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OWL Investigations Mysteries #1-3
OWL Investigations Mysteries Book 1-3
Murder and mayhem, lying and cheating, and one PI trying to sort it all out
Take a ride in private investigator Emmett Naoki’s car while he chases down cheating spouses, finds missing persons, and untangles complicated murders faster than anyone else. He might not like having sidekicks, but he hasn’t gotten rid of his yet! David Wright digs up clues right by Emmet’s side. It’s fine, Emmett is totally not still into David. That was over back in high school!
Find a Man, Don’t Settle DownCheating exes, missing exes, and former crushes
There are few things in this world that private investigator Emmett Naoki loves. His job and the business he’s built, OWL Investigations, are his biggest passion. Then there’s sleeping in and working alone, but he isn’t getting much of either these days.
His hates are similarly specific. He despises his gift—or curse, depends on how you look at it—of always being hit with the truth right in the face.
He loathes smug bastards who used to make him feel unwanted as a teen. Yet he’s hired their king, David Wright, as his sidekick. In Emmett’s defense, he was drunk at the time.
At the top of his hate list are liars and cheaters. They’re the lowest of the low. So why exactly has Emmet agreed to help cheating ex no.1, Byron, to find backstabbing—and now missing—ex no.2, Chris? Especially since the cops think nothing’s amiss.
It’s Murder on the CatwalkMore lying, more cheating, more blasts from the past. With a side of murder.
Just when Emmett thought he was done with exes with a thing for backstabbing, another one falls in his lap. Not his ex, for once. No, this one belongs to Emmett’s new partner at OWL Investigations and former—okay, maybe current—crush, David.
The bad news? Shirou is here to stay and piss off Emmett for the foreseeable future. Why David doesn’t kick him out, Emmett will never know.
The worst news? Emmett can’t stop thinking about the kiss he’s shared with David.
There’s good news, sort of. Emmett gets to travel to a seaside resort in Turkey to investigate a suspicious death.
Too bad he must go back to his modeling roots to find the killer!
Leave Me, Baby, One More TimeSidekicks are so much trouble!
Especially when you have a soft spot for them. And they’re suspected of murder.
Private investigator Emmett Naoki went to great lengths to stay clear of his assistant and past and present crush, David Wright. Yet one call for help is all it takes for Emmett to drop his vacation plans and run home to save David’s ass. The hardest part is to keep the I told you sos to a minimum.
For months, David has refused to kick Shirou, his ex, to the curb. To no one’s surprise, Shirou puts them all in danger when his long-term lover is murdered. In Emmett and David’s office.
David makes an obvious suspect. He’s also too stubborn to make things easier for himself. Add a possible Yakuza connection, an on-and-off girlfriend with an axe to grind, and David’s lying ex being as useless as ever, and Emmett is served a bitter cocktail of disasters just waiting to happen.
- GenresM M Romance
539 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 13, 2020
About the author
Alina Popescu
80 books180 followersI am a writer, traveler, blogger, and coffee addict. I started writing stories when I was 10 and kept doing it as a hobby till a few years ago. I prefer fantasy and sci-fi when it comes to writing and I am currently working on a vampire series, Bad Blood. Book I of the series, The Edge of hope, was published in April 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 1, 2020
Looking forward to more
Ms Popescu is a new author to me and this collection of stories was a delightful find.
I am really looking forward to reading the next one straight away.
Ms Popescu is a new author to me and this collection of stories was a delightful find.
I am really looking forward to reading the next one straight away.
June 6, 2020
Lot of fun
Wow I’m really impressed, all the books were great from start to finish, the characters were fantastic and fun. Can’t wait for the next book
Wow I’m really impressed, all the books were great from start to finish, the characters were fantastic and fun. Can’t wait for the next book
July 16, 2026
Find a man, Don’t Settle Down-4 stars-Emmet’s a busy private eye, and while drunk at a high school reunion, hires an old classmate, David.
He had a crush on David when they were young and still finds him attractive. Then Em’s ex, Byron shows up, frantic because Chris, his best friend and Emmet’s more recent ex, is missing.
He and David talk to Chris’ new boyfriend, his boss Sam, and other coworkers. They get a lead that he may be on his own camping, but only his car is found at the state park, so the park rangers and police become involved in a search.
There’s a lot of lying by all involved and Byron has continued to be a big interference in Chris’s life. David and Emmet run into some dead ends, but Em happens across Chris’ colleague, Pete, and he becomes suspicious.
He and David stake out Pete’s place, but he’s boring, rarely leaving home. They see his credit card statement and Emmet suspects Chris may be on Pete’s apartment.
He, David, and Deb, his cop friend, make a plan, and Pete is captured and Chris rescued.
A fun read with a pile of exes and some great characters. I love David and Em’s complementary personalities, and Tate’s a cool brother to have.
It’s Murder on the Catwalk-4 stars-Emmett’s friend and firmer modelling agent, Spencer, asks him to find out who killed his client, Hugo, a young g model who it looked like committed suicide, but which Spencer doesn’t believe.
Going undercover, Em is part of a shoot that Hugo was originally involved in, with the same people.
The owner of the clothing company, Morales, is a lecher and comes on to Emmett, but he rebuffs him. One female model found Hugo and had been becoming his girlfriend, but she’s grieving and unlikely to have killed him.
Emmett enlists the help of a hotel staff person who finds cottage of the room, and a make model tells him about a way to find footage of the back of the hotel, which is private.
He finds out who the killer is, and also who was blackmailing Morales, solving two cases at once.
