Adrien English Mysteries #4
And it is, it is a glorious thing to be a Pirate King!
When murder makes an appearance at a dinner party, who should be called in but Adrien's former lover, handsome closeted detective Jake Riordan, now a Lieutenant with LAPD—which may just drive Adrien's new boyfriend, sexy UCLA professor Guy Snowden, to commit a murder of his own.
Original Review 2013:
Another great entry in the Adrien English Mysteries. I enjoyed the interactions between Adrien and Jake now that 2yrs has gone by since they stopped whatever it was they actually had. The mystery was well developed with interesting and intriguing revelations. Truly a great read!
Another great entry in the Adrien English Mysteries. I enjoyed the interactions between Adrien and Jake now that 2yrs has gone by since they stopped whatever it was they actually had. The mystery was well developed with interesting and intriguing revelations. Truly a great read!
2nd Re-Read Review 2016:
So much Adrien/Jake goodness, I just hated to see it end again. Off to re-read #5.
So much Adrien/Jake goodness, I just hated to see it end again. Off to re-read #5.
Overall 4th Re-Read Review 2018:
I really don't know what I can say about Adrien English that I haven't already said but I'll try😉😉. On paper Adrien "with an 'e'" English and Jake Riordan shouldn't work, they not only shouldn't work they really shouldn't even be in the same city but they do work. Yes, you'll want to strangle Jake on more than one occasion but truth is he is protective and loving(okay the loving bit happens eventually but acceptance of oneself doesn't have a set timetable) he is just what Adrien needs and Adrien is exactly what Jake needs, even if their timing needs a little tweaking. The mysteries are amazing and even knowing the outcome with no surprises anymore, I am still on the edge-of-my-seat and can't-put-it-down enthralled when it comes to this series. This one has become a required annual read for me and I don't foresee a time when it won't be.
Overall Series Audiobook Review 2019:
Adrien with an "e", what can I say that I haven't already said? Nothing really because I absolutely adore Adrien and Jake. Yes, there are multiple times I want to whack Jake upside the head but he's learning, albeit slowly sometimes but still learning. There's heartbreak, there's joy, there's murder, and well there's plenty of love(even if it takes Jake a little longer to accept).
All but the final Christmas novella is narrated by Chris Patton and his voice is perfect for these two. I couldn't imagine listening to anyone else bring life to the pair but then when I listened to So This is Christmas, read by Kale Williams, he too is . . . well for the lack of a better word(and not to sound redundant😉) . . . brilliant. Obviously there is a difference between the two narrators but since Adrien and Jake are settled, or as settled as they can be considering Adrien's knack for stumbling into mayhem, which changes people and so the difference in narrators kind of reflects that I thought. So I say spot on to all involved bringing Adrien English and Jake Riordan to life.
RATING:
I really don't know what I can say about Adrien English that I haven't already said but I'll try😉😉. On paper Adrien "with an 'e'" English and Jake Riordan shouldn't work, they not only shouldn't work they really shouldn't even be in the same city but they do work. Yes, you'll want to strangle Jake on more than one occasion but truth is he is protective and loving(okay the loving bit happens eventually but acceptance of oneself doesn't have a set timetable) he is just what Adrien needs and Adrien is exactly what Jake needs, even if their timing needs a little tweaking. The mysteries are amazing and even knowing the outcome with no surprises anymore, I am still on the edge-of-my-seat and can't-put-it-down enthralled when it comes to this series. This one has become a required annual read for me and I don't foresee a time when it won't be.
Adrien with an "e", what can I say that I haven't already said? Nothing really because I absolutely adore Adrien and Jake. Yes, there are multiple times I want to whack Jake upside the head but he's learning, albeit slowly sometimes but still learning. There's heartbreak, there's joy, there's murder, and well there's plenty of love(even if it takes Jake a little longer to accept).
All but the final Christmas novella is narrated by Chris Patton and his voice is perfect for these two. I couldn't imagine listening to anyone else bring life to the pair but then when I listened to So This is Christmas, read by Kale Williams, he too is . . . well for the lack of a better word(and not to sound redundant😉) . . . brilliant. Obviously there is a difference between the two narrators but since Adrien and Jake are settled, or as settled as they can be considering Adrien's knack for stumbling into mayhem, which changes people and so the difference in narrators kind of reflects that I thought. So I say spot on to all involved bringing Adrien English and Jake Riordan to life.
