Skyler Foxe is starting his first year of teaching English literature at his alma mater, James Polk High, located in the conservative Inland Empire of southern California. He is out with his close gay friends Jamie, Philip, and Rodolfo, and with his best female friend Sidney, a straight detective, but is still in the closet with his mom and colleagues at work. The mystery begins when Skyler and Sidney visit a gay dance club and discover a dead body. It turns out that the body was the gay son of the uptight principal of Skyler’s school.
Despite Sidney’s warnings to leave investigating to the police Skyler starts to conduct his own investigation of the murder. Complications arise involving a new biology teacher and assistant football coach named Keith Fletcher, brusque yet gorgeous, and the mysterious fall down some stairs by a calculus teacher. The macho head football coach becomes a suspect as the result of a conversation Skyler overhears. A cell phone and warchalking add further twists to the plot.
Foxe Tail also contains a secondary storyline involving one of Skyler’s students and the attempts by Skyler to help him.
Although there could be a few less coincidences in the storyline, Foxe Tail is basically a well written mystery novel. The culprit was not apparent to me until near the end of the novel. Skyler is an interesting character. While he is rather naïve and irresponsible for a schoolteacher, he takes risks to find the murderer because he is tired of being a victim. Skyler is also single, never has had a steady boyfriend, and is not looking for one. His romantic life consists of one night stands and short term relationships. There is one short but rather explicit sex scene in the novel.
Foxe Tail is the first gay mystery novel written by Haley Walsh, although she has written historical novels, short stories, and articles under another name. It is the first of three novels in the proposed Skyler Foxe Mystery trilogy. Walsh leaves several storylines unresolved in Foxe Tail, which are to be resolved in the second and third novels, Foxe Hunt and Foxe Fire.
Foxe Tail is a delightful read and is recommended for public libraries in tolerant areas and medium-to-large academic libraries.
Foxe Tail is also available in a Kindle edition.
Reviewed by, Paul Hubbard
Retired Public Reference Librarian
