The Dark Horse
Josh LanyonRomantic suspense
Available from Loose Id
ISBN: 978-1-59632-443-5
April 2007
| Sean Fairchild is a gay film star in between projects. His life, for the past year, has been haunted and terrorized by a stalker name Paul Hammond. An LAPD detective, Daniel Moran, who also moonlights as a consultant to the film industry, acted as his bodyguard. Dan is gay and out in the department. Now that the stalker has died during a car crash following a high-speed chase, Dan and Sean are trying to start a relationship. Both have serious trust issues and Sean has had some psychological problems. As an adolescent, his folks committed him after he revealed he was gay. Some time later he voluntarily entered psychiatric treatment for depression and panic attacks.
Even though Hammond reportedly dead, his body hadn't been discovered. The postcards with his writing threatening Sean still continue almost daily. Sean's manager and former lover, Steve, gives him trouble about the new starring role he wants in a screenplay of a classic gay novel, Mary Renault's The Charioteer. Steve convinces Sean that Dan is conspiring with Steve behind Sean's back to have Sean involuntarily committed again. When the director slated to make the film is shot, and Sean sees someone identical to Hammond turning up repeatedly, he feels he must convince Dan he isn't losing his mind. But the truth is much stranger than he could ever have imagined. Dark Horse is an absolutely riveting suspense tale, by far one of the best this reviewer can remember. Rich in depth of characterization with a twisty plot that keeps the reader guessing, this book is truly marvelous. The m/m intimacy is woven into the story and is somewhat explicit, but is never belaboured. It is couched in the emotional attraction between Dan and Sean. Author Josh Lanyon carefully explores the background of Sean's psychological issues and brings the characters to life in a way so vivid that the reader will feel as if watching the story unfold rather than simply reading it in a book. Dark Horse is a most excellent novel and deserving of highest praise. This one definitely takes first place on the Keeper Shelf.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Annie |
