The Element Case Novella Quint and Clay Crimes Book #1
Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Gay Romance
JMS BOOKS LLC
Jan 2, 2021
Kindle
112
Amazon
Clay Richardson is a well-known artist who owns his own gallery.
Quint Hawk, a police detective, makes contact with Clay when he sees a portrait Clay has painted in the window of the gallery -- a portrait of a homeless young man who was murdered just days before. Unfortunately, Clay has no idea who the subject was.
Several months later, Quint contacts Clay to again ask about one of Clay's paintings. The subject has been murdered, as has a third man in another of his paintings.
The reclusive artist and the handsome detective are drawn to each other as they try to determine what is happening and why. They come up with a plan to catch the killer -- a plan that could end up in their deaths before they can decide if there is more to their feelings than a couple of very good nights in Clay's bed.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Clay Richardson is a successful artist, and a lot of his subjects are the faces of people he sees and sketches in his pad. A popular place for him are the clubs where he is surrounded by men that strike his fancy. When he is approached by anyone, he is extremely rude, guaranteeing they will leave him alone. The attitude worked until he was approached by Quint Hawk, a detective with the DPD.
When Quint explains why he is questioning Clay, Clay’s life turns into a nightmare. Three of his paintings belonging to what he calls the Element, The Element of Woe and two others, the subjects in the paintings were all murdered. Now Clay finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery and he has no idea why.
These men were just subjects to him, and he sketched them because Clay found them interesting. Quint is sure that Clay is not the killer, but his boss is unsure so diving into Clay’s life to discover anyone who could be doing this to him is the first thing Quint does.
The only person of interest is Clay’s ex-boyfriend of two years Travis, a relationship that Clay ended. Although years have passed since his ex has been heard from finding him is important.
When the ex is located it is by a coroner who pronounced him dead, so this possible lead is as dead as Travis. Then the search for men who were aggressively pursuing Clay and who might have a desire to hurt him for ignoring them begins. Clay and Quint act as a couple and go to the various clubs where one-man Clay recognizes shows up and immediately disappears. Fortunately, the man was one that Clay had sketched and whose name was Mattie, now the problem is finding him.
The next plan to catch the killer is for Clay to paint a new painting in the Element series using Quint as the subject hoping to draw the killer out. The killer breaks into Clay’s loft despite his elaborate security system and a secure building and destroys the painting of Quint. Now the killer has brought the danger to Clay’s doorstep and Quint refuses to leave him alone.
While searching for a killer Quint and Clay’s professional relationship becomes a very personal one and for the first time Clay is comfortable with the idea of a relationship despite the failure of his last two.
If you love a good mystery, then this one should not be missed, secrets, surprises, sex and wonderful characters.