tanilian's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
3.0
Christopher "Kit" Holmes cannot turn down a request to help out his former mentor, Anna Hitchcock. And he certainly wishes he could. But she's called to ask him to step in and host a writing retreat at her home and he must heed the call. And to do so he must cancel yet another weekend with J.X. Moriarty, his new boyfriend, putting strain on an already tenuous relationship.
But Kit finds his problems are worse than he imagined after he arrives at Anna's home. The fall that led to her injury and inability to host the event herself--well, it may not have been an accident. Anna suspects someone purposely injured her. And as Kit learns more about the various attendees at the writing retreat, he quickly learns that pretty much everyone around him has some level of motive for being the culprit. And Kit once again becomes an amateur sleuth, trying to find answers and unwittingly putting himself in danger. But will he be able to find out the truth before anyone else is hurt? And will he be able to make up with J.X. when all is said and done?
If you've read the first book in this series, you can expect a similar feel and approach in this second installment. Kit wanders unknowingly into a case and falls deep into his quest to solve it. Unexpected twists and turns fall onto his path along the way. And the danger becomes very real to him on more than one occasion. What's different here is that the ending doesn't wrap up quite as nicely as the first book. And probably not quite as nicely as most readers would like to see. But just as life is complex and doesn't always go the way we'd expect or like, I appreciate this approach on some level myself.
But Kit finds his problems are worse than he imagined after he arrives at Anna's home. The fall that led to her injury and inability to host the event herself--well, it may not have been an accident. Anna suspects someone purposely injured her. And as Kit learns more about the various attendees at the writing retreat, he quickly learns that pretty much everyone around him has some level of motive for being the culprit. And Kit once again becomes an amateur sleuth, trying to find answers and unwittingly putting himself in danger. But will he be able to find out the truth before anyone else is hurt? And will he be able to make up with J.X. when all is said and done?
If you've read the first book in this series, you can expect a similar feel and approach in this second installment. Kit wanders unknowingly into a case and falls deep into his quest to solve it. Unexpected twists and turns fall onto his path along the way. And the danger becomes very real to him on more than one occasion. What's different here is that the ending doesn't wrap up quite as nicely as the first book. And probably not quite as nicely as most readers would like to see. But just as life is complex and doesn't always go the way we'd expect or like, I appreciate this approach on some level myself.
skepticalmoose's review against another edition
4.0
Silly little mystery with surprisingly engaging character development.
mirocchi's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
nipomuki's review against another edition
4.0
cw for fat shaming, and some pretty explicit sex scenes for a cozy mystery
I really liked the first book in this series. Then and now the narration was exceptional. I had a harder time with Kit this time, as he was such a b... at the start of the book. But the mystery was really good.
I really liked the first book in this series. Then and now the narration was exceptional. I had a harder time with Kit this time, as he was such a b... at the start of the book. But the mystery was really good.
lalabristow's review against another edition
5.0
Previously Published on Patti's blog: Book Addict
Series review
Rating: 4.5 stars
*SPOILER FREE
Thanks so much to Patti for having me here today! I grasped with both hands this chance of talking about one of my favorite genres ever! M/M Romance Rocks and it needs to be said, loud and clear! =)
I am a HUGE Josh Lanyon fan, so I am constantly checking out his website and trying to find books of his that I haven’t read yet. On one of my most recent visits, I found the Homes & Moriarity books and I can’t believe I had not read them before!
Holmes is a former NYT Best-Seller, Cozy-mystery writer that has seen better days. His publisher is dropping him, he can’t seem to write anything anymore and his love life sucks, not in a good way. During a writer’s retreat that his manager strong armed him to attend, a murder occurs and following a series of mishaps, Homes is one of the prime suspects.
In enter Moriarity, a very successful Thriller writer and former flame of Holmes’, whose previous experience as law enforcement puts in the position of being the best man to take lead on the murder investigations, specially since him, Holmes and everyone else is stranded in the hotel where that retreat is taking place.
Holmes & Moriarity have amazing chemistry, but their past brief relationship keeps getting in the way and Josh does an awesome job in telling their story. Not only the romance part of either books is very satisfying, but the mystery in either novel is very very well constructed and gave me Agatha Christie’s flashbacks in a very good way.
