As I've said before about Robert Winter's September and Asylum...they are absolutely fantastic books and characters. When I saw the series "Nights at Mata Hari" by Winters, with Every Breath You Take being book 1, and thought since I liked the others so much, why not? This series is slightly different. Where the two books I mentioned were more M/M romance stories, this one is more of a mystery with some pretty hot guys and some romance thrown into the mix. I understood Thomas's theory for only taking guys home with him once and no repeats...but didn't think that was going to work out for him for very long, especially when he met Zachary and how different his feelings were for Zach than any of the others. Now about the killer...I was half right...but also half wrong. Absolutely brilliant the way you sneaked that one in Mr. Winter! I have book 2 in this series, Lying Eyes... and Robert Winter is still on the top of my favorite authors of all times list, even if he did only let me be half right and made me stay up really late to find out just how wrong I was. ( )

DNF @ 10%
The writing is not for me - too flowery and oddly formal.

A new job, moving to a new town, and meeting new people can be great catalysts for changes in someone’s life. When Zachary, who finally wants to live openly as a gay man, arrives in Washington, DC, he is full of hope. But the man he meets and is very interested in, Thomas, has a dark past and is extremely commitment-phobic. As it turns out, Thomas has excellent reasons for being careful, and when his past returns to haunt him, things get really scary really fast. I should have taken the prologue more seriously – it really is a good indication of the level of creepiness of this novel’s central theme.

Zachary is determined to find a man to share his life with. He isn’t out to his conservative parents back in Utah, and he is fairly naïve, but that doesn’t stop him from exploring the gay scene in his new hometown. His attraction to Thomas is immediate and intense, but when it becomes clear that Thomas is unable to be the man Zachary needs him to be, Zachary turns elsewhere. Yet he and Thomas keep running into each other, then the murders and the investigation push them together, and Zachary discovers that things are not as they seem. It’s a good thing there is a core of strength underneath his sweet exterior – he needs it all to get through the mess that follows!

Thomas is not one to let others close. He has erected very high, solid barriers around his heart and follows strict rules about hookups (once only) and relationships (none). Even though Zachary tempts him, Thomas can’t get himself to change a set of behaviors that have kept him alive and safe – at least in his own mind. For him, being linked to the murders of young gay men in any way is a horrific experience. Seeing Zachary in danger from a stalker is motivation enough for Thomas to reconsider his principles, but deciding to change and actually doing it are two very different things.

The “depraved killer” – as he is described in the blurb – is a despicable excuse for a human being. It was as interesting as it was horrifying to find his point of view interspersed throughout the story. The methodical thoroughness with which the murderer follows his future victims and the intelligent way in which he sets things up makes him a sociopath of the first order. Very well done!

If you like suspenseful mysteries cleverly woven into your romance, if you think that two men who come from very different worlds might be a good match, and if you’re looking for a read that is intense, scary, and nail-bitingly fascinating, then you will probably like this novel. ( )