Customer Reviews

The Art of Dying: Partners in Crime #4

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How wierd is that? I think I have almost all the books that Josh Lanyon wrote, yes including his recent two volumes of Collected novellas, but I have never left a review. I loved all of them, period, end of story. Just loved them a lot. I am however leaving a review of his only story where I am guessing that I did not get out of the story what he was trying to convey.

Please do not get me wrong, I LOVED the writing, I thought it was gorgeous, I enjoyed the mystery a lot, I absolutely adored Finn. So what did I not like? Well, I found Con to be creepy and the connection between them I did not find believable. I mean, I do not mind that he did what he did as much, I mean I totally adore how Jake was handled in the Adrien English Series, but here, I don't know? I guess it was too short for me to believe his redemption, if that makes sense. And I guess since I found what he did because of with whom he did it to be extra creepy from the beginning, I did not believe his fast turnaround?

I don't know, I suppose romance did not work for me in this one, because I did not buy that Con ever loved Finn, and I especially did not buy Con's seeing the light as he claimed right after what he did. Am trying so hard to avoid spoilers here. Sorry if I am not making much sense.

As to Jordan Castillo Price's story, to make a long story short - absolutely loved it

Bottom line up front:
....speechless here. There was this vibrant splash of color and a hauntingly beautiful storyline. I have to say that I think this is Lanyon's best work so far.

The rest:
Finn is a talented artist in a long line of renowned painters. He was raised on a very close-knit island in the middle of no place, but rather abruptly leaves for Manhattan when he discovers his lover in the arms of his twin brother. Bastages. After a horrific accident that leaves him scarred and weakened, Finn returns to Seal Island for to recover, only to find out that his twin hadn't been heard from in the three years since Finn left.

As upset as Finn still is with his brother, he's concerned that neither their mutual friends in Manhattan nor family on Seal Island have seen Fitch since that terrible day when the bastage banged his boyfriend. Finn was understandably still upset with Fitch, and was absolutely sure he could never forgive his twin, but he's a bit puzzled that nobody seems to care that Fitch has been missing for such a long period of time, or even bothered to look for the guy.

Fitch had a habit of leaving the island for months at a time, but never for so long before, and not without contacting any of his friends. To make things more interesting, who should pop up on the island again but Con, the ex-lover who thought sexing up a set of twins would be twice as nice.

With the help of Paul, Finn's good friend and one of Fitch's ex-playtoys, he does a little investigating. However, the response from the island's inhabitants is a bit perplexing. The general consensus is that Finn should just let sleeping dogs lie. Not even family was interested in finding out if Fitch was dead.

The more digging Finn and Paul did, the more Finn learned about his twin. Finn is shocked to learn after all this time that Fitch was pretty much despised by the townspeople, and that his twin was cruel to people when Finn wasn't around to see it. So we have a whole island of possible suspects, including Finn himself, who likely had the best reason to want Fitch dead.

I loved the way the story started out with vivid descriptions of color and light and ambiance. The writing here was lyrically lovely and very textured, almost touchable. Everything was lush and brilliantly picturesque. I was very much emotionally invested in the story, and with Finn, although I didn't always agree with his choices. That surprised me some, because there was a fair amount of angst here, and anyone who's read my reviews before knows I do NOT do emo stories. At all.

One bit that made no good sense to me was when Finn got to making out with Con. Ok, this is the guy who very likely last saw his twin alive, and that was because the bastage was boinking his brother behind his back. Con did apologize profusely, but readily admitted that part of that regret was because he got caught. Or, as Con put it, "I didn't mean for you to see that." Uh, yeah. So Con is a cheater, a liar, and quite possibly a murderer, yet here Finn is sucking face with the dude. Does not compute. There were also some typos where Finn and Fitch's names got switched around, causing mass confusion til I read a few times and got it straightened out.

I loved the mystery element here. I never saw the ending coming, which was a delightful surprise. Most Lanyon mysteries don't really require Scooby Doo and the gang to suss out the perpetrator in the first chapter. It hasn't really detracted from any of his stories thus far, but still...was nice to see that changed up a bit. There might be some smart cookies out there who figure it out fast, but I doubt it.

Overall, the gracefully alluring phrasing here completely sucked me in and turned Lovers and Other Strangers into a magical read that will be front and center on my keeper self. Can't wait for the print version of this. And I *really* like that title. Makes me giggle. MUST READ THIS BOOK!!

