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REVIEW: In Other Words…Murder by Josh Lanyon
Holmes & Moriarity: In Other Words…Murder -Josh Lanyon
Death reveals all secrets.
Mystery author Christopher Holmes, now comfortably married to sometimes rival, sometimes nemesis J.X. Moriarity, is starting a new career as a true crime writer when threatening anonymous notes start arriving.
Even worse, Christopher’s ex also arrives–asking for help locating the man he left Christopher for!
It’s life–and death–as usual at Chez Holmes. In other words… Murder.
Well, this answered The Question:
“I love you, Kit. I just do.”
I muttered, “Well, you don’t have to sound like it’s against your will.”Compared to the other books in the series, In Other Words…Murder has the most slice-of-life feel to it, the mysteries more or less secondary, even tertiary, to Kit getting a huge deal from publishers, him and JX discussing honeymoon trips, and Jerry being on the loose again. A day in the life of Christopher Holmes certainly doesn’t lack for excitement as he goes from enduring Gage’s presence, sorting through unfinished manuscripts to fending off attacks by a psycho clown, getting JX a happy ever after cake, meeting the ex, feeling guilty about not connecting with old peers as much as he was suppose to, becoming a murder suspect and antagonizing the detectives by being his usual charming self.
Gad I hate Jerry! The creep just gets into my nerves. Dear System, do you job and please put Jerry away for good.
Felt sorry for JX. One of these days he might actually get a heart attack from all the life-threatening situations Kit gets into. But JX is rock solid (and healthy). Love him!
Kit, at long last, realizing Julian Xavier Moriarity is it.
My gaze wandered to J.X., who was listening to all this with an
exasperated expression. As I studied his face, realization struck me. I’d stand by you. Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you.
It was kind of shocking. Because it was true.Love the fact that he wasn’t in the least bit tempted by the ex’s advances. Good riddance to that loser!
Kit put the past firmly behind. He has been inching his way forward with a nudge or two since the beginning but this time he wasn’t wavering. Also, he did something nice and romantic! Without being prodded! And he started writing again!
This is the best Kit yet!
P.S.
review of Holmes and Moriarity books here
review of Josh Lanyon books hereRating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: I’ll Be Your Man
Artist: The Black Keys
Album: The Big Come Up -
REVIEW: The Boy With The Painful Tattoo by Josh Lanyon
Holmes & Moriarity: The Boy With The Painful Tattoo – Josh Lanyon
It’s moving day at Chez Holmes. Somehow, against Kit’s better instincts, he and J.X. are setting up house together. But while J.X. is off at a writing conference, Kit unpacks a crate that should contain either old books or new china. It doesn’t. Within the mounds of green Styrofoam popcorn is a dead body. A very dead body.
There goes the neighborhood.
Poor Kit! Forced to interact with JX’s ex-wife and her kid. I’d have my hackles up if I were in his shoes.
Kit, who for some mysterious reason is adored by the wonderful JX Moriarity and we’ll just have to take Josh Lanyon‘s word for it, putters around the new house, discovers a dead body inside his crate and does exactly the opposite of what JX, an ex-cop, tells him to do. Typical.
Also while his boyfriend is still away at some writer’s conference, Kit meets his biggest fan and gains a stalker who shows up at his doorstep bearing gifts and forces him to endure unwanted visits. Was again given dire warning by said boyfriend not to let the creep in. It, of course, went unheeded. Ugh, I totally don’t want to deal with Jerry.
We all know that Kit could be unlikable but he has redeeming values which at his worst sometimes barely redeems him at all. I don’t expect him to completely pull his head out of his ass but I have faith he’ll get better, eventually. I keep hoping really, for JX’s sake.
In all fairness to Kit, he’s really trying.
Also complaining about him is like me grousing about my demon imp cat, Spook, who gives everyone the evil eye and avoids people like they’re diseased. She still gets a hug anyway.
