Short Synopsis
Sam Lumley presents Book 1 in the Oliver Popp's Travel Guides to Murder series.

Full Synopsis
For twenty-four-year-old Oliver Popp, autism is just another fact of life. As long as Oliver sticks to a comfortable itinerary planned in advance, he gets by just fine as a staff writer for Offbeat Traveler magazine. But a curveball drops into Oliver's budding career when his first feature assignment takes him to Washington, DC, to chronicle the latest tourism trends.

His freelance project photographer is Ricky Warner, a gregarious and impulsively adorable shot of adrenaline. If the flirty gay photographer isn't enough to unbalance shy Oliver at the get-go, there's also an unsettling chance encounter with old acquaintance, Elise Perkins, and a congressional hearing that's shaking up both the capitol and an entrepreneurial billionaire. The unexpected distractions soon collide—quite literally—when Elise is struck dead by a speeding car. Forget the National Mall and Mt. Vernon Square. Oliver and Ricky are game for something much more interesting: solving a mystery and a murder.

With their focus shifted and a deadline coming, they only have a few days to solve the crime. For Oliver, it's a weeks of firsts: first crush, first time without a schedule, first time playing amateur sleuth, and first time getting wrestled out of his comfort zone. But with a loosey-goosey new partner like Ricky, that might not be such a bad thing at all.

"Details of living with autism; sympathetic, well-drawn characters, especially the appealing, naïve Oliver; plot twists; and humor distinguish this satisfying cozy." ---Booklist

"Lumley debuts with a sure-footed romantic mystery featuring a 24-year-old-gay, autistic travel writer…Lumley surrounds his gumshoes with a colorful cast of plausible suspects, but the real draw is the sweet and clumsy chemistry between Oliver and Ricky. Cozy fans will hope this herald the start of a globe-trotting new series." ---Publishers Weekly

"A fledgling travel writer makes a splash in his first out-of-town assignment…That search vies touchingly with Ollie’s inner search into his complicated feelings toward Ricky." ---Kirkus Reviews

"Oliver narrates with biting humor, weaving together monologues and quick-witted dialogue as the mystery unfurls with measured precision. . . . By the final pages, whispers of deeper corruption, unanswered motives, and linger suspicions hint at future entanglements for Oliver and Ricky." ---Foreword Reviews