Due to the title I was expecting for the two stories in this anthology to be linked by the art world setting, but it was interesting to read how many other points of connection there were, two of them quite obvious: both mysteries are set in a small community, an island, the type of gated community where the rich and famous go to live during summer or to retire. And both of mysteries turn around a murder without a body, the died man is disappeared, but no one knows how.

Lovers and Other Strangers by Josh Lanyon

Finn is an artist; he is born in a family of artists and everyone expect from him to be the good twin, since his brother Fitch is the bad boy. While Finn has a strong bond with Seal Island, the place were he was raised, and he wouldn't want anything else if not living there and paint, Fitch has the wandering feet, always in search of something or someone new. And then a summer, Finn fell in love with Con, a neighbor he has known for all his life, but that summer was different. The relationship started as a summer fling, but for Finn was something more. And so when he discovered Con in an passionate embrace with Fitch, Finn had not the force to face it and ran away from them and the island. Now three years later, convalescent from a very bad car accident, Finn comes back home to find the peace that Seal Island always gave him. It doesn't matter if he has to face Fitch and Con, if they are living together, they have already stolen him his happiness, they can't steal him also his home. But when he arrives to Seal Island, he finds out that Fitch is disappeared three years before, the same day Finn left the island... No one knew what happened to him and the last person that probably saw him alive was Con, the same Con that now is telling Finn that he misses him and that also for Con was love, and not only a summer fling.

The plot turns mainly around the two twins, Finn and Fitch, and their story. There is a romance, but it's only a subplot, and it remains always in second line. Con is a nice man, but I have the feeling that he is more a dream, an unattainable man for Finn, and that if he suddenly becomes true, Finn maybe would be not more so interest in him. I have the feeling that Finn is more in love of the idea to be in love than of the man. On the other hand the mystery is really good, and since the community is so small, everyone has a reason to want Fitch dead, and everyone could be the guilty man. No one has a real alibi for that day and so it's nearly impossible to find out the culprit before the end of the story. The strange thing is that the only one who seems to mourn the loss of Fitch is his twin Finn, the one who probably has more reason than one to hate him. But as it is said in the book, and how you can understand from what I said, Finn is a good and nice guy, with not real bad feeling in him. And so, since Fitch wasn't loved so much, the reader is not in an hurry to find out who killed him.

Body Art by Jordan Castillo Price

The second story is maybe a little more strange, but basically with the same turning point. Ray arrives in a gated community on an island, Red Wing Island. He will be the new driver for a old and wealthy couple, the Whites. It's not clear how it happened, I summarized that his former lover probably has some responsibility, but Ray lost his business, a tattoo parlor, and now he is full of debt. A live in work is exactly what he needs, even if the arrangement is not exactly top of the notch. The house where he goes to live is isolated, Ray has no his own car, and in the house there are an old man with Alzheimer and three women... and being Ray gay, well, it means that he will be pretty lonely. Then in the wood near the house he meets Anton, the crazy artist who lives in a nearby cottage. And when I say crazy, I don't mean that he does strange sculpture, I mean that he is really crazy. Anton is a bipolar case, he tried to kill himself in the past, and he has moody up and down. But he is also really beautiful, and gay, and maybe since he is lonely, or maybe since, in the crazy situation he is in, Anton doesn't seem so crazy after all, Ray falls soon and hard for him. In two day they are lovers, and in one day more, a dead man is found in the wood: he is Stanley, the former driver, and apparently Anton's previous friend. Again everyone in the small community have reason to hate Stanley, and everyone could be the guilty.

This time the romance is a little more center stage, on the contrary of the previous story, the murder is not so important, maybe since the murdered is not someone so much involved with the hero. Ray has no real reason to find out who killed Stanley, he is more interested in find out that it wasn't Anton who did it. The nice thing is that, in a way or the other, Anton is really a unsteady man, someone that probably will be never able to live alone on his own. If Ray decides to bring on their relationship, he will be always the rock, with time he will become the caretaker... but he sees Anton with a lover eyes, and he is willing to do so.