Lanyon takes a risk by having an MC with a difficult personality which makes for an interesting experience. I agree with one reviewer who said that an unlikable character doesn’t mean bad writing and Kit as a narrator was certainly very entertaining. The Holmes & Moriarity series took some of that cozy mystery elements as found in the Miss Butterwith books and made it gay and snarky. The mystery, this time, was much better executed and more enjoyable than the last although the tattoo in the title had no significance whatsoever.
That Adrien English cameo!
Also, Rachel is the best secondary character in the entire series! I love her bloodthirsty drive to put Christopher Holmes back on top of the bestsellers list. Her attempts to reinvent Kit were the funniest scenes in the series.
Relationshipwise, the couple took major steps forward and since I’m assured they’ll get there (because it says so on the blurb of the fourth book) I enjoyed their journey more and how they grow as a couple without worrying that JL might decide to throw a curveball and send them their separate ways. But who knows, she just might.
The Boy With The Painful Tattoo is Lanyon‘s take on those grim Scandinavian mysteries minus the snow. Despite his aches and pains, Kit put his “brilliant criminal mind” to use and with JX’s help, solved the mystery, put his house in order, fend off a stalker and survive a day at the zoo. Still not writing those books, tho.
P.S.
review of Holmes and Moriarity books here
review of Josh Lanyon books hereRating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Meet Me Halfway
Artist: The Futureheads
Album: -
REVIEW: All She Wrote by Josh Lanyon
Holmes & Moriarity: All She Wrote – Josh Lanyon
Giving screwball mystery a whole deadly new meaning.
A murderous fall down icy stairs is nearly the death of Anna Hitchcock, the much-beloved American Agatha Christie and Christopher Holmes’s former mentor. Anna’s plea for him to host her annual winter writing retreat touches all Kit’s sore spots: traveling, teaching writing classes, and separation from his new lover, J.X. Moriarity.
For J.X., Kit’s cancellation of yet another romantic weekend is the death knell of a relationship that has been limping along for months. But that s just as well, right? Kit isn’t ready for anything serious and besides, Kit owes Anna far too much to refuse.
Faster than you can say Miss Marple wears boxer shorts, Kit is snooping around Anna’s elegant, snowbound mansion in the Berkshires for clues as to who’s trying to kill her. A tough task with six amateur sleuths underfoot, six budding writers with a tangled web of dark undercurrents running among them.
Slowly, Kit gets the uneasy feeling that the secret may lie between the pages of someone’s fictional past. Unfortunately, a clever killer is one step ahead. And it may be too late for J.X. to ride to the rescue.
Warning: Contains one irascible, forty-year-old mystery writer who desperately needs to get laid, one exasperated thirty-something ex-cop only too happy to oblige, an isolated country manor that needs the thermostat cranked up, various assorted aspiring and perspiring authors, and a merciless killer who may have read one too many mystery novels.
All She Wrote is the second book of the Holmes & Moriarity series. I’m guessing the title is a riff on Murder She Wrote, a whodunit tv series from days of yore a.k.a days when cable didn’t exist and satellite television was cutting edge.
By the end of book 1, Somebody Killed His Editor, I was warming up to Kit and JX. At the beginning of this installment, Kit took a step backwards with his whining, commitment phobia and comments that were less witty, more bitchy than usual. He described himself as a curmudgeon and I do understand that he was burned before. His husband cheated on him with no less than his PA who was younger hence his tendency to blow his super minor 5-year age difference with JX out of proportion and “carry on like a 70-year old”. Meanwhile, JX completely won me over with his understanding of Kit’s issues and his trademark blunt but constructive commentary.
J.X. said calmly, “You know what, Kit? I’m a big boy. I can look after myself. I know that right now the idea of a relationship paralyzes you. But I think you do care for me, or you wouldn’t have had the hospital contact me when you were hurt, and I’m willing to hang in here for a while longer. You’re worth it.”
My heart was hammering as though I was having a panic attack. “What if I hadn’t called you?”
