The God Game

2019 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery — Finalist

Private investigator Dan Sharp finds himself caught up in a political murder.

When the husband of a Queen’s Park aide runs off to escape his gambling debts, private investigator Dan Sharp is hired to track him down. As the city’s political landscape verges on the bizarre — with a crack-using mayor and a major scandal looming — Dan finds himself pitted against a mysterious figure known for making or breaking the reputations of upcoming politicians. It’s not until a body turns up on his doorstep that Dan realizes he’s being punished for sticking his nose into dirty politics. It’s left to him to catch the killer and prove his own innocence.

Jeffrey Round is the Lambda Award–winning author of the Dan Sharp mystery series and Endgame, dubbed a “punk rock reboot” of an Agatha Christie classic. His first two books were listed on AfterElton.com’s 50 Best Gay Books. He lives in Toronto.

Round’s fiction admirably turns Canadian politics into thriller material, and readers who enjoy political intrigue will want to give this a look.- Publishers Weekly


[Jeffrey Round’s novels] not only give gay readers increasing representation in the world of crime fiction, but offer straight ones a reasonably complex glimpse of a community they’ll likely find isn’t especially different from theirs — except, presumably, for the murderous parts.
- Niagara Falls Review, on After the Horses (book 4)

Toronto-based, gay PI Sharp is such an interesting character.
- Booklist, on The Jade Butterfly (book 3)

The God Game is a slick, intelligent mystery that also allows time for characters and settings to breathe deeply. In this fifth Dan Sharp mystery Jeffrey Round proves once again that he is a master of detail. His skillful narration and dialogue insist the reader be present, as Dan follows a tortuous trail of clues through Toronto neighbourhoods and beyond. Whether Dan is conversing with his son, fighting an attacker, or battling his personal demons, Round manages to infuse each page with deep humanity.
- Liz Bugg, author of the Calli Barnow Mystery Series

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Book hashtag: #DanSharpMystery
Author Website: www.jeffreyround.com
Author Twitter: @BradfordK9