Shadow Puppet

I thought this was a good mystery but not one of my favourites in the series.

A number of gay men have gone missing in Toronto but the police don't seem to recognise this or even care. Dan is approached by two brothers who are concerned for their other brother who has gone missing. As Dan starts to investigate he is led into the murky world of porn movies and people living in the shadows and others who hide their sexuality due to fear of persecution.

I do like this series but this particular story wasn't as gripping for me as the earlier ones in the series. Towards the end the tension in the story increased but by then it was too late. It made a good ending but the rest of the story felt a bit ordinary and staid.

Dan also finds that he has to investigate within the muslim community and it is interesting to see his own prejudice towards religion and they way he thinks ..."most believers had a habit of cherry-picking their way through books of faith to bolster their prejudices, disregarding anything that didn’t fit their ideology, all the while turning religion into a hating machine.”

and

“There were no hijabs or thobes, just plain Western dress. Jeans and slacks, T-shirts and blouses. Thoroughly modern Muslims.”

I don't know if that portrays the prejudice of the author or the character because to use "most people" to describe the complexity of religious belief and culture is kind of lazy and to think that wearing a hijab is not modern just goes to show that the author or Dan are just lazy in their thinking, and are encountering another culture and religion but not really understanding it or even taking the time to understand it outside their own life.

So I wasn't impressed by Dan in this story. He came across as maudlin and resigned to life alone. Nothing wrong with that but it does cast a shadow over the story a bit like the shadow in the title.

In any case the writing is solid and the mystery was sufficiently complex and kept me guessing right to the end.

Copy provided by Dundurn Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow! This mystery turned me on my head in the first chapter! Although I enjoyed THE GOD GAME, reading it just prior to SHADOW PUPPET, and found it intriguing--especially so for the villain-who-hides-in-plain-sight and said villain's eventual justification--I find SHADOW PUPPET more engrossing: not politics here, but Toronto's Gay Community: the missing, the questionable, the murdered. Author Jeffrey Round is very aware of his community, his characters, and his city, gently drawing in readers so that we feel at hime--or at least, as up close observers and witnesses. I admire protagonist's Dan Sharp's sense of justice, his striving to be self-aware despite not always achieving that, his dedication to fatherhood, the friendships he values so highly. I'd like to give this book about 10 Stars!


The author states that although SHADOW PUPPET is Book 6, following THE GOD GAME, it's time frame is between THE JADE BUTTERFLY and AFTER THE HORSES [Book 3 and Book 4].

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook copy in exchange for my honest review

I don't know why it took me so long to pick this one up! A solid thriller and would highly recommend.

Full review to follow - solid 4/5 stars

What if you, as a member of the gay community, realized that there is a serial killer on the loose in Toronto - targeting gay men? And in particular, closeted gay members of the Muslim community. And the police aren't doing much as due to the stigma attached to homosexuality in the Muslim community, the families don't report them missing................

The four friends, three gay men and a gay woman, are worried about what is happening in their community. Dan Sharpe, one of the four, is a private investigator, is approached by brothers of a missing man to try locate him. The missing man ticks all the boxes of the previous missing men.

And so starts Dan Sharpe's foray into the secret lives of closeted Muslim men in Toronto.

I found it a bit confusing at times with mentions of various characters not essential to this particular story. But seeing as this is the 6th book in a "Dan Sharpe Mystery" series, these folk come from previous books.

This was a good, fast read. The ultimate revelation of the killer in the end, took me by surprise. I didn't expect that at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

It's impossible to read this without thinking about the real case in Toronto but that's not why you should. Dan Sharp is a gay man, yes, and he's also a whiz private investigator. Hired to find Nabil, a gay Muslim immigrant who has gone missing, he realizes that there's something bigger going on. This is in many ways a procedural but it's also a good portrait of a neighborhood and of a group of people determined to get to the truth. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I read the last book in the series but not those that preceded it- and this works well as a standalone. Round gives you enough info on each of the characters who you can tell are recurrent to understand their quirks etc. The plot is terrific and it's a very good read.

Dan Sharpe is a Private Investigator who is hired by a missing man's brothers. The police don't seem to be taking it seriously ... the missing man is foreign-born, Muslim, and gay. He also may have had a private life that his brothers were not aware of.

As he investigates, he finds there are several missing men. Their only connection he can find is that they are all gay. Dan and his closest friends join together to see what they can find. They question family, friends, acquaintances leading to a very dangerous place.

They find themselves embroiled in the underbelly of Toronto finding gangsters, drugs, torture, violent movies and assorted criminal types.

Soon Dan himself is in mortal danger in a shocking, terrifying scene where the serial killer reveals himself.

Dan is more than competent in his chosen profession, compassionate, and is like a dog with a bone refusing to let go. He and his friends are cleverly drawn. I loved the dynamics among them all ... more family than anything else. The suspense at times is almost tangible and I found myself holding my breath here and there.

Many thanks to the author / Dundurn / Netgalley / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this crime fiction featuring a unique main character. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Clean writing, and background to make the storyline interesting, and provide context
My first Dan Sharp book and quite enjoyed it

Dan Sharp is a gay PI in Toronto. Sharp is hired by 2 Muslims to find their brother Nabil who has not been seen for a week. Dan suspects that Nabil's disappearance is linked with the two previously reported missing gay men in the Wellesley-Church area: Joe, a Leatherman contestant, and exotic dancer Adam. Dan begins to suspect a serial killer may be targeting Muslim gay members of his community. Dan's search for Nabil follows a trail involving a pornography filming company that maybe torturing would-be porn stars for real and some web sites that Nabil participated in. A relationship with a mysterious puppet maker who has also vanished is another potential trail. Dan's friends help in his investigation but he gets worried when his friend Pravin wants to act as a decoy to attract the killer.

