Reviewed by Jen B.
TITLE: The Hardest Thing: A Dan Stagg Mystery
AUTHOR: James Lear
PUBLISHER: Cleis Press
LENGTH: 288 pages
BLURB: Killing is easy. Love is… The Hardest Thing
James Lear does Lee Child
Once a major in the U.S. Army, Dan Stagg fell afoul of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. In his late 30s, tall, and muscular, Dan is prone to violence, always upholding what he views as justice. He’s offered a great deal of money to protect the young male secretary of a powerful real estate broker. The vain, shallow—but most of all hot—young man’s idea of protection includes sex. Dan quickly realizes something strange is going on: he’s being used as a shield for a much more sinister operation and must chose between easy money and sex or the ideals that he embodied in the Army. Why should he do the right thing—particularly when the army betrayed him? The Hardest Thing is a sexy gay mystery as only James Lear can write it: filled with lots of gay sexual encounters, romance, sweat, violence, and conspiracy.
REVIEW:
Ex-Marine Dan Stagg tells this story, and I was hooked very early on. He cannot seem to get a break after losing his lover, Will, being unfairly discharged from the military, and then again unfairly losing his current job as a bouncer, all of which end with him looking somewhat unemployable. That is, until he is offered a large amount of cash as a bodyguard protecting and transporting Stirling McMahon from NYC to New Hampshire.
What ensues is quite the adventure, as they learn more about each other, something Dan hasn’t done with anyone since the death of Will, while enjoying frequent sexcapades along the way. Dan learns quickly that Stirling isn’t what he seems. More and more, things aren’t adding up, and the plot thickens and twists. Dan struggles with his Marine beliefs and morals as he tries to decide what he should do with new knowledge concerning Stirling. He also still struggles with the loss of Will, who we learn about through some pretty touching flashbacks.
I really enjoyed the way this was written. It was often funny and heartwarming, yet sexy and even a bit smutty with mystery and danger popping up every other turn. There is not a whole lot in the way of romantic relationship here, aside from early on in their journey, as Dan (and Stirling) have sex with multiple people along the way. At one point, I even questioned if Stirling was the intended love interest. But eventually the entire story unfolds and things become clear. Dan is one bad-ass Major who gives as good as he gets. It was difficult not to feel for him throughout this story. Stirling had his own set of issues that pulled my heartstrings as well.
This was pretty much a HFN story that left me feeling happy with the decisions made, yet sad at the same time due to all of the circumstances. I would have really liked to have seen a little farther into the future on this to see how these guys were making out with their decisions and hope to maybe see them again in the future. This was my first book by Mr. Lear, and I’m definitely looking forward to checking out more of his work.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: Cleis Press :: Amazon