Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

Out-Foxed is the third book in the Skyler Foxe Mysteries series.  In my opinion, it is best to read all of the books in order, and as such, this review may contain spoilers and will most definitely reflect the fact that much has gone on up to this point.

What could possibly go wrong at a high school dance?  Skyler Foxe would have thought “nothing” until Keith Fletcher asks him to dance, in front of the entire school, effectively outing Skyler. With numerous complaints by parents, a special school board meeting is called but Keith has disappeared, replaced at school, moved from his apartments, and does not attend the dreaded meeting.

Julia has regained consciousness, but soon falls victim to a murderer, determined to keep her from regaining her memory and speaking about her discoveries. Rick is withdrawn from Polk high and Alex is at loose ends without his boyfriend and football.

Skyler’s investigating does nothing but cause trouble, both with best friend Sidney, and especially with Skyler, who finds out more about what is going on with Keith. The knowledge is both comforting and infuriating. And on top of that, Skylar still faces threats from Coach Carson and his flunkies.

As I said in the review of Foxe Hunt, Walsh did a very good job of maintaining character consistency and behavior and not just with Skyler and Keith either. If you have been following my ramblings, you know that the secondary characters have been critical to the story thus far.  What Walsh did quite effectively was to show growth across the board as well, which was, in my opinion, unique and quite effective, as I liked seeing character growth from more that the main characters.

It was clear to me that Walsh had plotted the arc for the three books, as the progression was smooth and seamless, the tension built up gradually, and the thread that began in Foxe Tail, which was resolved in Out-Foxed, was always present, even as other events took center stage at times.

Skylarks continual return to a feeling of guilt and responsibility because he was there when Julia was pushed down the stairs started to get old. What also got irritating was Skyler’s continual disregard for his and other’s well-being (and I paraphrase here): “Oh I promise to be good!  I won’t do anything (else) stupid.”

I read in the afterword the trilogy is now complete, and future instalments will be written as standalone mysteries, which is something to look forward to. I will certainly be continuing Walsh’s books.