“I don’t know. I can’t do this on my own, obviously. I wanted you to try and
meet me halfway. Or as close to halfway as you could handle. That’s what this feels like.” He shrugged.Yay, JX!
There were major character and relationship developments here. Kit didn’t let me down after all. He bucked up and met JX halfway. He even discovered a side to himself he didn’t know exist. Attaboy, Kit!
There is also a running joke in the series where everybody can’t seem to take the Miss Butterwith books seriously, throwing shade now and then. Except JX who believes Kit is talented but is hiding behind his cozy mystery books. I also want Kit to get out of his comfort zone. I hope Josh Lanyon resolves this thread.
There was a going nowhere feel on the mystery part but at the same time, I was riveted to the audiobook because Lanyon knows her business and Kevin R. Free is a great narrator. Kit and JX had no concrete evidence, mostly conjectures by the former. They were running around in circles and hitting brick walls. There were a bunch of supposedly eccentric characters, none of whom were interesting or likable. The deaths were not particularly gory, just emotionally painful. The motive was so goddamn vindictive and, IMO, petty, you will hate the already unlikable villain even more. As usual, I couldn’t guess who the killer was but on hindsight, one of the character’s less than forthcoming attitude should have tipped me off. Damn! I was also bracing myself for a hanging thread because that how she rolls but Lanyon kindly gave her readers closure on a key plot point so the book ended with me feeling contented.
So while the mystery was not as fun as the last, I liked where Kit and JX are heading. Here’s hoping they get there.
P.S.
Comments on Somebody Killed His Editor here.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Oxford Comma
Artist: Vampire Weekend
Album: Vampire Weekend(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9502791-all-she-wrote)
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Mystery is something that appeals to most everybody.
Angela Lansbury -
Holmes and Moriarity: Somebody Killed His Editor – Josh Lanyon
For sixteen years reclusive mystery writer Christopher (Kit) Holmes enjoyed a very successful career, thanks to the popularity of elderly spinster sleuth, Miss Butterwith, and her ingenious cat, Mr. Pinkerton. But sales are down in everything but chick lit, and Christopher’s new editor doesn’t like geriatric gumshoes. It’s a pink, pink world for Mr. Holmes.
At the urging of his agent, Christopher reluctantly agrees to attend a mystery writers’ conference at a remote Northern California winery. But no sooner does he arrive than he discovers the pajama-clad body of a woman in the woods. If nearly two decades of mystery-writing are anything to go by, the woman doesn’t appear to have died a natural death.
With a storm in full force and a washed-out bridge making it impossible for law enforcement to come to the rescue, it’s practically like all those classic murder mysteries in isolated country manors that Christopher has been penning for sixteen years! If only Miss Butterwith was on hand. Or even Mr. Pinkerton…
So I got sucked in another Josh Lanyon book. The thing with her is that her characters, in this case both MCs, takes getting used to or bluntly put, hard to like but happily, in the end, they always pull through.
Christopher “Kit” Holmes is an incorrigible drama queen who can’t shut up and just had to make those inappropriate jokes but when he seriously puts his mind to work, he’s actually smarter than his verbal diarrhea made him seem. I don’t like the way Kit keeps complaining about his “old age”. Seriously dude, you are only 39, that’s not old. Kit had a “5-minute thing” with another mystery writer, JX, ten years ago and they meet again at the writers’ conference. JX Moriarity comes across as asshole-ish but he always made sure Kit is safe and that’s a big plus. JX is an ex-cop, so he took charge of the situation but that also puts him in a good place to hide evidence. He is 5 years younger than Kit, and is now more successful than him. He is the only one who calls Christopher “Kit” which I find really cute.
As par for course, the mystery takes center stage. I love the trapped in a big house mystery trope and the shout out to (and possible shade on) The Cat Who series because it’s one of my favorite mystery series. I think smarter readers would have figured out the killer but me, I placed my bets on the wrong horses. I was even halfway convince that JX was the killer if it wasn’t for the fact that he was the love interest. Hell, I’m no Sherlock, sad to say.