Josh Lanyon is an extraordinary author and the Homes & Moriarity books are nothing if not the perfect example of his talent! I can’t wait for more from this series!
Series review
Rating: 4.5 stars
*SPOILER FREE
Thanks so much to Patti for having me here today! I grasped with both hands this chance of talking about one of my favorite genres ever! M/M Romance Rocks and it needs to be said, loud and clear! =)
I am a HUGE Josh Lanyon fan, so I am constantly checking out his website and trying to find books of his that I haven’t read yet. On one of my most recent visits, I found the Homes & Moriarity books and I can’t believe I had not read them before!
Holmes is a former NYT Best-Seller, Cozy-mystery writer that has seen better days. His publisher is dropping him, he can’t seem to write anything anymore and his love life sucks, not in a good way. During a writer’s retreat that his manager strong armed him to attend, a murder occurs and following a series of mishaps, Homes is one of the prime suspects.
In enter Moriarity, a very successful Thriller writer and former flame of Holmes’, whose previous experience as law enforcement puts in the position of being the best man to take lead on the murder investigations, specially since him, Holmes and everyone else is stranded in the hotel where that retreat is taking place.
Holmes & Moriarity have amazing chemistry, but their past brief relationship keeps getting in the way and Josh does an awesome job in telling their story. Not only the romance part of either books is very satisfying, but the mystery in either novel is very very well constructed and gave me Agatha Christie’s flashbacks in a very good way.
Josh Lanyon is an extraordinary author and the Homes & Moriarity books are nothing if not the perfect example of his talent! I can’t wait for more from this series!
durin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
dance64's review against another edition
2.0
*Rounded to 2.5ish*
So I decided to give the series another go because I heard that the second book was better than the first. And...I just couldn't get into it. It was pretty slow to me, and almost right away I had it figured out, though there were a few times I strayed from my original guess, I will admit. But never for too long. And while the first half of the book didn't irritate me as much as the first book did, I was growing more and more annoyed as time went on. I just can't relate to the characters and I don't feel sucked into the storyline. And the ending seemed really rushed to me. Especially the very, very end. I understand it was supposed to keep up with the air of "mystery" and make you question things and whatnot, but I was just a little annoyed. Unfortunately, this series just doesn't do it for me. I tried the first one, tentatively tried the second one, and I just don't have the desire to pick up the third one. We all have our hits and misses, and this series happened to be one of my misses.
So I decided to give the series another go because I heard that the second book was better than the first. And...I just couldn't get into it. It was pretty slow to me, and almost right away I had it figured out, though there were a few times I strayed from my original guess, I will admit. But never for too long. And while the first half of the book didn't irritate me as much as the first book did, I was growing more and more annoyed as time went on. I just can't relate to the characters and I don't feel sucked into the storyline. And the ending seemed really rushed to me. Especially the very, very end. I understand it was supposed to keep up with the air of "mystery" and make you question things and whatnot, but I was just a little annoyed. Unfortunately, this series just doesn't do it for me. I tried the first one, tentatively tried the second one, and I just don't have the desire to pick up the third one. We all have our hits and misses, and this series happened to be one of my misses.
scarletine6's review against another edition
4.0
All She Wrote was the usual type of Lanyon mystery- death threats, bodies piling up and Christopher Holmes is in the middle of it.
While the mystery was formulaic and i knew whodunit early on in the proceedings, what i really enjoyed was the blossoming relationship between Kit and JX. The sex scenes were wonderfully graphic and beautifully descriptive. I enjoyed Kit's insecurity and the fact that JX wanted a relationship with him no matter what.
The narration in this audio book was super and i would heartily recommend.
While the mystery was formulaic and i knew whodunit early on in the proceedings, what i really enjoyed was the blossoming relationship between Kit and JX. The sex scenes were wonderfully graphic and beautifully descriptive. I enjoyed Kit's insecurity and the fact that JX wanted a relationship with him no matter what.
The narration in this audio book was super and i would heartily recommend.