"Lovers and Other Strangers" by Josh Lanyon

Finn Barret came home to recover from an accident that almost killed him. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when he comes face to face with Conlan Carlyle again, his feelings change. Finn last saw Con in the arms of his brother, Fitch. The pain of seeing them together has never faded, but Finn will have to put his feelings aside as he tries to unravel the mystery surrounding his brother's disappearance.

"Lovers and Other Strangers" has Josh Lanyon's signature style of intense angst and suspense. Lanyon's blend of an unconventional romance and a suspenseful story works. I was glued to every page. I may usually like my romance a little less painful, but there is no denying Lanyon's talent with the written word. "Lovers and Other Strangers" is an expertly told, intriguing story.

"Body Art" by Jordan Castillo Price

Desperate times call for desperate measures, which is how Ray Carloucci ends up as a driver for an aging couple instead of running his tattoo shop. So far, the most interesting thing about his new job is the possibly crazy, and definitely hot, neighbor Anton Kopec. Oh, and the body the landscapers dug up. Now Ray has a job, a lover, and a mystery to solve.

Ray has great tattoos. His well-worn dress shirt and the tat that peaks out from the too-short sleeve is just one reason he's so sexy. Anton is a mystery in himself. Is he bipolar? Is he just eclectic? It would be funny and really weird if Jordan wrote a book about two sedate gay men. Boy meets boy, and they live happily ever after. More like, some kink, a secret or three, and likely a dead body or two, which is exactly why I love her work so much. She makes everything way more interesting. "Body Art" has a few fascinating people, a slightly spooky mystery, and some hot sex. It's good stuff.

The only thing better than a Josh Lanyon or a Jordan Castillo Price book, is an anthology by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price. The Art of Dying is seriously good reading material. Josh Lanyon's story is an angst-filled whodunit. Jordan Castillo Price's is a colorful mystery with a hot couple. These two talented authors never fail to impress me with their talent for writing thought-provoking, creative stories.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

The first thing that struck me about Lovers and Other Strangers was the sea of colours vividly playing out in Finn's mind, as if he had a palette in his hand and was just waiting for the canvas and brush to begin painting. The rest of the prose was just as evocative, as the author describes the coastline and sets the stage for the readers to accompany Finn on his journey home to his little village of Seal Island off the coast of Maine, after three years of licking his wounds. Finn had been seriously injured in a recent accident, which was the only reason he was back after the betrayal of his twin and ex lover.

Once returned to the island he realized that no one had heard of or from his twin Fitch in the intervening years which seemed odd and out of character for Fitch who always loved the limelight and would not willingly give it up and stay away for such a long time. After making inquiries he decided to investigate Fitch's apparent disappearance, but the deeper he digs the more the evidence seems to point to foul play, with Con his former lover who had been trying to make a comeback in Finn's affections, as the main suspect. Con was apologetic for what happened in the past and professed his love for Finn, but he was the last person to have seen Fitch alive; he seemed genuinely contrite about the way he hurt Finn, but Finn wondered whether it was all an act to cover up something much more sinister .... like a murder. To compound matters he discovered that Fitch had a nasty side to his personality and had made many enemies, most of whom live on the island, so he had quite a few suspects in addition to Con. With the help of his friend Paul who arrived from Manhattan shortly after, Finn starts the laborious process of eliminating the suspects, all of whom seemed to have a motive for murder; even Finn is not above suspicion and financially has a lot to gain.

Josh Lanyon's books, even though they are murder mysteries are always about the characters, and this time he gives the readers a host of complex characters starting with Con the ex lover who wants to be the current one, as he either gives the performance of his life every time he is near Finn or he is genuinely repentant. Conn is much older than Finn and jaded, and he exudes that world weary patina that most well traveled authors seem to have. Finn on the other hand is quite innocent and loved Con, which is why this hurt cut so deep. There are secrets that he didn't know about Fitch - a nasty, vicious piece of work who apparently lived to make other people's lives miserable. I thought that of the two brothers Fitch's character was outstanding and most remarkable and he overshadowed his twin with his vibrant personality and devil may care attitude, even though I never met him except through others' retelling of his sins. Finn appeared to be more muted, if we want to talk in terms of the colours that permeated the book and made it so memorable. He is the physically flawed hero that Josh Lanyon loves and in this case he's seriously injured, which adds to his vulnerability. The supporting characters were just as well drawn, from Finn's uncle Thomas who was carrying on the family's art dealing business to Martha the housekeeper and a number of villagers.