The romance was not fluffy. The old flames still burned and it was fun watching them deal with the past and present chemistry. But it’s also full of miscommunications because one talks too much and the other hardly explains himself. But somehow, it worked! When they talk properly that is.
Holmes & Moriarity is another murder mystery series I’m committing myself to. Lanyon has a way with mysteries that just grabs you and keeps you riveted. This duo is typical of the author but also different enough to keep things interesting. I really liked the mystery writers solving actual mysteries premise and I want to see where Kit and JX take their relationship. Also if Kit comes up with fresh ideas for his new book or if he’s stuck with the regency/mystery/paranormal/erotica thing Rachel, his agent, is pushing for. Let’s face it Kit, it’s time to put a new spin on things but safe to say, I don’t think Rachel’s going to make you attend any writers’ conference anytime soon.
P.S.
Reviews of Josh Lanyon’s books here.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
Soundtrack: Jenny was a Friend of Mine
Artist: The Killers
Album: Hot Fuss(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31363985-somebody-killed-his-editor)
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The Art of Murder: The Mermaid Murders – Josh Lanyon
Special Agent Jason West is seconded from the FBI Art Crime Team to temporarily partner with disgraced, legendary “manhunter” Sam Kennedy when it appears that Kennedy’s most famous case, the capture and conviction of a serial killer known as The Huntsman, may actually have been a disastrous failure.
For The Huntsman is still out there… and the killing has begun again.
Let it be known that the cover bears no relation to the story other than at some point Special Agent Jason West got wet. Also, not to spoil the story but I felt sorry for the perp. His life was ruined because of some mouthy spoiled rich brat. It could have gone another way for him.
People have complained about the lack of romance but I like the fact that it’s not romance-heavy given that these agents have known each other for less than a week and didn’t even like each other at the start. I would even go so far as to say the romance was unnecessary but since this is MM, romance and sex are almost always a given. If this was a murder mystery story with FBI agents who happened to be gay and do not necessarily fall in love with each other, it would still be as enjoyable.
I am not much a fan of the partners-to-lovers trope because the agents tend to bungle up because of some stupid emotion towards their partner (see Agents Irish and Whiskey) but here, both agents kept their heads and most of their professionalism intact. And unlike Agents Irish and Whiskey, this series needs no suspension of disbelief. Both agents were competent and solved the mystery in a timely manner.
As with the other Josh Lanyon story I have read, The Mermaid Murders focused mostly on the mystery. West and Special Agent Sam Kennedy are tasked to solve the supposed copycat killings in rural Kingsfield. Kennedy had captured the Huntsman ten years ago and now there was a possibility that he either got the wrong man or the serial killer had a disciple.
Kennedy, whom almost nobody liked, was good at hunting killers. At first, he and West didn’t get along so well. Kennedy was being an asshole but West proved himself despite serial killings not being his specialty and Kennedy couldn’t help but like him. True to form, he tried to push West away. All West is asking is a date, stupid Kennedy!
I like West’s specialization. He has a Masters in Art History which he used in the Art Crime Team. I liked how he compares the things he sees to paintings. Kennedy has a past (of course he has) which he didn’t want to talk about but we’ll see on the succeeding books.
At the start, I was listening with only half my brain engaged but the story drew me in. I couldn’t exactly pinpoint which part started getting my full attention but halfway through, I was fully invested in the story. It was a good mystery. I was in the dark with who was the real killer until the last part. Then there was the creepy but intriguing doctor who hightailed it when he was being questioned. I had a feeling we will see him in the succeeding books. And the suspense! I almost couldn’t bear the tension when West was down there at the basement. I was anticipating all sorts of bad things happening to him. All I can say is, you got me there, Lanyon!
