Title: The Undercover Series
Fandom: Life on Mars
Pairing: Gene/Sam
Categories: AU, angst, case-file, drama, romance
Length: Epic (~100,000 words)
Warnings: assume all the usual warnings of a crime show (minor character deaths, violence, etc.)

Author on LJ: mikes_grrl
Website: n/a

Author's Summary: A murder happens that hits close to Gene; meanwhile, Sam gets dragged into the underground queer society of Manchester by the unlikeliest tour guide ever, and is quickly and dangerously in way over his head.

Review:
The brutal murder of an young man, whom both Gene and Sam were aquainted with, forces Gene to reveal secrets about himself and leaves Sam in cultural shock. New to the queer scene, Sam tries to understand the intricacies of this underground society while solving a murder. And when Gene and Sam get roped into a gay-rights movement, they realize it is not only their careers at risk, but it might ultimately cost them their lives.

What you must remember before starting this series is that it's set in Manchester in the 1970s. Britain was a different place back then and people had different beliefs (and let's not forgot it wasn't so long ago the US had laws enforcing racial segregation). Be ready for plenty of homophobia and gay-bashing in this series, from general public, but also from amongst their own people.

Gene and Sam's relationship can be best described as "tumultuous". Even though the series has a happy ending, I can't help but worry for their future and whether they are strong enough to stay together. Highly recommended, but perhaps not for the faint-hearted.

The Undercover Series (tag for the entire series; flip back two pages and scroll to the bottom)