What captivated me was the descriptive and eloquent prose throughout the book which was stunningly beautiful, like bursts of dense colour saturating a canvas bristling with life. It made me feel that I was there on Seal Island with Finn, "inhaling the salt air, the briny wind whipping off the ocean stung his face......the smell of wood smoke ... cries of the gulls, slap of the waves...."

This is a well plotted mystery with lots of danger and sufficient false clues sprinkled throughout to throw off mystery buffs, and for the first time I must confess that I didn't solve the mystery before the perpetrator was revealed. I cast everyone in the role of murder suspect but the right person and that was because Lanyon was at his best, which was pretty clever. He managed to shroud the murderer in a pretty thick fog; he did what he was supposed to do, befuddle the readers trying to solve the mystery. If there was one thing I would have wanted it would be that the story could have been novel length so that the characters could have been further developed; also I would have liked an explanation of why no one thought to report Fitch missing, not even members of his family who presumably loved him, despite his callous behaviour to just about everyone. Whenever I read a Josh Lanyon story I'm mostly interested in the mystery and the love affair usually takes second place (except for the AE mysteries), which was the case for me here, even though the emotion was highly charged and there was a lot of angst throughout.

This book contains some of the most lyrical and poignant prose I have read. The author seemed inspired when he described the colours that drenched the story, which cried out for a paintbrush and canvas to bring its hues to life. One of Lanyon's best and highly recommended!

Another good book from Lanyon. I confess that I enjoy his work a great deal, with a special place in my heart for Adrien English. In this two story collection, Jordan Price's contribution is not as good as Lanyon's, but it is still entertaining. Both are written well enough and with a modicum for editorial errors, so common in m/m lit. Quite enjoyable.

Josh has never disappointed me and "Lovers and Other Strangers" is no exception. His prose is lovely here as he draws his readers into the almost dream-like atmosphere on Seal Island, so tranquil yet with a hidden menace which gradually builds as the story unfolds. The thrilling plot is original, suspenseful and have me riveted till the very end. I never guessed the culprit. Anyone could have been a suspect under his masterful writings. As is Josh's trademark, his characters are the best part of his story. I love the vulnerability in his heroes and here we have Finn a gifted artist tormented by the betrayal by his twin and his ex-lover. Maybe Finn is too harsh on the betrayal but he is young and idealistic as any gifted artist who lives in his own world would be. And what is a romance without angst and emotional turmoil as long as I know it is alright in the end. Con is the ex-lover and I find this worldly man an intriguing character and one could easily picture him to be every lover's dream. I wish there are more scenes between the lovers but on the other hand the exchanges between the lovers would not be that meaningful and heartfelt if the mystery is to take a back seat to the romance. So the only remedy is that this should have been a full novel as the characters including the supporting ones, the plot and the setting certainly justify it! The cast of supporting characters are all well drawn out too, from the flamboyant Paul to the caring housekeeper to their seemingly eccentric uncle and last but not least Fitch. Fitch who never spoke a word but so much "alive" in the whole story.

Jordan's Body Art is just as unique as the characters, with an original and intriguing plot. The setting on the island is almost sinister, with its hidden woods and empty summer houses abandoned by its owners as winter approaches. There is a dismal feeling in the beginning as Ray, a talented tattoo artist, broken by his lover's betrayal, tries to make sense of his life as a chauffeur/bodyguard to 3 defenseless women and one old man striken by dementia, including some uncomfortable nurse duties. The atmosphere quickly turns intriguing and sensual when Ray meets Anton, an eccentric artist with bi-polar symptoms. Again I wish this is a novel as I would love to know more about the fey-like Anton and his madness. What is his obviously strained relationship with his sister, how did this strange man managed to survive all these years. But this is foremost a mystery novella and it does delivers when one dead body is found and nothing is certain. And the last chapter with trees laden with ice come crashing down have me holding my breath as the story climaxes.

These are 2 excellent gay romance mysteries/thrillers. But because the characters are so well written one just wish these are 2 separate novels. Or maybe I just wish there is more from these 2 masters of their craft.

Given the glowing reviews here, you'd think this was literature on a par with Steinbeck or Hemingway. Let me just say, I liked both novellas and found them pleasant ways to pass the time on the beach.