Review: After the Horses by Jeffrey Round

Title: After the Horses: A Dan Sharp Mystery

Author: Jeffrey Round

Publisher: Dundurn Publishing

Pages/Word Count: 312 Pages

At a Glance: Besides penning a well written mystery, Mr. Round addresses all types of issues within the gay community, as well as immigration, and takes us on a journey throughout Canada.

Reviewed By: Maryann

Blurb: Dan Sharp scours Toronto’s seamy underbelly after the murder of a notorious nightspot owner, and finds his own life on the line.
When Yuri Malevski, owner of notorious country-and-western bar The Saddle and Bridle, is found dead in his Parkdale mansion, missing-persons investigator Dan Sharp is reluctant to interfere in what he sees as police business. At first, Malevski’s sleazy lifestyle and shady associates make the murder look like an open-and-shut case, but Dan reconsiders after being approached by a couple who say Malevski was killed by cops over protection money.
When vulnerable people who had frequented the dead man’s bar begin to disappear, Dan feels compelled to jump in feet first. Following a lead, his investigation takes him into the heart of Toronto’s gay community, where he confronts its down-and-outs — transients, drug dealers, and con artists — and soon finds his own life threatened as his search brings him closer to a killer.

Review: Dan Sharp was formerly a senior investigator for an insurance company, but then decided he was good at finding people, so he decides to become his own boss and starts a PI business focusing on just that. Dan is an interesting character: he deals with a type of PTSD and has had a few relationships that just fell apart. There are times you can almost feel that he’s giving up trying to find someone to love, but the one thing he does have is a wonderful, warm and caring relationship with his son, Kedrick. I loved the banter and heartwarming discussions between father and son, and you can see the child teaching the adult. Dan’s a great father; he worries about his son’s future and wants the best for him. But Kedrick is also worried about his father’s future and him being alone. Another interesting fact about Dan is his relationship with Kedrick’s mother, Kedra, who is Syrian. Dan also has a very supportive best friend in Donny. I liked Donny because he’s not above telling Dan which end is up, and he’s also a sounding board for Kedrick.

Donny introduces Dan to a couple who have concerns about Yuri Malevski’s murder. Dan’s willing to listen, but he would rather leave murder to the police. Blackmail, payoffs to the police, and drugs all take Dan on a rollercoaster ride. When he becomes involved and starts his investigation, he meets interesting people along the way, and he starts to look at Yuri Malevski’s reputation differently.

I was surprised by Jeffrey Round’s riveting mystery After the Horses. After doing some investigating of my own, I found that there were three previous books in the Dan Sharp Mystery series—Lake on the Mountain, The Jade Butterfly, and Pumpkin Eater—so I read those also, and I was not disappointed in the least. Besides penning a well written mystery, Mr. Round addresses all types of issues within the gay community, as well as immigration, and takes us on a journey throughout Canada. The author not only comes up with a suspenseful and intriguing plot but he gives us food for thought about issues we have all thought about at one time or another. I also got an education about Canada and it different ethnicities. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next Dan Sharp mystery.

TNA_Signature_Maryann