danielshelsel's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
particledamage's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Eh, I wanted to love this because this is a story that knows exactly what it is--gay erotica with a bit of mystery that exists solely to justify even more gay erotica. Cheers to that.
The gay erotica was pretty decent, though sometimes the author would throw in phrases or turns so unerotic it would totally destroy all tension. I do appreciate gay men's erotica from the perspective of an actual gay men (so much is written by women), as it truly felt visceral and truly about the manliness involved, but, again, some phrases were just so off-putting it destroyed all momentum and reminded me of how ridiculous the premise is.
Which would be fine, except sometimes the erotica would be abandoned mid-scene to continue following the mystery and the mystery was just so lazy it became frustrated. The weird feedback loop of the mystery being used to fuel to the erotica just for the erotica to be interrupted by the mystery was annoying. And it frustrates that the mystery involved so much sexual violence that was simultaneously treated like what it was--sexual violence--something to be winced at and is wrong but also like something that was also hot. I get it, it's just fiction, the author doesn't condone abuse like that, but the novel BOTH condemns it and finds it awful and finds it hot in a way that just leaves you feeling gross after reading it in explicit detail. That, coupled with a weird trans-character reveal added a level of real world grossness (to be clear, I am saying the reveal was done poorly, not that trans people are gross) that severely detracted from the levity I wanted from this book.
And then the mystery is solved so randomly it just made me feel a bit hollow. This book would've been better if it was just Mitch being a gossip columnist or something, looking to interview random men for information (like he does in this novel) and getting sex instead (or as well). The plot would function much the same way without being weighed down by so much awfulness. Could still involve some murder intrigue, just not a full on mystery that the author--and the main character--felt ill equipped to actually resolve.
Author should just stick to the erotica and lean in more to the kinks he left sprinkled in but did not indulge in enough. Perhaps he does later in the series but I am disinterested in finding out.
The gay erotica was pretty decent, though sometimes the author would throw in phrases or turns so unerotic it would totally destroy all tension. I do appreciate gay men's erotica from the perspective of an actual gay men (so much is written by women), as it truly felt visceral and truly about the manliness involved, but, again, some phrases were just so off-putting it destroyed all momentum and reminded me of how ridiculous the premise is.
Which would be fine, except sometimes the erotica would be abandoned mid-scene to continue following the mystery and the mystery was just so lazy it became frustrated. The weird feedback loop of the mystery being used to fuel to the erotica just for the erotica to be interrupted by the mystery was annoying. And it frustrates that the mystery involved so much sexual violence that was simultaneously treated like what it was--sexual violence--something to be winced at and is wrong but also like something that was also hot. I get it, it's just fiction, the author doesn't condone abuse like that, but the novel BOTH condemns it and finds it awful and finds it hot in a way that just leaves you feeling gross after reading it in explicit detail. That, coupled with a weird trans-character reveal added a level of real world grossness (to be clear, I am saying the reveal was done poorly, not that trans people are gross) that severely detracted from the levity I wanted from this book.
And then the mystery is solved so randomly it just made me feel a bit hollow. This book would've been better if it was just Mitch being a gossip columnist or something, looking to interview random men for information (like he does in this novel) and getting sex instead (or as well). The plot would function much the same way without being weighed down by so much awfulness. Could still involve some murder intrigue, just not a full on mystery that the author--and the main character--felt ill equipped to actually resolve.
Author should just stick to the erotica and lean in more to the kinks he left sprinkled in but did not indulge in enough. Perhaps he does later in the series but I am disinterested in finding out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Sexual assault
Minor: Murder
geofroggatt's review against another edition
3.0
I love the idea of a gay mystery erotica, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Sun Goes Down by James Lear, despite the fact that I had unintentionally read the final book in this series first. If you find lots of explicit sex in your murder mystery stories distasteful, I’d avoid this series. This is not your kind of novel. The cover is actually tame in comparison to the contents. But for those of you who are still with me: the good news is that not only is the sex a lot of fun, so is the actual mystery itself. The novel is a witty send-up of British cozies. Its narrator, young Boston-born Edward Mitchell, has read everything he can find by Arthur Conan Doyle, and has lately been taken by "a new English writer of promise, Agatha Christie." (Though the language belongs very much to the present, the novel is set in August 1925.) So “Mitch” is elated to be on the scene of an actual murder mystery. Boy Morgan, Mitch's best friend at Cambridge, where he is taking postgraduate medical studies, has invited him for a weekend at Sir James Eagle's estate on the Norfolk coast. (Boy's fiancee is Sir James's daughter.) Since Mitch has been scheming from the time he first saw Boy to seduce him, he accepts with alacrity. During an intimate moment, Mitch is on the verge of achieving his goal when the fiancee's scream announces her discovery of a body. Mitch is now torn between his two passions: cock and crime. But he cannot miss the chance to test his skills against Holmes's, so he puts the seduction momentarily on hold. The first thing that surprised me about this book is the setting and time period. Having previously (and accidentally) read the fourth and final book in the series first, I had not noticed that the series takes place in the late 1920s. The language and descriptions used in the fourth book didn’t indicate that this was set so far in the past, and I was surprised to learn of the context of the setting, which did change my perception of the series. Despite being set during the 1920s, the writing style and language used resembles more of a modern mystery story, and I say that as a compliment. I liked Mitch as a character, detective, and protagonist, and I enjoyed meeting him in the first entry of the series. The mystery in this book was interesting, especially for a mystery in an erotica story, but it wasn’t as intriguing or as engaging as the hot sex scenes. I loved the exploration of Mitch and Boy’s relationship dynamic, and I liked how things unfolded in this book. If a gay mystery erotica set in the 1920s sounds appealing to you, I recommend this book series and this book.
chrisoverbye's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
katieanne4's review
4.0
Delightful, ridiculous, kind of like if Agatha Christie wrote letters to penthouse? If penthouse was a gay magazine? I usually find anything classed as erotica kind of boring but between the mystery and the incredible variety of sex I enjoyed this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
mxinky's review
5.0
Hilarious, hot, and engaging. If you like gay sex and Sherlock Holmes, you absolutely must try the Mitch Mitchell series!
ezraaa's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
scarletine6's review
2.0
Light and entertaining m/m sex farce, this book gave me lots of giggles. The protagonist was Edaward 'Mitch' Mitchell, a US student studying at Cambridge who had beeen invited to a pal's country house for the weekend (the usual set up for a murder mystery!) The difference with this was that Mitch got more cock in the weekend of trying to solve the murder than I could believe. It was set in 1925, when men were still imprisoned for buggery, yet Mitch had stumbled upon an idilic enclave of Norfolk where he found a whole household who were up for some cock. The writing is perky, in the style of Jeeves and Wooster, with some many funny moments and liasons. A bit silly in the end, but that's what you get with this genre.