Great story. Need to think how much to give away in review.
NB. This is a mystery with a gay lead. He is in a relationship but said relationship is very much on the backburner and not a massive part of the story. Just thought I should differentiate between a mystery/romance. ( )

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book. The views expressed are my own.

This is a suspense mystery story set in modern day Toronto, Canada. Dan Savage is a gay private investigator who is hired by Paul, an ambitious local politician, to find his gambling-addicted husband, Tony. The only lead he can give Dan is a list of Tony's gaming haunts. At one of them Dan finds someone who recently saw Tony there recklessly gambling away large sums of money. This was after Paul had cut off Tony's money supply, which of course raises questions about where Tony got the money. Dan finds a link between Tony and a politician who later died under suspicious circumstances when he was accused of embezzling funds. Questions are raised about whether it was actually murder rather than suicide.

Dan's inquiry catches the attention of an investigative news reporter who seems to have an inside track on some goings on at Queen's Park (the seat of the Ontario provincial government). There was a political scandal there over the closing of some power generating plants.These are linked to a shadowy backroom political operative known only as "The Magus". No one admits to knowing his or her actual identity. The reporter offers to share his information with Dan on a reciprocal basis, but he subsequently proves to be an unreliable ally. Dan calls on his contacts and previous experience to find out about Tony's whereabouts. He attracts unwanted and dangerous attention to himself, and as a warning a dead body is dumped on his doorstep.

There's a lot going on in Dan's personal life apart from the search for Tony. Dan and his romantic partner, Nick, a Toronto police officer, are planning their wedding with all the attendant stress and expense. Dan's investigation is a further source of friction between Dan and Nick. Nick correctly fears that Dan is unnecessarily putting himself in harm's way to investigate Tony's disappearance. Dan is mugged on his way to a meeting with someone who has information about Tony. Dan's personal story is actually more interesting than the disappearance one.
This is the fifth in a series of Dan Savage novels. It can be read on a standalone basis without much difficulty. It seems that some of the characters are carryovers from the earlier books. Learning their backstories from the previous stories may enhance this story. Donny, one of Dan's closest gay friends, comes to mind in this respect.
The story telling moves along at a good pace and the author makes good use of Toronto landmarks as setting. There's a very spy thriller-like meeting at Toronto's waterfront aquarium. It's noteworthy that the story is set in Toronto at the time Mayor Rob Ford 's antics and the power generating plant shutdown were in the news. More local colour of interest to Canadian readers. ( )