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I'm adding the Doug Orlando Mysteries to the Book Series Discussions, even though there are only two books in the series. The author explains why there aren't (and won't be) more books about Doug in a comment made at Jesse Wave's Review site in 2012: (scroll down).

It's a shame we won't be reading more about Doug, but luckily we are getting another series from Steve Neil Johnson, featuring a similar leading man, although Paul in the L.A. After Midnight Quartet series (first book: The Yellow Canary) seems a more tortured character.

Final Atonement is the first book in the series. It was originally published in 1992 and was a LAMBDA Literary award finalist for Best Mystery.

Blurb: The bestselling crime novels of New York life in the early nineties are back. Gruff, weary, gay Brooklyn Homicide cop Doug Orlando is facing his most shocking case: Rabbi Avraham Rabowitz lay in a pool of his own blood, a prayer shawl stuffed down his throat, and his beard shaved off. The question for Detective Orlando isn't who hated the right wing religious sect leader-Rabowitz had been the open enemy of blacks, gays, pro-choice women, even fellow Jews. In a case that moves from the depths of the ghetto to the high-rise office of a real estate glamour-boy tycoon, the suspects come in every color and shade of belief. And unless Orlando can defuse a ticking time bomb of tension by nailing the killer, the melting pot of the city is going to melt down...

Doug is a weary but determined detective. He’s shunned by his fellow police officers after turning one of them in following an incident involving the shooting murder of an unarmed black teenager. (How relevant is this story today?! This book was written in 1992, but nothing seems to have changed.)

Throughout a new investigation into the death of a local Rabbi, Orlando’s hampered by being paired with the rogue cop, who, along with the Lieutenant in charge of the case, does everything he can to push Orlando to quit the force. It was hard to handle the level of corruption presented here, but Orlando is not a quitter. He just gritted his teeth and went on with the investigation, solving several sideline plots along the way.

The quiet relationship between Doug and his lover Stewart burns away in the background. This too, is not without its problems, and my heart went out to Doug ... troubles at work, and troubles at home. The neighbourhood dog just adds to his woes. I really wanted things to work out for him.

False Confessions is the second and final book in the series.

Blurb: CATCH A KILLER � No one needed this: a serial killer who left his victims naked but for dozens of long, murderous needles. Doug Orlando, the New York cop who had the guts to come out of the closet, was desperately trying to crack the case when another murder came his way. A priest had been found before his altar, bludgeoned with a bat. Were the two cases connected? Orlando's search led him through the underside of modern, urban Catholicism to New York's S & M playgrounds, and a tattoo parlor that left its own unique mark on its patrons. But the closer Orlando got to the truth, the more he came face-to-face with something far more dangerous: a cop with murder in his soul ...

Once again, Doug has to solve a new case while being harassed by Briggs the rogue cop, who has now completed his six month suspension. In the midst of an investigation into the grisly serial murders of local gay men Doug has to deal with the death of a local parish priest. The Catholic Church plays a major role in this story. It has a lot to answer for when it comes to its treatment of LGBT people.

Doug's lover becomes involved in the investigation this time, and it's good to see the personal interplay between the two. Their private life seems to be happier in Book 2. I liked Stewart's reaction to Doug's new tattoo, which he sees for the first time while entertaining work colleagues.

Steve Neil Johnson writes intelligently, with sympathetic characters, interesting plots and fast pacing, which had me on the edge of my seat, wondering just how things were going to turn out. His style reminds me a little of Joseph Hansen's work, which I've always admired.

Great reviews Aussie54 and thanks for the jessewave link too. I wasn't going to start on these yet but they've been bumped up to top of the TBR Christmas/New Year list now.

I hope you like them as much as I do, PM. It's a shame our Aussie dollar's dropping so rapidly. Books are costing much more at the moment.

Aussie54 wrote: "It's a shame our Aussie dollar's dropping so rapidly. Books are costing much more at the moment."

Yes indeed - we had it so good for a couple of years.