Read Online The Hardest Thing A Dan Stagg Mystery James Lear Books
Read Online The Hardest Thing A Dan Stagg Mystery James Lear Books
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The Hardest Thing A Dan Stagg Mystery James Lear Books Reviews
- The first half of this book had me really going; I loved most of it, especially the explicit sexual encounters and James Lear's graphic description thereof. It's not since the hey days of the "STH" (straight to hell) books that I've read such detailed descriptions of raunchy sexual encounters.
I loved how Dan Stagg & Sterling McMahon/McMasters alias Jody Miller/Muller aka Brian Cooper got to know each other - thanks to Enrico Ferrari & the latter's association with the evil Julian Marshall.
I found Dan's references to the love of his life Will Laurence who he'd met in Fallujah, Afghanistan but was killed in that war, and how incredibly difficult it was for Dan dealing with his lover's death without being able to discuss it with anyone in the military, nor having been informed about the details of Will's killing and funeral very moving and my kind of story..... {This exposes once again the hypocrisy of our "mighty military"..........(watch the dvd "The Pentagon Wars" if you're not familiar with it for more exposure of our military's often stupidity.)}
All Dan and Jody's escapades on their journey to the White Mountains region in New Hampshire were very entertaining to read. But then, their pursuit by Ferrari/Marshall and all the attempts on their lives and how they both narrowly escaped death, lost me. I remembered another book by Kade Boehme, "Gangster Country" which was far more enjoyable (to me) compared to this section of "The Hardest Thing"..
And then Dan Stagg's re-uniting with Jody Miller in the end, and leaving with Jody & Jody's dad to Ann Arbor, Michigan became just to much for me. The final half a page kind of re-captured my enjoyment of the story; but I guess I just do not like to read about the graphic evil which some people/characters display and if I could re-write the 2nd half of the book, I'd have woven far more romance and less evil into the story.
Maybe I'm a romantic at heart and live in the fantasy that real life should exist more about romance & (graphic) sex without all the evil I was exposed to in the 2nd half of this book. I will read one (maybe two more) of James Lear's books to see if I find more relateable stories/fantasies.
(And I haven't even referred to Martin Kingston & Dan's encounter(s) with Dan flip-flopping for Martin, which just didn't jibe with my personal fantasy world.) - Before DADT was repealed, Dan Stagg was forced out of the military after twelve years for his sexual orientation. He is a loner, and lonely, disgusted with the life he leads, losing jobs, and generally not giving a damn about the direction he is headed. Mindless sex and staying drunk seem to be his only options. A way out is offered, when Dan is approached about a job guarding a young secretary to a wealthy land developer. What follows is a road trip from hell, but an opening to a new life, just might be in the cards for Dan.
This is not your mama's romance. It is not filled with rainbows, unicorns and fluffy clouds. This is a gritty, hard boiled, mystery wrapped in the dregs of a down and out veteran. It is filled with sex for sex sake. No melting hearts or breathless sighs, it is in your face and some will find it uncomfortable at best. For me, I found it brilliantly written, aggressively brutal. It is closer to reality then most of the other books I read, but that just made it even better. I like that this story showcases the uncertainly and displacement a lot of veterans face when they comeback. - If you have read author James Lear before, you know he is a prolific erotica writer, and you also have come to know is how effortlessly Lear can reach out, grip you buy the neck and pull you into his story before you have a chance to realize what is happening. THE HARDEST THING A DAN STAGG MYSTERY proves no different, and if I may dare say, one helluva thrilling ride.
The novel has all the elements a good mystery, suspense/thriller should have; a hard-ass, down on his luck ex-Marine with violent tendencies robbed of a stellar twelve year career because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", an well-connected organized crime connection abled by dirty cops and even shadier men, an extraordinarily sexy and talented boy-toy, a bunch of ready cash...and lots of sex!!
Did I say lots of sex? THE HARDEST THING is the first Dan Stagg mystery to be released featuring the hardened ex-marine, and Lear has done a superb job developing such a damaged character readers will quickly fall for, and cheer on as he batters his way through brutal circumstances to simply stay alive and keep his human "package" breathing. Only thing he didn't count on ever again, never hoped for again was to fall in love.
But for all the loose zipper, tough talking, heavy handed bravado, Stagg is very likeable, one that reminded this reader on more than one occasion of the more mainstream hetero heroes like Lee Child's "Jack Reacher", Barry Eisler's "John Rain", or David Baldacci's "Lee Adams".
One thing is for sure, this reader eagerly awaits the next Dan Stagg mystery. - I bought this as an audiobook and ever since then I've been looking for books narrated by Charles Carr (I believe that's the narrator on this one). So many times I've heard narrators who just can't do the voices right. But this guy got it right - not only could he capture Dan Stagg's jaded tough guy persona (with so much heartbreak underneath) and then to go into twink mode for the voice of Jody (who had several different names during the story). The two voices were SO different and they were both perfect. The petulant voice of Jody in the beginning of the book was right on target and then by the end of the book...I couldn't believe how beautifully Mr. Carr captured the tears and emotion in Jody's voice. I was sorry the story ended just when they really got together and I can only hope with his next book it continues...and with Mr. Carr to narrate.
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