A review by canadianbookworm
Lake on the Mountain by Jeffrey Round

4.0

This is a Dan Sharp mystery, the first one I've read. Dan is a private investigator specializing in missing persons. He has a great track record on finding people. Dan is also gay, and this plays a big role in his book. He's been dating Bill, a doctor, for around a year, but still doesn't feel part of Bill's life. A trip for the two of them to a wedding in Eastern Ontario marks the first real public outing for the two of them. Dan's best friend Donny tries to get him to see that Bill isn't a real partner to him. Dan's teenage son Ked is a strong presence, the one person around which Dan's life is built, and a call to reason. Ked has a good head on his shoulders and tells Dan when he is out of line.
This book takes Dan back to his beginnings in Sudbury and also helps him look into a long-time missing persons case. Another of Dan's clients reminds him of his own early life in Toronto, escaping a home that made him feel unwanted. There is a lot of character development here, and it is needed as Dan has a lot of developing to do. He's been lucky in his life overall to get him where he is now, but he isn't entirely happy and needs to figure out what would make him happy.
An interesting book, with some interesting themes