Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: The Foreign Affair

SERIES: Delingpole Mysteries #3

AUTHOR: David C. Dawson

PUBLISHER: Park Creek Publishing

LENGTH: 274 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 8, 2020

BLURB:

There’s a murderer stalking the gay bars of Berlin.

It’s September, the time of Folsom Europe, the city’s annual festival for gay men in leather.

And Berlin’s become a dangerous place for them.

British lawyer, and part-time sleuth, Dominic Delingpole is in town. He’s come to Berlin to visit Matty, the teenage son he first met only a year ago.

When Matty is arrested for the attacks, Dominic teams up with German lawyer Johann Hartmann, a good-looking man with a seductive charm.

As they battle to prove Matty’s innocence, Dominic and Johann discover the attacks are linked to a sinister, Russian-backed experiment.

But whose side is Hartmann really on?

REVIEW:

I have long awaited this story, but I have to say, Mr. David hit me with a big blow right off the bat. I didn’t know if I was going to recover from this one. But somehow Dominic, again, is caught up in the middle of something, and this time it’s his son that he’s having to save.

Dominic decided to come to Berlin this year for several different reasons. He needed a break from something that happened to him, and it was the time of year to visit his first male love at the cemetery. It was also where he was going to meet his son, whom he just met a year ago, and they were working on getting to know each other better. Matty, Dominic’s son, has let on that he’s seeing someone but when it’s time to really meet the man, Dominic is in shock. His 19 year old son is in love with someone older than he is. But it’s more than that. All of a sudden, gay bars are being targeted and Alex is the prime suspect. Matty knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alex is innocent, but the cops won’t listen and have even arrested him. Dominic hires Johann, who he’s having a hard time with, and wonders as things progress, if he can really trust the man.. Because the more Matty and Dominic dig, the more that things aren’t adding up. And who to trust is very unclear right now.

I can’t go into detail. But if you’ve read this series, up to now, get ready for the blow coming. If you haven’t, you need to read the first two or you are going to be lost. Seriously. I understood what Dominic had to come to Berlin. Even if it was only to see his son, but he had other memories to exorcise and things to deal with. And memories were killing him. Especially when a look a like is in his face. But I had to find it funny, in a sense, because it’s like Dominic is a trouble magnet and now it seems his son is just like him. And everyone that knows him seems to think the same, much to Dominic’s chagrin. It was a hard story, though, in a way. The tenuous relationship between he and his son is just getting going, and now all this trouble is dropped at their feet. And for Dominic, he has a hard time trusting anyone after all that he’s been through. And for Matty, it makes him feel like that Dominic doesn’t believe in him or Alex and what they have is true. So, I honestly felt for Dominic from the get go. He’s got so much on his plate. And more just keeps coming. Especially the surprise at the end. I never saw that one coming. At all. I was as shocked as the characters were. 

But I have to tell you. This series has just been the best of mysteries. It’s intriguing, hard to put down, the characters are fantastic. And the way he’s written them, you never quite know who is up to what and where their loyalties lie. It’s a twist and a half when all is revealed. And I love how it’s turned out. Because I honestly never saw it coming. And that’s when you know you’ve read a good one. The surprise comes from out of nowhere and leaves you with a book hangover like you can’t believe. I love this series and I hope to see more of it in the future.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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