
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.
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.
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?