victims, making deeply closeted David's attraction to him extremely inconvenient - an attraction that is very much reciprocated. Once it becomes clear that the detectives are looking at the wrong man, though, it soon appears that the real killer is fixated on Chris and likely to come after him. David is determined to protect him at all costs.

A gritty, action-packed series opener that kept me on the edge of my seat. Heavier on the murder mystery aspect than on the romance, it nevertheless delivers satisfying amounts of both.