Where the Heart Lies

by Jerry Cole

Mysterious fires on your family’s rental properties? Bad. Getting dragged into the investigation by your high-school nemesis turned sheriff’s deputy? Worse. Realizing that there’s more than arson kindling in your old hometown and in your heart?Only Brett Garcia could have that kind of luck.Cold, broke and struggling with his music career, Brett has reluctantly returned to the sleepy shores of Lake Ida to help his sister care for her baby while her husband is deployed. His countdown until he returns to civilization is interrupted when a series of bizarre crimes pull him across the path of Deputy Gabe Yates. Ten years and a couple tours of duty have left Gabe a changed man, and Brett is shocked to discover that one of his high school enemies wound up coming out as gay.He’s even more shocked when the local crime spree turns deadly, and it’s up to Brett and Gabe to help the Feds unravel the kind of mystery that only a small town could produce. As the two work together, their animosity turns into attraction. Will the two former enemies be able to root out the murderer in the midst of the town they call home, or will a devious criminal destroy far more than a few cabins?Please Note: This book contains adult language & steamy adult activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approximately 71,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger." Themes include: Thriller, Mystery, Enemies to Lovers, Veteran Romance, American Heroes, Police, Addiction Recovery, Inspirational, Holiday Romance, Small Town Romance

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 29, 2019

About the author

Jerry Cole is a gay author who lives in California & enjoys writing love stories. Jerry has been writing fiction since he was a child. As a young adult, he worked as a freelance writer in the evenings & on weekends. Jerry started writing gay romance stories several years ago, but initially just for his own entertainment & occasionally sharing stories with his friends. In the summer of 2015 he published his first gay romance short story on Amazon. Overwhelmed by the positive response he decided to quit his “day job” & took up writing gay romance full time. When he’s not writing steamy M/M romance he enjoys globetrotting, watching movies with family and friends, working out, & being dragged down the road by his two Great Danes.

Reviews

[Denise H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

* Mystery lovers will like the twisty tale we have here. A surprise at every turn. We want to know Who done it? What happened? When are they doing it? and we learn, Why?
* Brett, a trumpetor, is coming to his home town

to help his sister and work for his grouchy Uncle Vick.
* Deputy Gage, ex-military, now openly gay,

is tall, lanky, blonde, blue-eyed, has a gap tooth smile and glasses.

This story doesn't give us enough to figure the mystery out, but keeps us on the edge. Brett is great helping his sister with the baby while her hubby is stationed overseas. There is a victim right away, strange fires, Uncle Vick's secrets, weird sightings of a white van, a scary car chase, injury, a rescue and more; like attempted murder, a stabbing, a set-up, my gosh, yet.... there's more. What's up with Sheriff Rourke, and the ATF presence?
Loved our deputy's dog, Beans...


Brett is calm and steady, while Gage is nervous and still suffering from mental war issues, but he does go to therapy for gay veterans.
The story gets more tangled as we go.

Terrific characters, including a transgender, fascinating storytelling, and exciting heartfelt slow, light romance, that turns deep.


ENJOY !

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[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brett has moved home to help his sister with her baby and work for his Uncle Vince. Gabe move moved back too, but not with a stellar reputation as his PTSD and anxieity attacks and drinking made it hard to find a job. At last Sheriff Rourke gave him a chance and became a deputy. The two had a history from high school and Brett didn't want to have anything to do with Gave. Now fires on Brett's uncle's property and his total reluctance to allow it to be reported to the police doesn't set right with Brett. Rourke himself acts fishy and won't pursue the fires as arson. Mysteries deepen and the two men become entangled together in intrigue and violence. This is an excellent story of crime, mystery, violence, PTSD and a growing love between men who weren't friends but learn too as they fight to solve the mysteries of a town that both hate and want to leave. A really sweet HEA. My only regret is the ending didn't include Gabe getting a job as the story ends. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC book.

[Patdbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brett and Gabe two men in situations they do not want to be in. Both men have a strong sense of what is right and wrong but are working for people who are are abusive bad people.

