Brief Encounters

Title: Lost and Found
Author: Syd McGinley
Length: 7,200 words
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m contemporary BDSM romance
Rating: B

Blurb:
Dr. Fell has survived the first retreat at his cabin – and has ended up with a new job, a boy, and a heap of trouble! Dr. Fell’s new role of Foundation Director is tested as he gets an abused boy’s owner to face his responsibilities – while enduring Tommy singing Disney and Charlie in full twink-mode.

Review:
This short from the Dr Fell universe takes place around about after the fourth story in the series, Lost and Found 2: Lost Pets. Rather confusingly that previous story is no longer available as it’s been joined with the other four Lost and Found shorts into one volume. I’d had this one in my TBR pile for a while and forgotten about it and I was pleased to discover that it filled in a few questions for me. The story follows on from the weekend where John Fell has agreed to take on Tommy for a six month contract. The weekend arrives along with Pete and his lover Owen. Owen isn’t sure he wants to be involved in Pete’s lifestyle and spends a lot of time taking with John and observing the other ‘boys’. Alongside this, Steve turns up with his boy Rinnie, who he has shipped in from Peru and who looks very unhappy. John is concerned about this and is determined to find out why.

I have to admit the fun for me in reading this story was not only to get back into the ‘Fellverse’ but also to see the difference in the characters from this early book and the later books. I’d forgotten quite how bouncy Charlie/Twink was, and I’d almost forgotten about the time Tommy spent with Dr Fell. Owen is just coming into the group here and he acts as an observer and it was interesting to see how his reservations reflected my own. Rinnie is another character whose back story I had somehow missed and it was good to see how the group come together to stand against abuse. Some of Dr Fell’s actions can be seen as brutal, but this allows the reader to see the difference between a consensual and non-consensual D/s lifestyle.

The highlight of the story for me, as always, is John Fell’s weary narrative. His first person point of view shows us a man who shows a dominant front to all the boys and yet often struggles with how much control he allows. He often makes me smile at how exasperated he feels and also how his boys delight in teasing him. In four or five stories he has come a long way from the closed off, almost robotic, man we found in Pet Sitting and I was reminded yet again how much I love John Fell as a character.

This story isn’t one which can be read in isolation. I liked it because I knew all the other stories and the characters were familiar and well loved. It was easy for me to then dip into this story and identify whereabouts in the story arc it fits. If you’re a fan, like me, you’ll love it. If you haven’t read any Dr Fell books before then all the books in order can be found at Dr Fell’s website here. Looking at the list, I’ve realised there are a few other shorts I’ve missed so I shall looking forward to catching up with them.