Holmes & Moriarity #1
An isolated writer’s conference. A brutal real-life murder. WAY too many cocktails.
Can a mystery author and an ex-cop combine their powers of deduction to find the killer?
Turning forty has left much to be desired for mystery writer Christopher Holmes. After both his boyfriend and long-time publisher dump him, he worries his life is officially at the start of a steep decline. Stranded at a writing conference for the weekend, he never expected to bump into an old flame… or stumble across a dead body in the woods.
Ex-cop JX Moriarity is soaking up all the newfound fame from his successful crime fiction. When the only bridge into the conference venue washes away to reveal a dead body, Moriarity falls back on old skills to secure and investigate the crime scene. But even his years of experience couldn't prepare him for the discovery of a second body: his irascible, but awfully cute ex-boyfriend Christopher. WAIT. ER, no, the corpse of Christopher's obnoxious editor.
With all fingers pointing to Holmes, Moriarity has no choice but to clear the name of the man who broke his heart. Can the ex-lovers solve the murders and rekindle their passion, or will a killer attendee write them out of their Happy Ever After for good?
Somebody Killed His Editor is the first book in the madcap Holmes & Moriarity romantic gay mystery series. If you like tongue-in-cheek humor, crazy twists and turns, and sizzling chemistry, then you'll love Josh Lanyon's kooky, quirky novel.
I enjoyed this book although not as much as I enjoyed the author's Adrien English or Dangerous Ground series but it was still very good. You couldn't help but love Christopher as he found himself in the middle of a real life Agatha Christie style murder weekend. Considering he writes murder mysteries and yet has never had any "first hand" experience of the subject, he handled himself quite well.
1st Re-Read 2016:
I think I loved this even more the second time around. Kit and JX still aren't Adrien and Jake from her Adrien English series but they are definitely giving them a run for their money. Love the way they play off each other. Even knowing the mystery doesn't take anything away from the enjoyment. Somebody Killed His Editor, simply put, is just plain fun!Overall Series Re-Read Review 2018:
(Technically, this is only a re-read review of the first three in the series as the fourth was just released a few weeks ago.) There is just something about Holmes & Moriarity that helps them stand out from the typical crime-fighting duo(okay maybe not "crime fighting" more like "crime stumbling" but you get the idea). Is it their banter? Is it their mystery-solving abilities? Is it their chemistry? It's all of the above and so much more. Kit and JX are made for each other even if Kit is reluctant to jump head first into the relationship like JX does but that doesn't lessen his want to be there. I love Kit's devotion to his creation, Miss Butterwith & Mr. Pinkerton even when everyone around him is telling him the spinster detective and her cat have run its course. As for the mysteries Kit finds himself in the middle of, well generally it's just dumb luck he is where he is but he still finds a way to get to the answers. I hope we see Kit and JX stumble upon many more cases but whether Miss Lanyon brings us one more or a hundred Holmes & Moriarity adventures I'll be re-visiting them for years to come.
RATING:
Josh Lanyon
(Technically, this is only a re-read review of the first three in the series as the fourth was just released a few weeks ago.) There is just something about Holmes & Moriarity that helps them stand out from the typical crime-fighting duo(okay maybe not "crime fighting" more like "crime stumbling" but you get the idea). Is it their banter? Is it their mystery-solving abilities? Is it their chemistry? It's all of the above and so much more. Kit and JX are made for each other even if Kit is reluctant to jump head first into the relationship like JX does but that doesn't lessen his want to be there. I love Kit's devotion to his creation, Miss Butterwith & Mr. Pinkerton even when everyone around him is telling him the spinster detective and her cat have run its course. As for the mysteries Kit finds himself in the middle of, well generally it's just dumb luck he is where he is but he still finds a way to get to the answers. I hope we see Kit and JX stumble upon many more cases but whether Miss Lanyon brings us one more or a hundred Holmes & Moriarity adventures I'll be re-visiting them for years to come.
RATING:
Someone was howling—a thin, breathless cry that was, in fact, more breath than cry.
Me.
Far from splitting the night, my bleat barely carried three feet, so I had no trouble hearing my attacker’s exasperated, “What. The. Fuck?”
I knew that voice.
