Synopses & Reviews
2013 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery -- Winner
When missing persons investigator Dan Sharp attends a wedding, he finds himself investigating more than one murder.
Dan Sharp, a gay father and missing persons investigator, accepts an invitation to a wedding on a yacht in Ontario's Prince Edward County. It seems just the thing to bring Dan closer to his noncommittal partner, Bill, a respected medical professional with a penchant for sleazy after-hours clubs, cheap drugs, and rough sex. But the event doesn't go exactly as planned.
When a member of the wedding party is swept overboard, a case of mistaken identity leads to confusion as the wrong person is reported missing. The hunt for a possible killer leads Dan deeper into the troubled waters and private lives of a family of rich WASPs and their secret world of privilege.
No sooner is that case resolved when a second one ends up on Dan's desk. Dan is hired by an anonymous source to investigate the disappearance, twenty years earlier, of the groom's father. The only clues are a missing bicycle and six horses mysteriously poisoned.
Watch for Pumpkin Eater, arriving March 2014.
Review
Round draws readers deep into Dan's physical and psychological worlds, balancing his protagonist's faults with his gifts as an investigator and father. Publishers Weekly
Review
The writing is raw, the emotions are taut and author Jeffrey Round brings it together in a breathtaking conclusion. Hamilton Spectator
Review
Sharp and his teenaged son, Kedrick, are characters whose company readers will enjoy despite the darkness that infuses the novel. Quill and Quire
Review
... [a] strong and interesting character.”
Review
Such devotion to his work makes Rounds writing absorbing for readers. You sympathize with Sharp, even as he falls into a whiskey-drenched hell, and you wait for him to rise again. Xtra!
Review
[a] promising series
”
Review
Lake on the Mountain is a literal page turner.”
Review
A psychological treat. Reviews by Amos Lassen
Review
Round has an extraordinary sense of place, ear for dialogue, rapid pacing, and a skillful way of layering his plots. Stage and Page (online)
Review
Canadian writer Round packs plenty of plot into this new mystery series Richard Labonte
Review
... [a] strong and interesting character. The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
Synopsis
Dan Sharp, a gay missing persons investigator, accepts an invitation to a wedding on a yacht in Ontario's Prince Edward County. But the event doesn't go as planned. A member of the wedding party is swept overboard and Dan finds himself deep in troubled waters as he searches for possible killers not only in the present but also 20 years earlier.
About the Author
Jeffrey Round is a writer, director, and composer. He has published poetry and novels, including the Dan Sharp mystery series, of which the first, Lake on the Mountain, won the Lambda Literary Award in 2013. Jeffrey's first two novels, A Cage of Bones and The P'town Murders, were listed on TheBackLot.com's Top 100 Gay Books. His blog, A Writer's Half-Life, has been syndicated online. He lives in Toronto.
Table of Contents
Prologue: The Icy Bier 11
1 Look for the Unexpected 15
2 Modern Jazz 35
3 Coffee and Donuts 45
4 Dreams and Schemes 59
5 Kedric 70
6 Anger Management 84
7 Now Auditioning 108
8 Do You Have a Dress Code? 121
9 Death by Haunting 134
10 Knox and Calvin 160
11 Till Death Do Us Part 175
12 This Terrible Place 201
13 Circumstantial Evidence 211
14 Klingsor’s Castle 225
15 Services Rendered 250
9781459700017.indb 9 11-05-27 10:50 AM
16 The Dog Days of Autumn 268
17 Meet John Doe 277
18 Islands in the Strait 307
19 My iPod, Your iPod 334
20 Sid and Nancy 344
21 Drink and Resurrection 369
22 Now Playing 379
23 Stalking Cool Blue 389
24 Terminal 403
25 Deplorable, Nasty, Unsettling, Sick 425
26 Restoration 443
27 Goodbye, Again 450
28 Cures 468
Acknowledgements 481