My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The story
One sunny morning Los Angeles bookseller and aspiring mystery author Adrien English opens his front door to murder. His old high school buddy (and employee) has been found stabbed to death in a back alley following a loud and very public argument with Adrien the previous evening.
Naturally the cops want to ask Adrien a few questions; they are none too impressed with his answers, and when a few hours later someone breaks into Adrien’s shop and ransacks it, the law is inclined to think Adrien is trying to divert suspicion from himself.
Adrien knows better. Adrien knows he is next on the killer’s list.
My take on it
Somebody pointed me towards Josh Lanyon and boy, am I glad they did! Given that Josh is listed under LBTG and Gay Thriller / Romance on Amazon, I probably wouldn’t have discovered these books by myself. I started reading Fatal Shadows without being aware that the protagonist and love interest are both male. Not that it made the slightest bit of difference – I finished the book within a day and a half, it was that awesome 🙂
The protagonist is Adrien English, mystery writer and owner of the Cloak and Dagger bookstore in LA. Adrien is a kick-ass, yet strangely vulnerable hero. An acquired heart condition makes it difficult for him to tolerate sudden physical or emotional stress. He doesn’t let it hold him back but occasionally, his physical condition impacts on the plot. I love the way the author has handled this. Rather than dump a physical handicap on the hero as a means of making him more interesting, the heart condition is an integral part of the plot.
Adrien becomes the suspect in the murder of one of his oldest friends and employees. Jake Riordan, one of the detectives investigating the case, is bisexual but so far in the closet, he’d do pretty much anything to not be exposed. There is an immediate attraction between the two men which grows stronger throughout the book. Both men are struggling against it for different reasons.
What made the book so amazing to me is the wealth of supporting characters, from Adrien’s overbearing mother to the members of a book writing group meeting at Cloak and Dagger. Add this to the cohesive plot, great characterisation, very cool dialogue and the at times lyrical descriptions, you have an exciting thriller with a great romance woven through, with a touch of 1940s noir storytelling.
[button text=”Amazon” url=”https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Shadows-Adrien-English-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B007ZRH38I/marioherma20-20″ class=””]
[button text=”Apple iBooks” url=”https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/fatal-shadows/id532564064?mt=11″ class=””]
Do you agree? Did you like it? Share your thoughts and comments below!
I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post.
“Hi there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.”
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve visited this site before but after undergoing several of the posts
I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely pleased I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it
and checking back regularly!
Hi! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your posts.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics?
Thanks a ton!