LAPD officer David Laine is investigating a series of brutal killings now being attributed to the "Carpet Killer". The investigation is made even more difficult for David on a personal level by the fact that it involves that the victims all appear to be homosexual men and David himself is, by necessity of his life and his job, a very in the closet man himself. When the investigation focuses on the young computer tech and open playboy Chris Bellamere David finds himself torn between the need to find the killer and his own attraction to the potential suspect.

This story was well written and despite the very gruesome aspects of the rape/murders this story thankfully never went over the top in the graphic description department, both of the violence and of the bedroom scenes. I found the beginning of the story to be a little tedious in the police procedure department as we are slowly brought in to the investigation. The characters were nicely done and I enjoyed both David and Chris' POVs, it gave us a well rounded look at being both the investigator and the suspect. I feel that the attraction between them was believable is a very "opposites attract" way because of their personalities. I think the downside was that to me, the book really wasn't fish or fowl. Not really the dramatic murder/mystery and suspense because of the romance, but not really romantic enough (to me) to be a real romance. I often feel this way with the "straight" romances written for the romantic suspense genre as well so I'm sure it is just my personal feeling on it. Where we left the characters you can certainly see they have a tough road ahead of them, particularly from the aspect of David's employment.

Overall this was a good story with likeable characters and a very fast read in the romantic suspense genre. ( )

Synopsis from here at Alyson Bookstore.
When LAPD detective David Laine first encounters hunky party boy Chris Bellamere, it is to interrogate him about the murder of one of Chris's many sexual conquests. When Chris's efforts to prove his own innocence mark him as a victim, David steps in to save him, and finds himself falling in love with a man who might be a brutal murderer. P.A. Brown's debut is a gritty mystery set in LA's edgy, less glamorous East Side, where gangs co-mingle with gays, gunfire is heard after dark, and where a gay cop like David Laine could live undetected. At least until now.
First of all, I throughly enjoyed this book. Being a total mystery and thriller geek this appealed to me immediately. And in paperback? The inner bibliophile is quietly content.

Chris appealed to me on many different levels. He is the kind of hero who does seem just a little morally ambivalent. But you forgive him because he has just not met the *one*... (god, I'm channeling the Matrix.ha!) He is just a boy, out having a good time and it's all about the nookie. He does have the odd moment when he wants something more but I felt there was a hesitance to commit as no one had really touched him emotionally. So, he's out looking, alot. Chis is also beautiful which got me thinking about this post here and the beauty of men.

David is a cop and firmly in the closet at work. He makes a trip every now and then to Palm Springs to indulge the smexin, and is out to his family but his colleagues are still in the dark. This made him seem very alone and he has walls to keep people, like Chris, out. He is older, darker and more of a strong silent type. A perfect foil for our other hero, who is more of the shiney, bright variety.

The mystery was well paced and had surprising twists and turns that kept me going till the end. Which was cool, because I am a shocker for deciding who did it and wrapping the crime up by page 10. It does not pull any punches in the violence department and some of the material about the crime and the killer was pretty graphic but it did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

The sex is very brief and not at all explicit. Kind of a kiss at the door and fade to black affair. But I was so wrapped up in the story I did not care. A shock, I know! I do love the sex in my books! But what you did read was enough and you just know it was hot (over active imagination).

I seriously have my toes, eyes and fingers crossed AGAIN, that this wonderful author has some more books coming soon. This was a perfect rainy night thriller and kept me up waaaay past my bedtime.
Check out my live and in color version on my blog here
http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2008/07/... ( )

We switch to Chris's viewpoint. The cops escort him to the police station – a reaction he finds extreme given that he is a victim of vandalism. Among the homophobic slurs spray-painted on his SUV were the words "Carpet Killer" which means nothing to him. However, this connects him with a homicide investigation and he must meet the two detectives on the case. He walks through a gauntlet of cops who exude contempt because he's gay. Then he meets ... Please click here for the full review of L. A. Heat by P. A. Brown at ObsidianBookshelf.com ( )

L.A. Heat introduces the reader to the unlikely crime-fighting duo of hunky police officer David Laine and handsome IT analyst Chris Bellamere. David first meets Chris while investigating the deaths of several young men who have been savagely butchered by a serial killer. David and his partner become convinced that Chris is involved in the brutal murders and may even be the killer. This makes it all the more difficult for David when he finds himself deeply attracted to Chris. Cops and suspects do not mix romantically, especially when one of them is still keeping his sexuality closeted. It would be so much easier for David to deny his growing ardor, as being gay and being a cop is just not a comfortable place, as he knows all too well by the vicious comments often made by fellow officers about the lifestyle.

The investigation continues to push them closer and closer together, as David works harder and harder to clear Chris’s name it becomes inevitable that their mutual attraction will be discovered. David could lose his job over Chris and just when he’s so close to finding the real killer.

As much a romance as a thriller, this is the story of a forbidden love that fights all odds to bring two people together. It is a reminder to the reader that sometimes love does conquer all. Even so, the author never forgets that she set out to write a mystery and weaves a fascinating tale with many twists and turns including a thrilling and surprising conclusion.

P.A. Brown has spent many years writing screenplays in Los Angeles. This is her first novel. She is hard at work writing the next book in the series, which should be as captivating as the first.

Reviewed for www.frontstreetreviews.com ( )

A tough repressed gay detective, David Lane, solves the case of the carpet killer, involving his chief suspect, and ultimately, accomplice, the handsome playboy computer wizard, Chris Bellamere. The suspense and tension is maintained throughout as the plot, and characters' relationships, take one turn after another, and one’s hopes increasingly long for the outcome that our two heroes themselves, David and Chris, daren’t even hope for. But will they both survive all the dangers to reach the end to achieve it?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it is well written, and the characters are real and likeable, even David Lane’s detective partner, the homophobic Martinez proves to have redeeming qualities. ( )