I bit off the rest of my screech and sat up, wincing as pain shot up my spine. I was sitting in a puddle, ice-cold water soaking through my trousers. The last time I remembered being decked had been a playground rumble at Our Holy Mother. I’d been thirteen. My bounce had been better back then. Now I felt like I’d wrenched every muscle in my already worn-out body. And my back… I’d be lucky if I wasn’t crippled for a month. I wiped the mud off my face.
“I am so going to sue your ass,” I spluttered.
“Well, what the hell are you doing out here?” J.X. demanded.
No apology seemed forthcoming. Also, I couldn’t help noticing, neither was help from the lodge. Were we too far away to be heard? Not a happy thought.
“What do you think I’m doing? I’m going to my cabin.”
“Crawling on your hands and knees?”
“I wasn’t on my hands and knees till you knocked me down.”
“You sure as hell were skulking in the bushes.”
“I heard something—you—and I was making sure it was safe.”
He continued to stare down at me. I wished I could see his face. His motionless outline caused my scalp to prickle. Then he reached down a hand.
His hand was warm on my chilled one. Again I was aware of his wiry strength. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he was in a hell of a lot better shape. He pulled me to my feet and dropped my hand.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, uneasily rubbing the twinging small of my back.
“Grabbing a log for my fireplace.” He reached past me and picked up a nice stout sawed-off limb. “It’s going to be a cold night.” He picked up another log. “Here’s one for you.”
“Thanks.” I stepped out of range, trying not to be too obvious about it. Not that I didn’t appreciate the gesture, but there was something unconvincing in his manner. What had he been looking for out here?
J.X. still held out the log. I took it gingerly.
“I’ll see you to your cabin.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” I remembered my minibar set up. “Hang on.”
I limped back to where I’d set down the tray. Everything was as I’d left it. I lifted the tray and nearly dropped it. J.X. stood right behind me, log in hand.
I managed to save the gin. The tonic water, ice bucket, and glass slid off the tray and landed in the mud.
“What is it with you?” I demanded and thrust the log and the tray at him. I knelt, gathering up the fizzing bottle and glass. The scattered ice cubes winked dully in the pallid moonlight.
“What the hell is this about?” J.X. indicated the tray.
“What the hell does it look like? I’m planning to drown my sorrows.”
“That’s not going to solve anything.”
“I’m not trying to solve anything.” I added pointedly, “I’ll leave that to the experts.”
“It’s your head,” he said. “Come on.” He put his hand under my arm as I started to rise, and I nearly lost the entire load again.
“Do you mind?”
“Sorry. Jesus, you’re jumpy.”
“I can’t imagine why.” I rebalanced and set off—limping—down the path.
“Do you really have a bad back?” he asked, behind me.
“No, it’s just something I say to get chicks.”
He didn’t respond, but as we reached the edge of the meadow, he caught me up so that we were walking side by side. “This way.”
I followed him down the dirt path that cut across the open field toward the cabins. The sodden clouds had parted, and a lackluster moon gilded everything in unnatural light. In the absence of the rain and wind, the stillness seemed uncanny.
Mostly to fill the uncomfortable silence between myself and J.X., I said, “There’s something eerie about the stillness.”
“It’s the eye of the storm.”
“You mean there’s more rain on the way?”
“Oh yeah. We’re a couple of hours away from another downpour.”
“Great.”
“Which is your cabin?”
“That one—with the lights on.”
He said sharply, “Did you leave the light on?”
“Yes.” I cast a quick glance at his silvered profile. “Why? You don’t really think I’m in any danger, do you?”
“No.”
“You could try to sound a little more convincing.”
What he sounded was irritable. “You had to go around telling everyone Peaches had been murdered, didn’t you?”
“That’s it.” I stopped walking. The glassware rattled to a halt with me. “We need to have this out here and now.” I was talking to his back. “Hey.”
He kept walking. I had to trot to catch up—which irritated me further.
“Listen,” I said, “I did not tell anyone anything. Peaches was everybody’s candidate for unnatural selection. From the minute I said I found her in the woods, people were speculating about how she died.”
“And you encouraged their speculation.”
“I didn’t. I didn’t say anything one way or the other. I didn’t know anything one way or the other. I still don’t.”
J.X. stopped walking. His voice was low. “We both know she was killed.”
Saturday Series Sporlight
Monday's Mysterious Mayhem
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
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