The Hardest Thing: A Dan Stagg Mystery

It was a page turner, forgot to eat, stayed late at night and kept reading until it ended. A fun gay thriller, lot of actions and sex in different places, people, quiet a journey my friend. I truly enjoyed it. Thanks. Just a little faux pas; in my ebook version, in page 254 Dan is trying to decide whether to stay or leaves Jody and says “I still felt the same way I felt when we were on the road, or when Martin was driving me up to Ann Arbor, when I was sitting by that hospital with Steve, waiting for Jody to come around”. Oops..Martin didn’t drive Dan to Ann Arbor, MI but to Trenton, NJ after Dan found him beaten up and almost dying.

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.)

Gruff, always up for it, emotionally damaged USMC Major (ex) Dan Stagg is a great voice and POV for about the first half of this book, on his thug-for-hire road trip with an enigmatic young charge. Tensions and suspicions mount, both between the two men and in Dan's mind about the real reason he was hired. But then both the story (high-level fraud, murder investigation, etc.) and the sex go off the rails, and I just didn't believe in the universe these guys inhabit anymore.The author has a terrific voice, which prompted me, after reading the sample, to go ahead and pay more than I usually would for an ebook by a new-to-me-author. The insights into protagonist Dan's life as a Marine deployed overseas were vivid and poignant. From what small amount I know from my friends who are Marines, I could feel their sense of duty, honor, and confidence echoed in Dan's voice. The earlier sex scenes are as terse as Dan and are all the more engaging because of it. They ripple with personality, pain, and emotion. Then it all devolves into typical porn movie set-ups (both the stereotypically implausible situations and the repeated descriptions of movie-style clothing or remnants thereof). The author's previously strong voice begins to get muddled, only occasionally coming up for air under scenes that had might as well have a cheesy music soundtrack. The thriller/investigation plot, the people involved in it, and the coincidences begin to feel a bit implausible too.Other details distracted: the writer doesn't have a realistic idea of distances or travel in the NY/VT/NH region. I cringed every time time he mentioned logistical specifics of the road trip that takes up much of the beginning of the story, and almost stopped reading, but the compelling characters kept me going. Readers who haven't travelled in the region might not notice.I'm reading a step or two out of my usual zone here, and this book might exactly hit the spot for other readers. I welcome a book that isn't all about long flowery conversations, or two-dimensional protagonists who feel borrowed from every other romance/erotic romance story. The first half of the book is erotic romance without too many flowers, and wrapped into a tense thriller plot. But I got stuck at about the 2/3 point with my suspension of disbelief completely snapped, and it felt like too much effort even to skim the rest. If it weren't an ebook, I'd happily pass it along to someone else who might enjoy it more, because I do think this is an author worth discovering, despite this not being a successful book (for this reader).Yes, I'll read this author again, but I'll be cautious about checking both positive and critical reviews of the plot and the evolution (or devolution) of the erotic content.

Ever since the seminal (pun intended) Richard Amory novel "The Song of the Loon" arguably the greatest homoerotic novel of the 20th century there have been many memorable attempts to usurp his title of King of Gay Fiction though none have even come close to writing in the genre satisfactorily. That is until James Lear, author of many historically based novels with an added erotic flavour for the delectation of his many fans."The Hardest thing" is gay noir ~ a genre that needs supplementing but only with good stuff ~ there is enough material to go round and I would certainly welcome a Lear set in the 1940s.The great thing about this novel and all his others is that they are excellently written, They not only engage the reader through the explicit nature of some of the noteworthy passages, but have a narrative drive that is both moving and educational; the two best ingredients for any page-turner.The story follows the grooves of the Jack Reader/Bourne novels in their fast action sequences and it also has the leisure to take time out in the idylls of the woodside, motels and restrooms for some eye watering sex scenes (thank you ,James)The one thing I discovered in this novel was the obvious passion Lear feels for his characters. Dan is an ageing ex-marine who has once tasted Love and is in a mid-life denial of ever finding it again. (No spoiler here though it so refreshing to have a positive outcome without suicide, blackmail, guilt or terminal illness)The story has a complex plot of twists and turns, of betrayal and loyalty with a conclusion that depends on the reader's own experiences, I dare say. We all have fantasies of one kind or another and yet it does take an excellence in writing to turn these into something both palatable and entertaining. Pure porn palls so very quicklyHighly recommended as a good read whatever your inclination

Rupert Smith, writing as James Lear, has always been a genius of the ultra-sexy gay adventure, usually with tongue firmly in cheek (literally as well as metaphorically). In his new book, there is plenty of suspense and adventure and lots of great gay sex. It is a jock-strap-ripping page-turner and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It lacks, though, quite the spark of originality of his earlier books and I missed the humour. Dan Stagg is a hard (permanently) hero with a warm heart but he's hardly a fun guy. Let's hope he lightens up a bit in the sequels which I hope will follow and that some of that quirky humour returns.

A brilliant and sinister thriller featuring James Lear's new hero, Dan Stagg, who is a gay version of Lee Child's Jack Reacher. Unlike Reacher Dan is gay and a former US Marine, rather than straight and a former Army military policemen. They tend to have rather similar, extremely dangerous, adventures. The chances are that, if you like the Jack Reacher novels - and I do - you will enjoy this one, too. You do not have to be gay to enjoy the fast-paced and surprising plot. There is plenty of mayhem and also plenty of sex. As usual, James Lear handles the sex scenes adroitly, managing to make them erotic but never onscene.

James Lear is an excellent storyteller whose heroes are always flawed. I would have liked the story to have been a little more fleshed out and I admit to missing the usual plethora of sexual encounters that are normally enjoyed by a Lear hero, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless and assume there will be another Dan Stagg novel in due course.

Holiday reading ..on the sunbed , by the pool at the El Cid in Sitges , .. or on the beach at Balmains , great easy sexy reading , have to be careful which way I am lying sometime , lol love his books just an easy effortless read ...with added man fun