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Kinder Murder
Artist: Elvis Costello
Album: Brutal Youth(source: https://www.goodreads.com/series/169224-the-art-of-murder)
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Murder Takes the High Road – Josh Lanyon
From award-winning male/male author Josh Lanyon: a librarian finds himself in a plot right out of one of his favorite mystery novels
Librarian Carter Matheson is determined to enjoy himself on a Scottish bus tour for fans of mystery author Dame Vanessa Rayburn. Sure, his ex, Trevor, will also be on the trip with his new boyfriend, leaving Carter to share a room with a stranger, but he can’t pass up a chance to meet his favorite author.
Carter’s roommate turns out to be John Knight, a figure as mysterious as any character from Vanessa’s books. His strange affect and nighttime wanderings make Carter suspicious. When a fellow traveler’s death sparks rumors of foul play, Carter is left wondering if there’s anyone on the tour he can trust.
Drawn into the intrigue, Carter searches for answers, trying to fend off his growing attraction toward John. As unexplained tragedies continue, the whole tour must face the fact that there may be a murderer in their midst—but who?
This book is approximately 60,000 words.
I would love to go on a ‘Tour to Die for’ across Scotland! Explore old castles, find hidden panels and trap doors, see a headless ghost or two. If ever I do save enough money to go on a trip abroad, I’d make pilgrimages to anime sites in Japan or literary settings in the UK. I hope K.J. Charles does a book tour or maybe Jordan L. Hawk. I wish Widdershin’s a real place.
Murder Takes the High Road is an Agatha Christie-flavored mystery that I couldn’t stop listening to. Poor Carter Matheson, a librarian who had to endure his ex, Trevor and Trevor’s new boyfriend, Vans, in a group tour for fans of Dame Vanessa Rayburn. Carter meets the rest of the fans among them John Knight, who turned out to join the tour for some vague reason and who was not really a fan. Carter and John were roommates and they clicked really well. I liked their easy-going camaraderie and friendly banter.
Trevor was being an ass and a drama queen. He was probably the most annoying member of the group. I was as exasperated as Carter at the fact that Trevor kept making it sound like Carter was the one who was trying to win him back. Me, I was just relieved Carter had moved on to better things (or in this case, better man) already.
Dame Vanessa Rayburn is a very interesting woman. Killed her boyfriend at 15, served jail time then went on to become a best selling novelist with an OBE to boot. She lives in an old castle in an island. The tour was in her honor and it is said that somebody died on the previous tour and then, somebody actually died on the tour that Carter was in. Nobody noticed anything except Carter who felt the itch to investigate. He was no Poirot but he did figure everything out.
I liked how the author didn’t push the romance too far beyond what is plausible for two people who were together for only a couple of days. It was the mystery that took center stage. I find the mystery within a mystery clever but the big reveal was somehow anti-climactic. Maybe I was expecting it to be more shocking but the suspects were already obvious since they stick out too much. There was one slightly sour note when John was being a killjoy and found the game a bit too much but for me, I think it was a genius idea for a themed tour. I got John’s point about Vanessa and she got what she deserved at the end.The book ended on a hopeful note and we can imagine Carter and John taking another trip across the Scottish Isles. Good riddance to Trevor.
This is my first full-length Josh Lanyon novel. I really liked it. It’s a great mix of romance and mystery. The romance might not be the all out passionate romance that most people seem to like but I really liked Carter and John’s natural chemistry. I think this is the kind of relationship that last. The mystery might not be as mind-boggling as the best ones out there but it has enough twists and turns to keep one from being bored. However with that ending, we need a sequel or an epilogue that would wrap things up in a neat, tidy bow.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
Soundtrack: Watching the Detectives
Artist: Elvis Costello
Album: My Aim is True(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25825973-murder-takes-the-high-road)
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REVIEW: Single Malt by Layla Reyne
Agents Irish and Whiskey: Single Malt – Layla Reyne
The heart’s a resilient beast
Eight months after the car crash that changed everything, FBI agent Aidan Talley is back at work. New department, new case and a new partner. Smart, athletic and handsome, Jameson Walker is twelve years his junior. Even if Aidan was ready to move on—and he’s not—Jamie is off-limits.
