The Quarter Boys — David Lennon

The day that a tourist is discovered murdered in a guest house in New Orleans' French Quarter, Joel Faulkner, an innocent twenty-three-year-old from Mississippi, arrives in town hoping to start a new life. When he meets homicide detective Michel Doucette he feels his life is finally coming together, but soon he finds himself being drawn into a world of drugs and prostitution, and directly into the path of the killer. When Michel and his partner, Alexandra "Sassy" Jones, are given the case, Michel's sees it as a chance for a fresh start. Little does he suspect that Joel's life depends on his finding the killer, or foresee the personal sacrifices he'll have to make to succeed. "The Quarter Boys" is the first in a series of novels featuring detectives Michel Doucette and Sassy Jones. The second book, "Echoes," won the 2010 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Mystery.