The River in Winter — Matt Dean

2010 Lambda Literary Award Finalist. Jonah Murray has known much happiness -- a supportive mother, a decent job, and fulfilling hobbies. But after the end of his first great love affair, the rawness of his emotions leads him into a dangerous entanglement.

Spike Peterson -- heartbreakingly good-looking, imperturbably self-assured, relentlessly carnal -- rekindles Jonah's longing for companionship. But Spike isn't the kind to offer companionship. Excitement, yes, but not companionship.

Eliot Moon, a counselor who facilitates a support group for gay men, offers Jonah a more transcendent path to happiness. But Jonah soon discovers that to take Eliot's way, he will have to make difficult sacrifices.