Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Mann Hunt

SERIES:  The Declan Hunt Mysteries

AUTHOR:  Peter E. Fenton

PUBLISHER:  Pride Publishing

LENGTH:  275 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 29, 2023

BLURB:

How far would you be willing to go to finish the job?

Declan Hunt is having a bad week. His kidnapping case is showing little progress, his office assistant has left him on short notice, and his latest investigation has left him literally battered and bruised. But things change when he hires twenty-four year old Charlie Watts to help out at the office. They form an unlikely partnership trying to solve two seemingly unrelated cases whose threads begin to weave together when the missing person case turns to murder.

The investigation takes them from the dark alleys, gay bars and bath houses of Calgary, to the richest parts of the city during the world-famous Calgary Stampede.

But will they be able to discover who the killer is before another life is lost? And will Declan be able to solve the mystery of his relationship with Charlie who is clearly attracted to him — especially since it is evident that the attraction is becoming mutual?

REVIEW:

Declan Hunt starts his week getting worked over by a mob enforcer while looking for a kidnapped client.  Then his assistant tells him she’s going away and he’s got to hire someone to run the office.   She has run an ad though and he should start the interviews on Monday.

Charlie Watts has had to move back in with his parents since he can’t seem to land a permanent job in his field – computers/tech.  He really needs a job and to get out on his own at age 24.  He’s the first applicant who shows up at Delcan Hunt Investigations.  He show up early and stops at the bakery downstairs.  The proprietor gives him coffee and some advice about Declan 😉  Declan hires Charlie on the spot!  It’s Charlie’s lucky break – or so he thinks.

As the first week goes on, Charlie get quite a few shocks.  Declan’s cases are interesting.  Charlie is a natural at dealing with people and making them feel at ease.  They relax around him and tell him more than Declan would probably have gotten out of them.  They are successful in one of their cases – but how it all goes down is quite a shock to Charlie.

A second case overlaps and Charlie decides to go a bit rogue and try some investigating on his own.  He ends up getting the attention of some bad guys and Declan and others are in the right place at the right time to save the day.  Declan is VERY impressed with Charlie and he has him go undercover for real.  It’s all going well.  Until it isn’t and Declan and Charlie have to save the day.

In parallel, Charlie’s assistant has another issue come up, so it appears that Declan will need Charlie’s assistance for longer than the three weeks originally communicated.  Charlie can’t wait!  Declan clearly has demons that he is dealing with.  There are multiple closeted and out gay men in this story and their situations are quite different.  There are family dramas and found family that support these men.  In the end, Charlie and Declan grow closer, but what does that mean for their working relationship??  To be continued!

Well I thoroughly enjoyed the heck out of this!  The character are interesting and definitely not stereotypes or stock.  Their circumstances are compelling.  Our main characters aren’t exactly a couple in this story – but maybe they will be at some point?  I’m really invested in these guys and seeing what’s ahead for them.  The secondary characters are interesting as well.  There are a lot more secrets to tell here and I’m there for it!  The mystery was well written and lots of red herrings keep the reader guessing.  Charlies bestie Carrie, Gwen, Sam Hunt, Charlie’s gran and parents all figure in this interesting world.  Mickey the bartender, Mateo the manager at the bath house, and others are intriguing!  I cannot wait to see what happens in the push/pull relationship between Declan and Charlie.  Highly recommended.

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