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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)
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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)
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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)
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Noticed Me Yet? – Anita Sunday
Jacob’s in a pickle. He needs a new flatmate, and soon. And what better way to advertise than on the noticeboards around campus?
Trouble is, someone is taking down his ads.
Jacob writes to the offending thief, little expecting to be answered—and soon he finds himself in a deeper pickle: who is this Mr. X that he keeps writing to?
And how can Jacob be falling for him?
I was excited for this book but it didn’t really live up to my expectations. The notes exchange itself was long and boring so I ended skimming those parts but I was glad the guy I was rooting for turned out to be Mr. X. Fluffy and sweet is my thing so I would recommend this if you like that too.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28423328-noticed-me-yet)
