Love and Lust rec: 'Day and Knight' by Dirk Greyson

Day and Knight by Dirk Greyson

What it's about (courtesy Dreamspinner Press):

As former NSA, Dayton (Day) Ingram has national security chops and now works as a technical analyst for Scorpion. He longs for fieldwork, and scuttling an attack gives him his chance. He's smart, multilingual, and a technological wizard. But his opportunity comes with a hitch—a partner, Knighton (Knight), who is a real mystery. Despite countless hours of research, Day can find nothing on the agent, including his first name!

Former Marine Knight crawled into a bottle after losing his family. After drying out, he's offered one last chance: along with Day, stop a terrorist threat from the Yucatan. To get there without drawing suspicion, Day and Knight board a gay cruise, where the deeply closeted Day and equally closeted Knight must pose as a couple. Tensions run high as Knight communicates very little and Day bristles at Knight's heavy-handed need for control.

But after drinking too much, Day and Knight wake up in bed. Together. As they near their destination, they must learn to trust and rely on each other to infiltrate the terrorist camp and neutralize the plot aimed at the US's technological infrastructure, if they hope to have a life after the mission. One that might include each other.

Why you should read it: Part spy novel, part mystery, part cruise travelogue, part coming-out story and all sexy romance, Day and Knight packs an abundance of subplots into one book, and Dirk Greyson weaves it all together smoothly.

Day has an easy time teaching himself new things. Want to speak Spanish? Spend a year speaking it conversationally online. But when it comes to getting his dream job of a field assignment with the clandestine company he works for, he seems to be always overlooked. Then one day his language skills allow Day to shine and he gets his wished-for project, with more than one unexpected twist thrown in.

Day is paired with former Marine Knight, who is experienced but carries a heavy burden after tragically losing his family. The higher-ups in the company think this is an easy job and that's why they gave the assignment to Day and Knight. Nothing could be further from the truth. The problem of dropping them into the Central American country unnoticed is solved when Day suggests that they simply take a cruise ship to the nearest port to their destination and then fail to reboard after a trip into town. The ship that has the most immediate departure happens to be a gay cruise, so Day and Knight are ordered to pose as gay tourists. As closeted gay men, this becomes its own undercover (pun intended) operation.

When Day and Knight reach their destination, things go as wrong as they possibly could and it becomes a struggle just to survive. Along the way terrible secrets are discovered that jeopardize not only the mission but any future the men might have.

Absolutely captivated by the characters and the plot, I sat down to read this book and didn't get up until I finished it. This is a book you can't put down, and when it was over I wanted more. Although the ending of this book doesn't leave the reader with a cliffhanger, it's impossible not to want more about these exciting characters and their thrilling adventures in a world that exists just out of sight. Buckle up and enjoy!

INTERVIEW WITH DIRK GREYSON

Q: Who is Dirk Greyson?

Dirk: Dirk Greyson is the romantic suspense and paranormal alter ego of contemporary gay romance author Andrew Grey. I really wanted to write more suspense and to start writing paranormal stories, but they don't fit with the contemporary romances Andrew usually writes. I didn't want to disappoint my readers, so I decided to develop a new pen name.

Q: Why did you choose to write this book under a different pen name?

Dirk: I chose the new pen name so as not to disappoint my readers. If someone picks up an Andrew Grey story, they know they are going to get a wonderful contemporary romance with a lot of heart and soul. If they pick up a Dirk Greyson novel, they are going to get a steamy romance complete with action, adventure, lust and love.

Q: I know you've been planning this book for over a year. What was your inspiration for the characters?

Dirk: I was at RainbowCon a year ago April and the idea to write a series of adventure stories with the same heroes appealed to me. It was something I had never done and once I got the idea, it took hold. I wanted two strong characters who were also incomplete. Neither Day nor Knight have accepted who they are, but the attraction between them is explosive. But when they are forced together to complete a dangerous assignment they discover each other's talents and begin to learn to trust each other.

Q: You write about spies as if you know a lot about that world. What kind of research did you do for this book — and don't tell me, "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you." Knight has done plenty of that as a Marine, and Day is trading his NSA research job for dangerous field work. Inquiring minds want to know.

Dirk: The Internet is a wonderful thing. I also had an amazing group of people I could turn to for help. My close friend Geri Krotow spent years in the military and in intelligence. I also have to thank the amazing Rhys Ford for taking the time to talk to me and answer some of my questions. And of course I have to thank Lynn, the editor in chief at Dreamspinner. As I said in the dedication, without her there wouldn't have been a story. She is awesome.

Q: Are there plans for more books in the Day and Knight series? If so, can you tell us what we have to look forward to?

Dirk: I am planning a series. I haven't decided how many yet. I think that will be up to the readers. I have ideas for a number of books at this point, but we'll see what happens. The second story, Sun and Shadow, is already drafted and will be submitted very soon.

Thank you, Dirk Greyson, aka Andrew Grey. We're all looking forward to Sun and Shadow, as well as any other future stories featuring Day and Knight.

Find out more about Dirk/Andrew and his books at andrewgreybooks.com.

Becky Condit is a widow, mother of three and grandmother of 10 who reads all kinds of books, but her go-to comfort books are erotic romances. A romance novel coupled with just-out-of-the-oven chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of cold milk is her idea of heaven. She reads and reviews more than 250 books a year, so you won't often find her without her Kindle in hand, but when you do, she'll probably be gardening, doing needle crafts, working in her upholstery workshop and spending time with her family.