Genre: Mystery
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay MM
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
A man is murdered, and takes a deadly secret to his grave.
Is it true the murdered man is Dominic Delingpole’s former lover?
And were they still seeing each other just before his recent wedding to husband Jonathan?
Or are these simply lies?
This is the sequel to the award-winning The Necessary Deaths. It’s more than a story of deceit between husbands. A man’s death plunges Dominic and Jonathan into a world of international espionage, which puts their lives at risk.
What is the ruthless Charter Ninety-Nine group, and why is it pursuing them across Europe and the United States?
Dominic and Jonathan are forced to test their relationship to its limit. What deadly lies must they both confront? And if they stay alive, will their relationship remain intact?
The Review
David C. Dawson has released another re-edited mystery – “The Deadly Lies” of the “Delingpole Mystery” series. Dawson creates a rollercoaster ride of a mystery from a vacation in Spain to California.
Dominic Delingpole and his husband, Jonathan McFadden are vacationing in the Sitges, Spain. But this marriage seems to be very fragile, filled with doubts and secrets.
Bernhardt Freude, Dominic’s first and ex-lover, is on his way to meet with Dominic in Sitges. Bernhardt also has a few secrets that he’s keeping.
Officer Alfonso De la Torre has been put on Bernhardt Freude’s trail. Word has come down from Europol that he has stolen documents that can cause great harm. Alfonso, at the crash site, takes an artifact that will open the door to devastation.
Steve Brown is a control systems hacker. He’s always being looked at as a skin head, but is not what he seems. After being selected to attend the Embarcadero Hackfest, he’s on his way from Brighton, England to San Francisco. While waiting on his flight, he calls his Mom who encourages him to try and contact his father. Steve uses his expertise to find that his father has vanished, and his search is on. He also finds himself being subjected to some very mysterious happenings in connection with the Embarcadero Hackfest, finding a tracking device in a most unusual place.
Dominic Delingpole has connections to Bernhardt Freude, Steve Brown and eventually Alfonso De La Torre, along with Jonathan. A strange text from Bernhardt, an artifact, and Steve’s dilemmas, along and many odd characters, will lead them all into a very twisted game that turns into both danger and tragedy.
Dawson does not disappoint with this second installment of “A Delingpole Mystery” series. I was really into the fast-paced plot and suspenseful mystery just as much as the first time I read it. I found one aspect especially interesting: how the threads connected to an intriguing and dangerous outcome of making a person’s identity vanish. Besides the mystery, this is also a story of a son searching for his father and a father searching for a son.
And there are a few characters who will evoke the feeling of uneasiness – Are they trustworthy? Dominic’s old nemeses Krasov and Downpatrick are back again, with a new plan of destruction with the Charter Ninety-nine Group.
I recommend reading or listening to “The Necessary Deaths” – the first installment of the series – on audio. I’m hoping for “The Deadly Lies” to come out on audible also. I’m ready for the third installment – “The Foreign Affair” – to see what life is now like for Dominic Delingpole.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
