Narrated by J.F. Harding
This second book in Josh Lanyon’s All’s Fair trilogy takes place a few months after the apprehension of the serial killer The Sculptor who was revealed to be Andrew Corian, a colleague of Elliot Mills, a history professor at Puget Sound University. An ex-FBI agent, Elliot was drawn into the investigation of the disappearances of a couple of students during the course of which he reunited with his former lover, Special Agent Tucker Lance. The two parted badly after a serious knee injury ended Elliot’s FBI career, but when the investigation in the previous book threw them back together, they were finally able to work things out between them, and when Fair Play opens, they’re an established couple in it for the long haul, although they are still getting used to being a couple and the compromises and adjustments that are necessary to make a relationship work.
The Corian plot bubbles along in the background as we discover that he’s offered to talk to Elliot and no-one else about where the bodies are buried (literally – well, their heads, anyway), and naturally neither Elliot nor Lance is wild about Elliot’s returning to the orbit of the man who had tried to kill him. The bulk of the storyline in Fair Play actually concerns Professor Mills senior, Elliot’s father Roland, who was a political activist and anti-establishment protestor back in the sixties and seventies. Father and son had been estranged for a while before the beginning of the series, and have gradually begun to build a relationship, even though Roland is still exasperated by some of Elliot’s life-choices, most particularly the one where the son of an anarchist decided to go into law enforcement. But they’re reconciled and obviously care a great deal for each other, although in this book, Elliot realises he knows very little about his father’s past – something that really resonates when Elliot receives an early-hours phone call telling him that his childhood home – where his father still lives – has been destroyed in an arson attack.
Roland was part of the anti-war movement back during the Vietnam War, and is known to be writing a memoir about that time and his involvement with a group known as The Collective. Unbeknownst to Elliot, Roland has received several threats warning him not to publish the book, but being Roland, he’s ignored them and continued his work; now, though, it seems as whoever doesn’t want the memoir to see the light of day has upped the ante, and is determined to stop publication by any means possible.
Josh Lanyon has crafted an intricate mystery that, though fairly slow-paced, is nonetheless intriguing and held my interest as Elliot gradually pieces together what he learns about Roland’s past. She explores the dynamic between father and son really well, especially after Roland goes into hiding without telling Elliot where he’s gone, insisting he NOT try to find him, and Elliot, worried for his father, decides to ignore that instruction and does everything he can to try to locate him. On the one hand, I found Elliot’s attitude to be presumptuous and annoying – Roland told him to back off, and he’s disrespecting that – but on the other, Elliot’s concern for his father is a natural emotion of an adult child for a parent, and I could understand it.
The author also does a terrific job of exploring and developing the relationship between Elliot and Tucker in this book. They’re clearly committed to each other and to making their relationship work, but like every couple, they have their ups and downs, and given they’re both strong, alpha males, it’s not always easy for either of them to get to the place where they can find middle ground and compromise. Tucker’s compulsion to protect Elliot is frequently at the root of their disagreements; Elliot hates the idea of being thought weak because of his injury, which isn’t what Tucker thinks at all – he just wants to keep him safe; while Elliot is chafing because he no longer has access to the sort of information that he used to have at the FBI, and Tucker is understandably reluctant to use the bureau’s resources to provide Elliot with details so that he can pursue an investigation Tucker thinks is dangerous to pursue. Tucker’s protectiveness and Elliot’s stubbornness, in addition to Elliot’s inability to openly admit how he feels, put these two on rocky ground sometimes, but I really appreciated the fact that these issues don’t feel overly contrived or manufactured; they arise because Tucker and Elliot are who they are and they act like mature adults when dealing with them.
The story is told entirely through Elliot’s PoV, but Tucker pretty much steals the show in this book. His strength of character, his kindness, his sense of humour and most of all, his love and affection for Elliot are clear as day, even though sometimes, Elliot doesn’t always hear what Tucker is actually saying and needs it spelled out:
“I’ve got two priorities in life. You and my job. And yes, I will do whatever it takes in the interest of those two things. But as important as my job is to me, if it came down to you or the job, I’d quit tomorrow. And if you don’t know that by now, there isn’t anything more to say.”
That’s the thing about Tucker – he’s this physically imposing, tough guy, and yet he’s the one who wears his heart on his sleeve and comes out with stuff like that!
J.F. Harding – who also narrates Fair Chance, the third book in the series – is an excellent narrator and his performance here is technically accomplished and emotionally resonant. It’s been a while since I listened to Fair Chance, but I listened to a few snippets in preparation for writing this review and I’m pretty certain he maintains a consistency of characterisation across both books. Tucker’s voice is pitched a little deeper than Elliot’s and his manner of speech is quite deliberate and considered, which suits him down to the ground; he’s a big guy and he likes to cover all the angles. Elliot is portrayed using a tone similar to Mr. Harding’s own – although I never got confused as to whether he was reading narrative or dialogue – and I enjoyed his interpretation of crusty, crotchety but damnably headstrong Roland, who is as much a force of nature in his seventies as he ever was! The secondary characters, many of them Roland’s former cronies (and one of his ex-wives!) are all clearly differentiated, but most importantly of all, he captures the dynamics of the central relationship extremely well, expertly conveying the strength of the love Elliot and Tucker share.
Even though I ended up listening to the All’s Fair trilogy in the wrong order, I enjoyed the books individually and the series as a whole. I imagine fans of m/m romantic suspense/mysteries are probably familiar with the novels, but if you’ve never tried a Josh Lanyon book before, this series would be a good place to start.
Caz
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