Book four in the Cole McGuinness Mysteries series follows works with such engaging titles as Dirty Laundry. I had not read any so the characters were new to me. DIRTY DEEDS is a crime series about a gay man in Los Angeles; we meet Cole and Claudia, his friend hoping to catch an insurance fraudster and accidentally sparking a riot as impoverished people try to grab goods from a broken store window. There's clearly going to be dark humour in this tale, and characters galore.

Jae is Cole's gorgeous Korean boyfriend, and at this time the lads have survived a bombing and a shooting, which appears to have strengthened their relationship. So much so, that they're considering getting tattooed. Cole's Japanese half-brother runs a tattoo parlour.

Los Angeles always has traffic and crowds, and the multiplicity of ethnic backgrounds brings problems for a PI as Cole tries to figure out if people are speaking Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese or Malay. Add Spanish and any number of Latino dialects to the mix, and it can be difficult to discover information even if people are willing to give it. Cole and his brother are in the wrong place when someone shoots a woman on the street, but they're unharmed and call the cops. Too late for the victim of the shooting, and for three other people in her apartment building. Who wanted so many people dead?

This is an adult romantic mystery between two men with a deep relationship. Some backstory is brought to us, because Cole used to be a cop and thought it didn't matter that he was gay, until he overheard distrustful comments from other cops. Now he still has to deal with that department. A female officer turns out to be less prejudiced than the men. We also get many references to a person on the run called Sheila who tried to kill Cole and Jae, but not much explanation of why.

There's strong language in almost every sentence and copious firearms and blood in scenes which alternate with bedroom scenes. The seedy side of Los Angeles is foremost with tramps and transgender folks among the inhabitants of the less well-off districts. If this kind of action series grabs you, DIRTY DEEDS by Rhys Ford will have you rooted to your seat, waiting to see how the last action sequence pans out for Cole and his friends.

Book Summary

Sheila Pinelli needed to be taken out.

Former cop turned private investigator Cole McGinnis never considered committing murder. But six months ago, when Jae- Min’ s blood filled his hands and death came knocking at his lover’s door, killing Sheila Pinelli became a definite possibility.

While Sheila lurks in some hidden corner of Los Angeles, Jae and Cole share a bed, a home, and most of all, happiness. They’d survived Jae’s traditional Korean family disowning him and plan on building a new life—preferably one without the threat of Sheila’s return hanging over them.

Thanks to the Santa Monica police mistakenly releasing Sheila following a loitering arrest, Cole finally gets a lead on Sheila’s whereabouts. That is, until the trail goes crazy and he’s thrown into a tangle of drugs, exotic women, and more death. Regardless of the case going sideways, Cole is determined to find the woman he once loved as a sister and get her out of their lives once and for all.

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