Jamie’s lusted after Aidan for three years, and the chance to work with San Francisco’s top agent directly is too good to pass up. Aidan is prickly—to put it mildly—but a growing cyber threat soon proves Jamie’s skills invaluable.
Jamie’s talents paint a target on his back, and Aidan is determined to protect him. But with hack after hack threatening a high-security biocontainment facility, time is running out to thwart a deadly terrorist attack. They’ll have to filter out distractions, on the case and in their partnership, to identify the real enemy, solve the case and save thousands of lives, including their own.
God, I was bored. I found myself tuning out majority of the time because it was so dull. If this was an ebook, I wouldn’t be able to finish this. But I had the audiobook and I enjoyed Aidan’s Irish brogue and Jamie’s southern drawl enough to go through the whole thing but it mostly felt like a chore. Both agents were likeable but I couldn’t care less about the the mystery, the romance and the characters. A lot of people seem to love this. I’m beginning to think contemporary books and me just don’t click. I should stick with the historical, paranormal or magical.
Rating:
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn book
Soundtrack: 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
Artist: The White Stripes
Album: Icky Thump(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33296928-single-malt)
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Russ Morgan Mystery: Enigma – Lloyd A. Meeker
Who’s blackmailing the high-profile televangelist whose son was famously cured of his homosexuality fifteen years ago? Now in 2009, that ought to be ancient history.
It seems there’s no secret to protect, no crime, not even a clear demand for money—just four threatening letters using old Enigma songs from the 90′s. But they’ve got Reverend Howard Richardson spooked.
Proudly fifty and unhappily single, gay PI Russ Morgan has made peace with being a psychic empath, and he’s managed to build a decent life since getting sober. As he uncovers obscene secrets shrouded in seeming righteousness he might have to make peace with a sword of justice that cuts the innocent as deeply as the guilty.
I already had an inkling on who’s doing it a quarter through the story but I kept on reading because the secrets unrevealed confirmed what I had always suspect: holier than thou high-profile televangelists are indeed creepy.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18397568-enigma)
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Sano Ichiro: The Concubine’s Tattoo – Laura Joh Rowland
Twenty months spent as the shogun’s sosakan-sama–most honorable investigator of events, situations, and people–has left Sano Ichiro weary. He looks forward to the comforts that his arranged marriage promises: a private life with a sweet, submissive wife and a month’s holiday to celebrate their union. However, the death of the shogun’s favorite concubine interrupts the couple’s wedding ceremony and shatters any hopes the samurai detective had about enjoying a little peace with his new wife.
After Sano traces the cause of Lady Harume’s death to a self-inflicted tattoo, he must travel into the cloistered, forbidden world of the shogun’s women to untangle the complicated web of Harume’s lovers, rivals, and troubled past, and identify her killer. To make matters worse, Reiko, his beautiful young bride, reveals herself to be not a traditional, obedient wife, but instead, a headstrong, intelligent, aspiring detective bent on helping Sano with his new case. Sano is horrified at her unladylike behavior, and the resulting sparks make their budding love as exciting as they mystery surrounding Lady Harume’s death. Amid the heightened tensions and political machinations of feudal Japan, Sano faces a daunting complex investigation.
As subtle as the finest lacquered screen, as powerful as the slash of a sword, Laura Joh Rowland’s The Concubine’s Tattoo vividly brings to life a story of murder, jealousy, sexual intrigue, and political storms that keeps is in its spell until the final, shattering scene.
It’s one of those books where I couldn’t care less about the main characters and was rooting hard for the antagonist. Not a gay book per se but it features a gay couple that broke up (not the most accurate of words) because of the detective’s wife. Boy, I had never been pissed at a meddling wife before as I was with her. So angry that I vowed never to read this series or this author’s books again.
Biased reaction aside, I liked the story. It was never boring. The setting was interesting too. It was refreshing to read about detectives that are not from the western part of the world.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/310804.The_Concubine_s_Tattoo)
