Hiya guys! We have the ever lovely Rhys Ford visiting today with the tour to her upcoming release Tramps and Thieves. We have a short intro from Rhys, a fantastic part of her blog story for this tour and a brilliant $20GC giveaway! So guys check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Tramps & Thieves
Rhys Ford
Whoever said blood was thicker than water never stood in a pool of it.
Retiring from stealing priceless treasures seemed like a surefire way for Rook Stevens to stay on the right side of the law. The only cop in his life should have been his probably-boyfriend, Los Angeles Detective Dante Montoya, but that’s not how life—his life—is turning out. Instead, Rook ends up not only standing in a puddle of his cousin Harold’s blood but also being accused of Harold’s murder…and sleeping with Harold’s wife.
For Dante, loving the former thief means his once-normal life is now a sea of chaos, especially since Rook seems incapable of staying out of trouble—or keeping trouble from following him home. When Rook is tagged as a murder suspect by a narrow-focused West L.A. detective, Dante steps in to pull his lover out of the quagmire Rook’s landed in.
When the complicated investigation twists around on them, the dead begin to stack up, forcing the lovers to work together. Time isn’t on their side, and if they don’t find the killer before another murder, Dante will be visiting Rook in his prison cell—or at his grave.
Release date: 18th September 2017
Pre-order: Dreamspinner Press ebook | Dreamspinner Press paperback | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Rhys Ford!
One of the best things about being a mystery writer is that there are always murders to solve so I get to revisit a fantastic-to-write couple like Rook Stevens and Detective Dante Montoya. There are endless possibilities and plot lines for the characters, the city and their circumstances that I cannot wait to explore over the years. With the second book coming out, I wanted to do a blog tour that was just a bit of fun so in this serial, I welcome you to join Rook and his cousin, Alex, on what should be an estate sale of macabre curios but what awaits them is something neither of them planned for.
So sit back, be sure you read the whole story AND please enter the blog’s giveaway! One lucky winner will be chosen to receive a $20 USD gift certificate from the online store of their choice!
I hope you enjoy this small jaunt as the cousins set out on their quest and be sure to pick up Tramps and Thieves, the sequel to Murder and Mayhem. Published by Dreamspinner Press, it will be out on September 18th on the DSP portal, Amazon and other fine book stores.
Blog Story Part 01
One
There were quite a few things in life that Alex Martin understood. They included which fork to use a formal dinner, how to get the plastic on his headlights cleaned with toothpaste, but most of all what he intimately knew was how much trouble he would end up in whenever he agreed to one of his cousin Rook’s schemes. On the surface they always seemed like an interesting, intriguing proposition but when it was all said and done, Alex often found himself in more hot-water than he could swim in.
So when Rook Stevens left a voicemail for him about an estate sale in Antelope Valley, Alex had serious doubts on whether or not he should call his cousin back.
“It’s just an estate sale,” James said as he gulped down a cup of coffee before he headed out to fight crime on Los Angeles’s busy streets. As a homicide detective, James’s hours were erratic and often times having a cup of coffee with him was the only part of the day Alex got to spend with his husband. “How much trouble can the two of you get into? You get to poke around in some junk, break out your checkbook, spend an obscene amount on cereal box toys and then come home cackling about how much profit the two of you will make. Knowing both of you, that will satisfy your voracious avarice for weeks on end.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go,” Alex protested. “It just that I know as soon as we get over there, something horrible is gonna happen because nothing good ever comes from me going with Rook anywhere. Do you remember the last time he and I just went out for slurpies? We ended up in the middle of a SWAT raid in Little Tokyo and a kilo of cocaine in my backpack.”
“It wasn’t a kilo of cocaine, babe. The security guard just thought it was,” the detective chuckled. “It was about a pound of rice flour that a mochi seller accidentally dropped while he was running through the shopping mall chasing that thief. It was just coincidence it ended up in your open backpack. The problem with you when Rook is that if something bad is ever going to happen, it’s going to happen to the two of you.”
