I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Fair Game
by
Josh Lanyon
LGBT, suspense, private investigator in a Kindle edition that was published by Carina Press on August 1, 2010 and has 270 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Fatal Shadows, Death of a Pirate King, A Dangerous Thing, The Hell You Say, Dark Tide, Somebody Killed His Editor, Fair Play, Fair Chance, "So This is Christmas", Murder at Pirate's Cove, Secret at Skull House, Footsteps in the Dark, Mystery at the Masquerade, The Dark Farewell, “A Funny Thing Happened . . .”, Murder Takes the High Road, Corpse at Captain's Seat, Scandal at the Salty Dog, Body at Buccaneer's Bay, Lament at Loon Landing, Death at the Deep Dive
First in the All’s Fair LGBTQ suspense series and revolving around Professor Elliot Mills. The focus is on students going missing.
In 2014, Fair Game was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery and in 2011 won the DABWAHA Romance Tournament for Best GLBT Romance.
My Take
Fair Game opens on a lecture of the hideous treatment suffered by POWs during the Civil War, contrasting with the disinterested students daydreaming and Elliot’s dreaming back to his hotshot days with the FBI and his current social life.
Ooh, there’s conflict right away. Between Elliot being ex-FBI AND inserting himself into the missing boy case and Tucker totally against his being involved, the re-hashing of their break-up . . . whew, then there’s the contrast between Elliot supporting the Establishment and his anarchistic father. Add in that Tom Baker is angry about his son, Terry, being gay.
There is the usual antagonism between FBI and the local police, the police and their attitude about gays AND ex-law enforcement interference, not to mention their belief that everyone is a suspect.
We learn all this through Lanyon’s use of third person protagonist point-of-view from Elliot’s perspective. It’s interesting that Elliot is angry, resigned, and accepting of his situation. Lanyon does a great job of conveying all of this.
It’s a fascinating read within a cozy setting and a combination of character and action.
The Story
A crippling knee injury forced Elliot Mills to trade in his FBI badge for dusty chalkboards and bored college students. Now a history professor at Puget Sound university, the former agent has put his old life behind him — but it seems his old life isn’t finished with him.
A young man has gone missing from campus—and as a favor to a family friend, Elliot agrees to do a little sniffing around. His investigations bring him face-to-face with his former lover, Tucker Lance, the special agent handling the case.
Things ended badly with Tucker, and neither man is ready to back down on the fight that drove them apart. But they have to figure out a way to move beyond their past and work together as more men go missing and Elliot becomes the target in a killer’s obsessive game . . .
The Characters
Seventeen months ago, Elliot Mills had been with the FBI, specializing in civil rights violations and hate crimes. Now he’s a history professor who had once loved rock climbing and still loves miniature war-gaming and cooking. The militant, anarchistic Roland Mills is his father and also a professor, currently working on Memoirs of a Militant. Jesse Mills had been Roland’s third wife and Elliot’s mother. Grandpa Mills had been an ex-Marine.
FBI
Special Agent Tucker Lance, is Mills’ former lover who loved sailing and poker nights, and in charge of the missing boy’s case. Special-Agent-in-Charge Theresa Montgomery leads the Seattle Division and is Mills’ former boss.
Tacoma PD
Detectives Lawrence, Pine, and Anderson are suspicious and investigating. Everyone.
Ira Kane was the shooter.
Puget Sound University (PSU)
Mills’ class includes Leslie Mrachek, Schrader, and John Sandusky. Kyle Kanza is Mills’ teaching assistant. Gordie Lyle, a Black art student, is another missing student, one with a chip on his shoulder. The antagonistic Zahra Lyle is Gordie’s worried aunt. Tetley Hall is Terry’s dorm. Denny. Ray is a janitor. The man-eating Anne Gold is a fellow professor, of art history. Dr Charlotte Oppenheimer is the university president. Sandie is Oppenheimer’s assistant. Andrew Corian is a popular, bombastic professor. Andrea Collins teaches ceramics.
The anti-gay Tom and accepting Pauline Baker are friends of Roland’s — he is a lawyer now and she was the second Mrs Mills. Their son, Terry, is an architecture student at PSU, but is now missing. Terry had been seeing Jim Feder, a fellow student studying law. Patricia had been Tom’s first wife.
I think Ray and Faye Copeland and Robert Dale Segee had been victims. Ray Mandat is ex-military and lives with his mom. Steven Roche, a true crime writer and mooch, is Elliot’s closest neighbor on Goose Island. Augie is Elliot’s physical therapist.
The Cover and Title
The cover is enpurpled from the sky to the water in the background — with Elliot’s face huge in that sky. In the left lower forefront is Elliott in a winter jacket, black with purple overtones. The author’s name is in a distressed font in white with a black outline while the title is on the bottom left in a gradation of purple.
The title refers to the victims and Elliot, they’re all Fair Game to too many.