RATING:
When I woke, the buzzer was ringing downstairs.
I sat up, groggy and a little confused by a series of weird dreams. The corners in the room were deep in shadow. Just for a moment it looked like someplace else, someplace strange, someone else’s house. It looked like the home of whoever would live here years after I was gone.
The clock in the VCR informed me that it was eight o’clock. Shit. I’d stood Guy up for dinner.
The buzzer downstairs rang again, loud and impatient.
Not Guy, because he had a key.
No way, I thought. I started coughing like I’d inhaled a mouthful of dust. Dusty memories maybe.
I got up, adrenaline zinging through my system like someone had flipped a switch. Heading downstairs, I turned on the ground level lights. I crossed the silent floor of towering shelves and strategically placed chairs, my eyes on the tall silhouette lurking behind the bars of the security gate.
Somehow I knew — even before he moved into the unhealthy yellow glow of the porch light. I swore under my breath and unlocked the front door. Pushed the security gate aside.
“Can I come in?”
I hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure.” I moved out of the way. “More questions?”
“That’s right.” Jake stepped inside the store and stared around himself.
The previous spring I’d bought the building space next door, and between the bookstore and the gutted rooms was a dividing wall of clear, heavy plastic. Otherwise it didn’t look too different: same comfortable chairs, fake fireplace, tall walnut shelves of books, same enigmatic smiles of the kabuki masks on the wall. Everything as it was. Me excluded. I had certainly changed.
I remembered when I’d first met Jake, when he’d been investigating Robert Hersey’s murder. He’d scared the hell out of me, and I wondered now why I hadn’t paid attention to that first healthy instinct.
Death of a Pirate King is deserving of more than 5 stars so I have rated it as a Desert Island Keeper (DIK) which is the highest rating on this blog.
His eyes came at last to rest on me. He didn’t say anything.
“Déjà vu,” I said, and was relieved that my tone was just about right.
It seemed to annoy Jake, though. Or maybe he was annoyed at being forced to remember there had ever been anything between us besides criminal investigation.
He said flatly, “I want to know what you were holding back when we interviewed you this afternoon.”
That caught me off guard. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. I know you. You were hiding something.”
Now that really was ironic. “You think?”
He just stared, immovable, implacable, impossible. “Yeah.”
“I guess some things never change.”
“Yeah,” he drawled. “Two years later I find you smack in the middle of another homicide investigation. Coincidence?”
“You think not?” I started coughing again, which was aggravating as hell.
He just stood there watching.
When I’d got my breath again, I rasped, “If I were hiding something I guess it was the realization that you and Paul Kane are also already…acquainted.”
He didn’t say a word.
“Same club, old chap?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You sound jealous, Adrien. And bitter.”
Did I? The thought startled me.
“Nah. Just curious.”
“About?”
I shrugged. “Not really my business.”
“You’ve got that right.” He was curt. After a moment he said slowly, “So that’s all it was? You guessed that Paul and I…knew each other.”
“In the Biblical sense?” I mocked. “Yeah.”
Silence.
After we’d parted company he’d called twice when I hadn’t been there to take his call. Or maybe I had been there, but just hadn’t picked up. Anyway, I knew from caller ID who the hang-up calls were from.
And then, eleven months after the whole thing was over, he’d called and actually left a message.
It’s Jake.
Like, did he think I’d forgotten his voice along with his number?
Silence.
It’d be nice to talk to you sometime.
As he himself would have said: Uh-huh.
Silence.
Dial tone.
What did he think we’d talk about? His marriage? Work? The weather?
“So are we done?” I heard the tension crackle in my voice and knew he heard it too. I didn’t have the strength to keep fencing with him. I didn’t have the energy to keep standing there pretending this wasn’t getting to me, that it wasn’t opening up a lot of wounds that weren’t as well healed as I’d believed.
He said flatly, “Yeah, we’re done.”
Josh LanyonBestselling author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON has been called "the Agatha Christie of gay mystery."
Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
Josh is married and they live in Southern California.Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
EMAIL: josh.lanyon@sbcglobal.net
Death of a Pirate King #4
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