You get a glimpse of Gabe, a high school jock who hid from his sexuality until he joins the army and then comes out, returns home as an 'out' man and joins the local police. Suffering from PTDS he has very low self esteem and then he meets Gabe.

Gabe helping out his sister working for his uncle is a talented and caring individual. The book is slow for the two characters to get together, something that i liked once I got into the flow. BUT boy, once together they fall fast, especially Gabe for Brett. The story brings together a mix of genres, MM romance, passion along with a good old detective, thriller genre; you get a lot in this story.

Well worth reading. one cant help but fall in love with Gabe and Brett, and boy, the passion....

I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest & unbiased review

[Alexandra Van Keteler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Jerry Cole's books (that's why I joined his ARC team, although I'm on the other side of the planet!), but if you add mystery, murder, arson and a steamy love story to the mix, I'm hooked!
I couldn't stop reading this one.
Gabe used to bully Brett back in Highschool, and Brett hated Gabe. Ten years later, Brett is back in his home town, helping his sister with her newborn baby and working a shitty job (with his uncle) while working remotely as a jazz musician.
When his uncle's cabin's start burning down, Brett crosses paths with Gabe who is currently a deputy for the local police.
Personally, I love this hate-turned-love kind of stories, and these two are simply adorable, trying to figure out if they hate or love each other. This one is probably one of my favorites from Jerry Cole!

I read a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy of this book & am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

[Cheryl_cajun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC read, I voluntarily give this book an honest review.
Brett came back to his home town to help his sister with his niece, while he is struggled to get back what was missing in is life.
When an supposed accident happens to Gabe, and no memory of that night things just don't add up, with the help from his friend on the sheriff office Gabe and Amanda pull in Brett for help. Only things aren't all they appeared to be.  Gabe and Brett gets closer as they start working more closely together. But can Brett forgive the boy Gabe use to be to se the man he is now? Are will Gabe push Brett to far away that there is no going back to normal, for either of them?
 Jerry Cole always surprises me with his books, I just love reading them.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brett Garcia is helping his Uncle Vick maintain remote rental cabins in his hometown while waiting to see where life takes him. Hopefully, that somewhere is far away from Lake Ida.

Gabe Yates is a military veteran with PTSD who works in the Lake Ida sheriff department manning speed traps and investigating a series of fires. He and his partner need to keep their investigation quiet since their boss doesn’t seem interested in prosecuting the arsonist.

Brett remembers Gabe as the guy who bullied him in high school. Now that Gabe is “out”, he’s not sure what to think. Their paths cross during the investigation and both must decide how they want to handle their mutual attraction.

The plot was convoluted and confusing. Even at the end, I wasn’t sure why anything happened.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You really feel the tension Brett and Gabe are going through. The characters bring alive the town, giving it an atmosphere of a small town to live. The snowy backdrop is felt and the cold comes through in the writing.

The crime spree adds drama and intrigue. Brett and Gabe have a lot going on in their lives and I was hooked, wondering how they were going to work around everything to move forward.

I highly recommend this book, another good story from Jerry Cole.
I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest & unbiased review.

[Monika]

A very good suspense story with romance thrown in with it. For me the story was very slow to start of with. I found the fast introduction of the characters confusing but after that I enjoyed the book tremendously. It was interesting and nail biting in places. It had all the criteria of a good story like so called accidents, arson, violence murder, mysteries and a good romance thrown into the mix. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

I read a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

[Clarence Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story. It didn't flow easily, like real life. The characters were relatable. I like Brett and Gabe, but I wasn't 100% sure I wanted them to stay together, I just wanted them to have the best life possible. It was nice that they wound up together though. I like that in a story. Keep up the good work. Stpries with complicated characters that don't appear to have pat endings are nice.

[Kaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is between 3 and 4 for me.. i enjoyed it but parts of it i struggled with.. im not sure why. but overall the storyline is decent. and the characters are interesting.

[Ellen]

Couldn't finish this. Stopped it at 22% because I just hit a big wall of MEH that I couldn't overcome. I didn't care about either character, and because of that I didn't really understand/pay attention to what was going on, so this is being put on the DNF shelf and probably will not be resurrected for further use in the future.