Clever writing, great characters

books:

	• The Hell You Say Josh Lanyon MLR Press, 2007 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 24 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

changes abound

Caution: spoiler follows. Please reconsider reading this review if you've not yet read the first two books in this series.

This is the third book in the Adrien English series. The first two develop the main characters, mainly Adrien himself and Jake Riordan (the closeted cop who both loves and fears loving Adrien). In the last book, Adrien and Jake had basically become seriously involved when Jake followed Adrien to a home he'd inherited and where he'd once again encountered a murderer. In that same book, Jake had managed to overcome his fear of exploring his own homosexuality and was able to enjoy a non-S&M relationship with Adrien while also clearly developing stronger feelings for him. And verky vickey, as my Aussie friend would say, as Adrien's feelings for Jake intensified as well.

We pick up here with Jake unable to fully commit himself once he's back home. He was never really likely to just open his life up to the scrutiny and ridicule a gay cop would encounter, and he also never seemed unable to rid himself of his dreams of "normalcy," so we find him inching here towards that "normal life" and all it would involve.

As a result, he and Adrien are estranged throughout this novel, but that doesn't mean the usual tension between them isn't still there. It very much is, and that kept me interested right along with the relatively enjoyable plot, which involves Adrien trying to suss out what's happened with and to his salesclerk, Angus (hope I'm not misremembering the young man's name), who appears to be embroiled in some occult goings-on.

Certain parts of this novel are predictable, but that's the way with series mysteries/romances, at least in my experience. For example, it's a given that Adrien will end up practically buried under dead bodies and intrigue, and it's inevitable that Jake would have to be involved somehow in the investigation. It's also inevitable that Adrien's mother would somehow be encouraging him to put aside his usual personality traits in order to live more like her ideal for him.

Interesting family additions when Adrien's mom takes on a new spouse, and the new sisters are intriguing (as long as they ultimately get a bit more rounded, as they're very stereotypical here).

I can't wait for the next installment, especially after reading the excerpt on Mr. Lanyon's site.

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A new favorite

I've come in late to the game in discovering this author's particular talents, but after reading his Adrien English mysteries, I'm in for the duration. This book follows through on the promise of the two earlier shorter books, with a delightful cast of characters and a charming protagonist. The mystery itself is built wonderfully, though the climax and follow-through are rather anticlimactic. I would've wanted more time to come down from the tense ride he constructed, but in light of getting to spend time with Adrien, I'm forgiving. He's the heart and soul of the books. It looks like they're being marketed as romances, but if that was what I was looking for, I'd be disappointed. I really don't care for the cop Jake who's placed as Adrien's romantic interest for this and the first two books.

But don't let that stop you. Lanyon has a tight, compelling voice, and his 1st person narrator is one of the most sympathetic I've read in mysteries in a long time. There's always a touch of noir that adds another layer to his work. I'm very excited about the fourth book that's supposed to come out later this year.

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Awesome

Another great offering in the Adrien English mystery series. Lanyon's writing style is crisp and guaranteed to grab you with humor and sudden suspense. Adrien struggles against all the odds to solve the latest mystery that hits very close to home, literally affecting his business/home, Cloak and Dagger books. He sets out to help clear his dubious employee Angus and runs head-long into conflicts with Satanists, UCLA professors, and a whole gamut of wacky to lethal black arts personalities all the while he continues to struggle in his relationship with the complex and molten hot closeted Jake. Don't miss it!

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Clever writing, great characters

The Hell You Say is Josh Lanyon's third Adrien English mystery, and unfortunately the first I've read: I'll be happy to catch up on the first books in the series (A Dangerous Thing and Fatal Shadows) if they're as good as this one. Adrien, in his early 30s, is the proprietor of Cloak and Dagger Books, which as its name suggests specializes in mysteries. Adrien writes mysteries himself that are published by a "lunatic fringe publishing house": his protagonist is a gay Shakespearian actor turned amateur sleuth. Adrien is gay himself, with a very closeted detective boyfriend, and like any good amateur sleuth he tends to fall into real-life mysteries more often than most. He also has trouble keeping employees: in an earlier outing Adrien's clerk was killed. This time around the dead clerk's replacement, Angus, is being harassed by Satanists. Over his boyfriend's objections, Adrien gets involved with the LA occult scene while trying to sniff out who's behind Angus's persecution and a handful of recent murders that just may be related.

Lanyon's book is simply a great cozy. Adrien is a complex and likable character who's plagued by an unsatisfactory relationship and by familial entanglements wrought by his mother's recent decision to remarry. The writing is clever:

"I followed her through the immaculate and beautifully decorated foyer into an immaculate and beautifully decorated living room through an immaculate and beautifully decorated dining room into a less immaculate but still beautifully decorated family room, which adjoined a kitchen that was full of girls. It sounded like an aviary. Or possibly a hen house.

"Actually it was only Lauren and Natalie.

"'Hi, Adrien!' they chorused.

"Did they all live here?

"'Hey there,' I said. I could not for the life of me figure out why they were all beaming at me with the delight of Aztec priests at the arrival of a well-nourished youth. What did they imagine this bonding ritual entailed?"

But the cleverness doesn't get out of hand. That is, it's never too much (a là Jasper Fforde's over-clever books). The mystery holds together perfectly. In short, there isn't a false note in the book.

Surprisingly, The Hell You Say was initially self-published via iUniverse (this is the copy I have; it's possible that the text has been revised since for re-publication), but I'm happy to say that all the books in the series have been picked up by MLR Press, a publisher of gay fiction and erotic romance with (according to the publisher's web site) a "high level of sensuality and raw passion." Hopefully the book won't be pigeon-holed as gay lit and thus lose out on attracting a larger audience. There's nothing particularly erotic in the book, certainly no raw passion. It's simply a very well written cozy whose protagonist happens to be gay, with a sex life not much juicier than Jessica Fletcher's.

A fourth Adrien English mystery, Death of a Pirate King, is due out in September of 2008.

-- Debra Hamel

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A great read!

I enjoy a good mystery - this book certainly was one- but it was really the characters at the core of the story that made the book something I will return to again and again, despite knowing the identity of the murderer.

Adrien and his troubled, and very realistic relationship with closeted cop, Jake, made this a wonderful, gripping book. Though they don't have anything close to a happy ending I felt satisfied. Of course it helps to know that there's another book coming out soon. I'm ever hopeful that Adrien will get his man eventually!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The third novel in the Adrien English series finds the "ill-starred and bookish" mystery writer and bookseller battling demons--maybe literally. After bookstore clerk Angus flees following terrifying death threats, Adrien must contend with a mysterious Satanic cult, a hot and handsome university professor, and his on-again/off-again relationship with closeted LAPD Homicide Detective Jake Riordan. And, oh, yes, murder...

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