Shadowy Solutions

The unlikely pair Tallus Domingo and Diem Krause find themselves together on a case, uncovering secrets they never expected. But doesn't everyone have skeletons in their closet?

It’s not a real case, he’s not my boyfriend, and we aren’t partners. Three lies I told myself for survival. After ten months of shamefully stalking and showing up randomly on Tallus’s doorstep at midnight (for reasons), the sinfully hot records clerk decided he’d had enough of my games. In fact, he went out of his way to bring me the most ridiculous case (it was not a case) on the planet as an excuse to push me over the line (he wanted a date). Our arrangement (hooking up) didn’t suit him any longer. Could I say no? Of course not (this was Tallus).

Officially boyfriends and business partners, Tallus and Diem take on a new case in a small town outside of Toronto, where the police have deemed the death of a teen an accident, but the mother isn't so sure.

On a balmy September evening, Tallus and Diem discover a man who has been attacked in an alley. Saving his life seems like the right thing to do. With his dying breath, the man thrusts an item upon the couple and makes one request. Get rid of it. The mysterious object proves to be valuable, and Tallus doesn’t want to part with it. Keeping it makes Diem uncomfortable in a way he can’t explain. Tempers flare, but before they can come to an agreement, everything unravels. The item is more dangerous than either of them realized.

Diem never thought he would have a steady boyfriend and enough cases to keep his business in the green. He never thought his nana would live to be ninety-three. Life is, dare he say, good? He could do to drink less, and he still needs to quit smoking, but he’s getting there. He’s happy. In love. If he could manage his stress, life might even turn out to be… great? But then Tallus arranges dinner with his parents, where Diem faces questions about commitment and weddings and a weekend bonding trip with a stepfather he doesn’t know.