Alex’s entire life was played out in a very safe sandbox of society. The first time something dangerous and exhilarating happen to him it’d been a string of murders that eventually lead James to his side. The Hispanic detective had been skeptical and distrusting at first and Alex couldn’t blame him. After all, how many comic book store owners ended up with half a handful of dead bodies cropping up like daisies after a rainstorm. They danced around each other — James growling while Alex was mostly confused — then eventually fell in love. Okay, Alex thought, he probably had fallen in love the moment he saw James swagger across the parking lot after the first murder. James, in true James fashion, took a little while to finally get around to admit he was in love.
Now the only murders in their lives were ones that James found it work and thankfully, didn’t bring home.
Still, Alex had to admit, he did miss the thrill just a little bit but he didn’t want someone to die for it.
“If you want to go, don’t go. Make something up like… I was going to say a dead body fell through your ceiling at the store but since you already have had that happen a couple of times, I don’t think he’s going to buy it happening again. Maybe you could have a mundane lie. Like somebody calling in sick and you have to cover for them?”
“I’d already told him yesterday I didn’t have to work and you know as well as I do, I’m the world’s crappiest liar.” He stopped pacing the kitchen and picked up his cat, Mrs. Whosit. Cradling her against his shoulder, Alec stroked the feline’s back, comforted by her purring. “I kind of want to go because it’s going to be a big sale. The guy’s estate was worth millions and he liked to collect pop-culture stuff and Rook is always able to recognize good deals. I learned a lot from him but I also end up seeing a lot of the inside of jail cells, and that’s something I kinda hope to skip this weekend.”
“Well, I kind of would like to not have to bail you out again,” James replied. “It’s kind of embarrassing when I have to take off work because my husband is in a pair of handcuffs and they’re not attached to my bed. Shit, I’m late. Just let me know what you decide so I can take enough money out of our savings account. Nothing worse than showing up in front of a judge with only enough cash to buy a couple of tacos and a beer.”
Be sure catch the entire story on the Tramps and Thieves Blog Tour and enter to win the giveaway featured on every blog!
About Rhys!
Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and was a 2016 LAMBDA finalist with her novel, Murder and Mayhem and a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.
She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal. Rhys shares the house with two cats, Yoshi, a grumpy tuxedo and Tam, a diabetic black shorthair, as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. She is also responsible for the care and feeding of a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | My books can be purchased, folded and first chapters read at Dreamspinner Press & DSP Publications
Giveaway!
Win a $20 USD gift certificate!
Each blog on the tour has it’s own giveaway so check out all stops on the tour!
Check out the other blogs on the tour!
Ooh…awesome! Wanna read the back story hard now!
Great start! I’m delighted you’ve brought Alex and James back.
I am SO looking forward to this story, what on earth will Alex and Rook get up to?
I’m intrigued. <3
Yay, another story tour–going to love this, I can tell!
LOL! You know, know, know there has got to be a dead body somewhere waiting for them. I am looking forward to reading the rest. I also have to go back and brush up on Alex and James.
Oh boy! Sounds like the start to something awesome (for us readers, maybe not so much for Alex). And I loved this line from James: “It’s kind of embarrassing when I have to take off work because my husband is in a pair of handcuffs and they’re not attached to my bed.”
Yay! I can’t wait to jump back into this series. I love Rhys books. Rhys you are awesome!😀
Love it ❤️❤️❤️
Great start, can’t wait to read what happens
Can’t wait – loved Rook and Dante the first time around! And Alex and James are a nice bonus😊
I love this– can’t wait for Blog #2 episode.
Ooh… Intriguing. Can’t wait to read the whole lot of it!
As with the last blog tour, having a serial to read is great fun.
Now if my luck decides not to phone it in, and maybe I can win something.
*s*
Off to a great start! I’m happy to see Alex again.
Sounds promising! I’m sure there’s a lot of trouble ahead…
Glad to see Alex and James again!
Can’t wait for the rest of it. Let the shenanigans begin!
Love Alex and James….glad you decided to bring them out to play some more! Alex and Rook…..now that’s sounds like fun!
