First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery

Praise for Scott Sherman’s
First

You Fall

“This is a gem of a novel. I read it in one day, recommended it to a bunch of friends, and, for the first time in my reading life, received back unanimous agreement with my own enthusiasm. The story’s got characters you care about, a mystery worth solving, and a pitch-perfect sense of humor.

(Each time I recal the hero’s climb up a tree outside a certain bedroom window I start laughing.)
First
You Fall
exemplifies that rare bird: light reading that is never lite.”

—Drewey Wayne Gunn, author of
The Gay Male
Sleuth

in Print and Film

“Spending time with Scott Sherman’s reluctant detective, Kevin Connor, is like being with a lovable best friend. He’s cute, adorable, sexy, the ultimate naughty-but-nice boy next door. Balancing a career as a hustler, volunteer work, an ex-boyfriend or two, a bevy of admirers, a murdered best friend, an intrusive mother, and a horde of suspects is no problem for sweet but smart Kevvy.
First You Fall
is an endlessly enjoyable read, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Sherman is particularly adept at making his quirky cast of characters sing out loud, oftentimes with nothing more than a word or two.

Enjoy this book. I think the author wants you to.”

—Anthony Bidulka, author of the Russel Quant mystery series

“First You Fall
is a hoot, particularly in the interaction between the hero and his mother. It’s also a solid, careful y-constructed mystery. I love the way in which Kevin’s physical attributes—he’s smal , blond, and cute—work into the story and determine the way he operates, as both a hustler and a detective. He’s a resourceful, determined sleuth, and I hope we’l see a lot more of him in the future.”

—Neil S. Plakcy, author of the Hawaiian Mahu mystery series

“I love Kevin Connor! Even though I don’t have the right pieces for him to love me back, and even though he’s a fictional character, I’d gladly pay Kevin for a few hours of his… time. From the first page I was giggling and oohing over Sherman’s boy-toy hero. Then I was gasping at the book’s sneaky twists and turns. Then grimacing at the gross bits and back to oohing at the love story! With murder, romance, and plenty of hot sex between cute guys,
First You
Fall
is a quick, fast-paced, fun read that I heartily recommend.”

—Megan Hart, author of
Tempted

Copyright © 2011 by: Scott Sherman

Al rights reserved.

ISBN: 1-4663-3722-2

ISBN-13: 9781466337220

One day, I’l write books I can dedicate to my parents and children; this isn’t one of them. Kids, if you’re reading this, put it down til you’re twenty-one.

So, Marty, this is for you. It’s not necessarily the kind of thing you’d like, but then again, neither was I when we first met. Sixteen years later, we’re stil together. I hope the book grows on you, too. I love you.

CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

A Date, A Death,

A Return from the Dead

EIGHT O’CLOCK ON
a hot and humid summer night in The Astor, a pricey hotel on New York’s Central Park West. The paintings were original oils, the furniture heavy mahogany, and the sheets had a thread count three times higher than my hourly rate.

Not that I’d gotten to sample them.

Wel , not this time at least.

A strange hotel room with a stranger. So far, it was a pretty usual night for me. I figured I’d finish up work, stop off at home to change, and then meet my friend Freddy at a club.

What I didn’t know was that before the night was over I’d be embraced by a homeless woman, I’d ignore a cal I real y shouldn’t have, that a man I loved would turn up dead, and that a man I considered dead would come back to life.

Now, those things
were
unusual.

They were also just the start…

The room smel ed like expensive soap, probably because I just used so much of it. The air conditioning was too cold on my naked body, but, in my line of work, I’ve put up with worse.

“So, Kevin,” my client, asked, sitting in an overstuffed easy chair and watching me get dressed, “what’s a nice boy like you doing in a business like this?”

It wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked that question. OK, it wasn’t the hundredth, either. But when you’re twenty-three years old, clean-cut, and reasonably intel igent, people are always surprised to discover you’re a male prostitute.

Why, my client wondered, would a guy like me make his living like this? Wel , you’d think the three hundred dol ars he paid just to watch me take a shower would have given him a clue.

“I’m a people person,” I told him, pul ing on my underwear. “And al the jobs at the Gap were fil ed.” My client chuckled. I had forgotten his name, but he was an out-of-towner, and this would probably be the only time we got together. Local clients often want to see you more than once, but travelers like a new guy every time.

“I enjoyed watching you,” he said. I figured as much when he shot a load so hard that, even over the roar of the shower, I could hear it hit the shower door. I wouldn’t have thought such vandalism would be acceptable in a hotel like the Astor.