The THIRDS book series is a series of paranormal/science fiction gay romance novels by author Charlie Cochet, that take place in an universe where a vaccine used to counter a powerful virus activated during The Vietnam War caused a mutation that led to the birth of a different species, the Therians, men and women who are able to transform into an animal.
When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley’s testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences—and the media frenzy—aren’t far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he’s lucky he doesn’t find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he’ll get transferred from the Human Police Force’s Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father—a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS—pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent.
Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer—and every bit as dangerous.
This book series contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: A light version with the Team Leader of another THIRDS division, Taylor, who tends to be sweet on people who are definitely not into him.
- Alliterative Name: Destructive Delta, Dexter J. Daley. Also one of the Beta Couples, Hudson and (Sebastian) Hobbs.
- Alternate History
- A Day in the Limelight: While most books are ensemble stories, the central characters tend to be Sloane and Dex; book 5, 'Against The Grain' book 6, 'Catch A Tiger By The Tail' and book 9, 'Darkest Before Dawn' shift the focus to another couple, Ash Keeler and Cael Maddock, Calvin Summers and Ethan Hobbs and Hudson Colbourne and Sebastian 'Seb' Hobbs, respectively.
- Bunny Ears Cop: Dex is this; while he is a very competent and effective agent, he acts like an overgrown kid and has a lot of odd quirks.
- Cast Full of Gay: 99% of Team Delta and of main couples are, unsurprisingly M/M, the only exceptions being Rosa and her girlfriend, Letty (the only straight member of Team Delta) and Dimples The Firefighter and Rafe Hobbs and Nina.
- Double Entendre: Dex never lets an occasion for one escape him.
- Dysfunction Junction: The only characters to have a somewhat normal family, even though their father is afflicted by the Therian version of MS, are the Hobbs brothers, and even there Ethan (part of Destructive Delta and the youngest brother) has developed selective mutism from the shock of witnessing his father, Thomas' first spasm and is afflicted by an overwhelming social anxiety.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Dex doesn't like to reveal what the J. in his name stands for, because it stands for 'Justice'. With him being a law enforcement agent, it becomes a Punny Name as well.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Ash doesn't like being called 'Simba' and Cael hates his childhood nickname, 'Chirpy'. Both, of course, were created and put in use by one Dexter J. Daley.
- A dramatic version is Dr. Colbourne not liking to be called 'Lobito' by Seb, because it makes him long to get back with him, even though he believed they couldn't after their bond supposedly got a little boy killed.
- Fantastic Racism: The whole series runs on this, both ways between Humans and Therians; most of the threats the THIRDS go up against are motivated by this, in one way or another.
- Fun with Acronyms: THIRDS stands for Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron and HPF for Human Police Force.
- Freudian Excuse: Ash is so reluctant to even acknowledge his feelings for Cael for such a long time because he unwittingly sent his twin brother Arlo to his death the last time he indulged into his same-sex attraction.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Dex and Calvin.
- The Mole: Ash in the Coalition and Levi for the Coalition in book 2.
- Our Werebeasts Are Different: They are people that can turn at will into an animal, but the process, called 'shift', is pretty grueling and painful, especially in the shift into the animal form. The shift back to Human has similar effect to a small-scale epileptic seizure, so a way to help the recently shifted regain their strength has been developed, a way called 'Post-Shift Trauma Care'.
- Punny Name: Calvin Summers, the human blond agent and childhood friends with his partner, a Tiger Therian called Ethan Hobbs. Lampshaded by Dex when they're introduced to him.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Dex decides to turn his partner in the HPF in for killing an innocent Therian in cold blood at the very beginning of the series. Later, he also disregards the rules and starts investigating on the Coalition, determined to bring it down, after Sloane gets badly injured by a bomb the Coalition put in Ash's car.
- Uptight Loves Wild: Sloane and Dexter, respectively. Cael and Ash as well, with the lesser 'wild' of Cael being balanced by the higher uptightness of Ash.
