DEVIL’S CHEW TOY
A Hayden & Friends Mystery, Book One
2023 LEFT COAST CRIME BEST DEBUT NOVEL NOMINEE!
2023 AGATHA AWARD BEST FIRST NOVEL NOMINEE!
2022 Best of Lists:
- Crime Reads Traditional Mystery
- BOLO Books Review Top Reads–Debut
- PopSugar
- Book Riot
Gay, twenty-something school teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall is in trouble. The night’s date is missing, and the police think he has something to do with it. With help from new friends—Hollister, a what-you-see-is- what-you-got-a-problem? Black lesbian, and Burley, a stoner-baker giant—Hayden searches for the truth and the missing guy. But just staying alive is a tricky business when the enemy plays to kill.
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Rob Osler’s debut cozy — or “Quozy” — brings a rainbow of characters into the cozy universe with a lot of snap and even more style. I loved it!
Charming and diverse characters—both human and canine—fill the pages of Rob Osler’s delightfully humorous cozy.
A fresh new take on the gay mystery… A welcome new voice.
Readers will hope Hayden and company will be back soon.
Cozy, queer, so much fun!
A rollicking romp … Readers will be having so much fun following this gang’s escapades they will forget how radical the pairing of the gay male experience and the typically conservative cozy style truly is.
For readers looking for a fun escape, a mystery to try and solve, and a lovely tale about an unlikely friendship, Devil’s Chew Toy is a definite must-read.
A rollicking romp . . . Readers will be delighted.
A skillfully crafted and impressively original suspense thriller.
A clever sleuth [main character, Hayden McCall] is always fun to read about, but it was his kindness that made him easy to root for.
Congratulations to Osler for creating a mystery set in the LGBTQ community that is both compelling and heartfelt. Bring on the next installment!
This nail-biter of a book is gut-bustingly funny, endlessly entertaining, and little bit scary.
An out and proud crime story loaded with charm, warmth and good humor, DEVIL’S CHEW TOY introduces an engaging new voice with a fresh perspective on the sorts of stories a 21st century mystery novel can tell.
What a wonderful read! From the knockout opening, through every unexpected twist, to the perfect–but not too perfect–ending, Rob Osler takes us on a great ride!
Rob Osler’s debut has everything cozy mystery readers will love, plus the inclusiveness of an LGBTQ main character who is charming and likable
Hayden’s blog on the ups, downs, and in betweens of gay dating
“Out there, you’re on your own. But here, we got each other.”
– Hayden McCall
Several times throughout Hayden’s adventure in Devil’s Chew Toy, fictional “new country” artist Stanley Kellogg’s latest hit plays on the radio. My wonderful friend, Ben Davis, and I wrote the lyrics to bring the entire song to life. The music is all Ben! The vocals are really Ben, too. Love ya, Ben!
Listen now:
Hayden & Friends Mystery Book 2
CIRQUE DU SLAY
Crooked Lane Books — Spring 2024
When Mysterium–a high-end, cirque-like show–comes to Seattle, Burley’s friend finds the performer dead in her hotel suite and becomes a “person of interest” in her murder. If Hayden and Hollister are to clear their friend’s name, they must find the real killer. But in a world of where trickery and deception are high art, can anyone be trusted?