The story is captivating, pulling the reader into the depths of the characters eliciting a desire in the readers part for more. I can’t wait to read it.
That was a great beginning and what could possibly go wrong!!
not sure if Alex is worried something will happen or won’t 🙂 off to a good start.
Can’t wait for the book!
It’s wonderful to see James and Alex again. I want to read their story again but I can’t remember where, darn it.
Can’t wait for the next blog installment.
I think Rhys said it was in the anthology Grand Adventure story Cops and Comics
I love these little mini stories! Rook’s (mis)adventures remind me of another Rhys Ford character . . .
Live this so far! I’ve so missed the snark! Can’t wait til the next installment!
So I’m sitting here laughing, quietly I thought, and my cat is looking at me like I’m off my rocker. So maybe I wasn’t so quiet. Can’t wait for tomorrow and the next installment!
It’s great! I love that trouble always seems to follow Rook.
Love Alex and Rook. Wonder what kind of trouble they’ll find now.
Rook is a handful, Alex. Or should I say the TWO of you are a handful. 😉 I love the easy camaraderie & love you & James (a.k.a Me) have. <3
I don’t know why the “tacos and beer” comment cracked me up. I’m excited for the new book!
I abosulty adore Alex and James (wouldn’t mind more of them to be honest). These mini story’s are a great help when your missing some of your favorite characters.
Hmmm, bargain hunting vs jail and having your husband springing you from the pokey (again😂). I have got to see how this ends up.
I’ve been waiting for this one – soooo excited!!! 😀
I loved Alex and James, so loving this where I get them and Dante and Rook.
can never have too many dead bodies! ….and falling through the roof..
I need more!!
Love this!!
love the idea of Rook and Alex getting into mischief.
I haven’t gotten to read the first one yet and this one sounds so good!! I love it!
Yay! Some Alex and James time. I can’t wait to read more.
Love this! And can’t wait for the book to be out!
Love reading more on Alex and James 🙂
Love the story, getting reacquainted with Alex and James is so awesome, can’t wait to read the rest of the story and the new book!
You have me intrigued now. I can’t wait to read more.
yay I like we get to see Alex a little more with James so much fun
Oh no! Now I know what I will be doing instead of packing like I should… I don’t know how I missed the first one.
Haha, OMG Alex. What kind of corpse will he trip over now? I <3 them!
Love you blog tours and the accompanying stories =)
love it!!!!!
Rook and Alex — so different and yet so alike!!
Ha ha!!! I love Alex and James! They need their own mystery series. Okay, I need it, but still…😁
What a great start. I can’t wait to read more.
Thanks! I like it.
OMG I am in love!! I can’t wait to see what kind if trouble they can be into! 😁
I’m looking forward to reading more. Your blog tours are always a good read.
Can’t wait for the rest of the story!
“It’s just an estate sale.” What could possibly go wrong…lol.
I still need to read “Grand Adventures” but recently read “Murder and Mayhem.” Rook has a huge gift for getting into trouble, even when he’s trying hard not to. I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen next. I liked that first bit of the serial. Alex even seems fairly genre-savvy, but the cousins will get themselves in trouble somehow, I’m sure.
This sounds like it could be a fun read.
This sounds like it could be a fun read, can’t wait for more.
I love Rhys’s blog tour stories, im definitely going to have to read Alex and James again.
Wow, makes me look at the AV with new eyes, lol. Good luck on the new release, sounds like a fun story!
I really liked reading a little bit in Alex and James’ pov.
Love when Rhys does blog stories to go with her new releases.
Congratulations on another book release, Rhys
Great first installment. 🙂
Congrats, Rhys, and thanks for the short. I loved Book 1, and have waiting expectantly for the new one. – Purple Reader,
TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
I’d go shopping with Rook. Could be interesting.
James has his priorites right. One should always have enough money in their pocket for beer and tacos.
Congrats on the new story. The characters are really on one in a good way. ^_^. Looking at the title has a mantra of gypsies tramps and thieves (mystery science theater style) though.
Kapony2 (at) aol (dot) com