This was a well-written mystery and eerily mirrored a real-life case of serial killer Bruce McArthur who is currently being investigated for killing several gay men in Toronto. Although this is book #6 in the series, this is the first book I have read in the Dan Sharp series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Dundurn with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

I like a good mystery and this was exactly that, Dan Sharpe, a private investigator is hired to look into the disappearance of Nabil, muslim gay man by his brothers Mustafa and Amir. Whilst in the course of investigating, Dan realises Nabil is not the only gay man to disappear, can Sharpe get to the bottom of it before any more men go missing?

Recommended to those that love a good mystery crime novel with a solid plot and some twists to spice it up!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dundurn for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a dark story set in Toronto's gay community from which several gay men have disappeared. Dan Sharp, a gay private investigator who specializes in locating missing persons, is hired by a pair of Muslim brothers to find their third brother. This search takes Dan through some sordid parts of the gay community, for example the gay porn business run by some unsavoury characters. Working through his broad range of contacts Dan discovers a pattern to the disappearances: most of the men are closeted Muslim men who engage in anonymous sexual hook ups often involving bondage. Dan's clients did not know their brother was gay until they went through his belongings after he disappeared. Their ethnic and religious homophobia plays a big part in the story. Dan pursues several leads and eventually he finds a serial killer on the loose, despite being misled by some of his close friends.
There's a sombre theme of alienation running through the story as Dan's inquiries take him through the gay community and the marginalized members of it. In describing a mid-week visit to a gay bar, Dan the narrator captures this view:
"The patrons were mostly men, with here and there a woman, all of whom shared one quality: loneliness. Young, old, and in-between, these were the ones who couldn't bear their empty rooms and empty beds.....people who went out mid-week were likelier targets, more desperate for company and less likely to be accompanied by friends. A predator's dream, in other words."
As Dan discovers, pure evil does exist, waiting often in plain sight to trap the unwary.
There's a graphic description of an autopsy that may upset some sensitive readers. It is somewhat gratuitous, except to mark the pathologist as an eccentric character. Perhaps he will re-appear in future Dan Sharp stories.
In this story, Dan is not distracted by personal issues as he has been in some of the other books in the series. The result is that this is plain and simple a good detective story, with a suspenseful and dramatic conclusion. Dan has come into his own as a detective. Recommended.
Thanks to Dundurn and Netgalley for providing me an advance reading copy of the eBook for this novel. The comments are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Publishing for an advance copy of this complex, well plotted detective novel. This is the first book I have read in the Dan Sharp series. After this introduction I am interested in reading more about his family and circle of friends.

The book was inspired when the author spotted posters of a couple missing men in downtown Toronto in the section frequented by the gay community. At the time he noticed the men were not only gay but non-Caucasian. Several years later he spotted two more posters of missing men, one being Caucasian. The fact that the police did take the early concerns of the community seriously parallels Jeffrey Round’s crime novel. It was not until after Shadow Puppet was written and at the publisher that a more prolific serial killer was arrested and charged with 8 murders.

Dan is a relentless, competent and compassionate private detective determined to discover the truth. He becomes aware that a couple of men have been reported missing in the downtown area of Toronto popular with gay men. He is hired by two Moslem men to find their brother, Nabil, who has recently vanished. Dan suspects that the two previously reported missing men; Joe, a Leatherman contestant, Adam, an exotic dancer and Nabil may be all linked as victims as they seem to be gay Moslems. The police are reluctant to investigate, suspecting they probably changed their names, moved out of the city, or died of an illegal drug overdose.

Dan, being gay himself, fears a serial killer may be targeting members of his community. He is assisted by his friends in looking for the missing men. After interviewing Nabil’s brothers and acquaintances and searching his computer, Dan learns that Nabil was scheduled to enter a Leatherman contest but never showed up. He also finds some leads and clues on the computer. The search leads them to a gritty, dangerous places of criminals, a pornographer filming and probably torturing would-be porn stars, a woman who performs violent S&M shows, as well as other disreputable sites (as well as some helpful individuals).

Dan is worried that a friend, Pravin, who insisted on acting as a decoy to attract a killer, has put himself in a perilous situation. Soon Dan himself is in mortal danger in a shocking, terrifying scene where the serial killer reveals himself.

Recommended to anyone who likes a gritty, densely plotted crime novel with interesting characters.

4 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

Dan Sharpe is a private investigator. Nabil, a gay man, has gone missing. His brothers Amir and Mustafa are urged by Prabin to contact Dan for help in finding him. Joe, a Leatherman and Adam, an exotic dancer, are also missing. Dan interviews family, friends and acquaintances of Nabil’s. He searches Nabil’s room in the home that he shares with his two brothers. Nabil also was interested in Leatherman and was competing in some contests. He picks up a few leads for his efforts.

Prabin, Domingo and Donny, Dan’s closest friends, assist him in his search. They’re seeking Nabil leads them on a twisty road. Interviews lead to more interviews and clues are gleaned. They lead Dan to a sleazy pornographer who specializes in torture of his drugged victims, gangsters, a woman who does (near) violent S & M shows and other unsavory types.

In a tense conclusion, Dan realizes that he met the killer before.

This book is very well written and plotted. I liked Dan and his friends. I appreciated their relationships and how they got along with one another. Dan was competent and confident in this book. It’s just what a PI needs to be. While this was my first Jeffrey Round novel, it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to look for other books of his.

This timely and contemporary novel is a great read. Well done, Mr. Round.

I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read, enjoy and review.