As for David, his ex is staying with him but Emmett doesn’t know why because David swears they’re not back together. David helps from the home front, running the agency, but he calls Emmett when his ex’s new boyfriend is found dead by their secretary.
I love this series, part cozy mystery, part funny tale, some cute romance. I didn’t get the hang gliding even at all, it was random and didn’t fit into the story, but it was a good scene in and of itself.
Leave Me Baby, One More Time-4 stars-Before things can settle down, a body shows up at the Owl Detective Agency office. It belongs to Shirou’s ex, Daisuke, and someone killed him and brought him there.
David is the main suspect, even though he has no interest in getting back together with Shirou. He lets him stay with him not try to understand what he did wrong so he doesn’t repeat it with Emmett.
He’s cleared easily, but Em takes on the case, talking to Daisuke’s aunt, checking to see if he was part of the Yakuza, which he wasn’t, and reaching dead ends.
He gets the truth out of Shorou, that he loved Daisuke and was just trying to get him to come out, hence visiting David. Daisuke even has a girlfriend of many years, who Emmett runs into.
He check back over his facts, finds out someone with a fake ID rented a car that they killed Daisuke in, leading to the killer.
Some of this story was a bit convoluted, with all the exes and families, but it turned out well. Emmett finally trusts that David wants to be with him, and more cases are coming.
July 24
Edge of Temptation-3 1/2 stars-Jace needs a place to stay and looks
He had a crush on David when they were young and still finds him attractive. Then Em’s ex, Byron shows up, frantic because Chris, his best friend and Emmet’s more recent ex, is missing.
He and David talk to Chris’ new boyfriend, his boss Sam, and other coworkers. They get a lead that he may be on his own camping, but only his car is found at the state park, so the park rangers and police become involved in a search.
There’s a lot of lying by all involved and Byron has continued to be a big interference in Chris’s life. David and Emmet run into some dead ends, but Em happens across Chris’ colleague, Pete, and he becomes suspicious.
He and David stake out Pete’s place, but he’s boring, rarely leaving home. They see his credit card statement and Emmet suspects Chris may be on Pete’s apartment.
He, David, and Deb, his cop friend, make a plan, and Pete is captured and Chris rescued.
A fun read with a pile of exes and some great characters. I love David and Em’s complementary personalities, and Tate’s a cool brother to have.
It’s Murder on the Catwalk-4 stars-Emmett’s friend and firmer modelling agent, Spencer, asks him to find out who killed his client, Hugo, a young g model who it looked like committed suicide, but which Spencer doesn’t believe.
Going undercover, Em is part of a shoot that Hugo was originally involved in, with the same people.
The owner of the clothing company, Morales, is a lecher and comes on to Emmett, but he rebuffs him. One female model found Hugo and had been becoming his girlfriend, but she’s grieving and unlikely to have killed him.
Emmett enlists the help of a hotel staff person who finds cottage of the room, and a make model tells him about a way to find footage of the back of the hotel, which is private.
He finds out who the killer is, and also who was blackmailing Morales, solving two cases at once.
As for David, his ex is staying with him but Emmett doesn’t know why because David swears they’re not back together. David helps from the home front, running the agency, but he calls Emmett when his ex’s new boyfriend is found dead by their secretary.
I love this series, part cozy mystery, part funny tale, some cute romance. I didn’t get the hang gliding even at all, it was random and didn’t fit into the story, but it was a good scene in and of itself.
Leave Me Baby, One More Time-4 stars-Before things can settle down, a body shows up at the Owl Detective Agency office. It belongs to Shirou’s ex, Daisuke, and someone killed him and brought him there.
David is the main suspect, even though he has no interest in getting back together with Shirou. He lets him stay with him not try to understand what he did wrong so he doesn’t repeat it with Emmett.
He’s cleared easily, but Em takes on the case, talking to Daisuke’s aunt, checking to see if he was part of the Yakuza, which he wasn’t, and reaching dead ends.
He gets the truth out of Shorou, that he loved Daisuke and was just trying to get him to come out, hence visiting David. Daisuke even has a girlfriend of many years, who Emmett runs into.
He check back over his facts, finds out someone with a fake ID rented a car that they killed Daisuke in, leading to the killer.
Some of this story was a bit convoluted, with all the exes and families, but it turned out well. Emmett finally trusts that David wants to be with him, and more cases are coming.
July 24
Edge of Temptation-3 1/2 stars-Jace needs a place to stay and looks
June 3, 2020
Sweet PI mystery series, low key low gore and low angst, also very low heat level. Fun, but not much keeping me reading onwards.
January 18, 2021
Kobo epub - 821 pages; 1230003667002
1 Find a Man, Don't Settle Down - January 7 - 11
2 Murder on the Catwalk - January 12 - 16
3 Love Me, Baby, One More Time - January 16 - 18
Pleasant undemanding fare - private eye investigating a variety of mysteries (a missing person - a former boyfriend, which adds potential suspect to the interest; two murders) while easing into a new relationship with a former lusted-after seeming lazy jock. That the protagonist is gay and has a Japanese step-father whose surname he uses adds to the mix. The second book has Emmet returning undercover to his former career in modelling.
1 Find a Man, Don't Settle Down - January 7 - 11
2 Murder on the Catwalk - January 12 - 16
3 Love Me, Baby, One More Time - January 16 - 18
Pleasant undemanding fare - private eye investigating a variety of mysteries (a missing person - a former boyfriend, which adds potential suspect to the interest; two murders) while easing into a new relationship with a former lusted-after seeming lazy jock. That the protagonist is gay and has a Japanese step-father whose surname he uses adds to the mix. The second book has Emmet returning undercover to his former career in modelling.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews