Month: December 2019

4 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 215 pages. Published July 13^th 2018 by Josh Lanyon

Blurb:

Death reveals all secrets.

Mystery author Christopher Holmes, now comfortably married to sometimes rival, sometimes nemesis J.X. Moriarity, is starting a new career as a true crime writer when threatening anonymous notes start arriving.

Even worse, Christopher’s ex also arrives—asking for help locating the man he left Christopher for!

It’s life—and death—as usual at Chez Holmes. In other words… Murder. 

Likes:

• Domestic bliss.
• Kit has changed noticeably for the better.
• The drama that happens all at once.
• The good things I’ve come to expect from the series.
• Kit’s going to write again.

Dislikes:

• David.
• The synopsis is misleading.
• A lot of elements seemed completely piecemeal.
• The mystery was weak.
• The ebook ended at 86%

I still love Kit and J.X. Everything about their relationship and personalities that I’ve liked in the previous books is still there. Only better now, because they’ve finally settled into a rhythm of domestic bliss.

There were some really touching moments in the book, as well as examples of how Kit has changed for the better. He’s willing and able to compromise without making a scene first. Will he ever be best friends with Kit’s family, especially his nephew? Probably not. But they can tolerate each other now, which is progress.

However, a point of note. Kit and J.X. are not married yet, despite what the blurb says. Neither is Kit about to start writing true crime novels. He is, however, possibly going to start writing more cozy mysteries again, and that makes me excited for him.

In terms of things going on in this book, there was a lot. Kit’s stalker from the last books shows up, there are creepy clowns, his ex-husband David, a lawsuit, a dead body, a kidnapping, and a deadly game of hide and seek in a field of corn. It made for an entertaining read, but when I finished, I realized how piecemeal everything was.

The mystery itself was weak. This was the first time Kit didn’t find the body himself, which made things feel a little distant. And honestly, the other, non-murder related things easily drew my attention away. Attack clowns? Yeah, that’s where my focus was, in part because it was so strange, but also because it was the most immediate problem.

David also took up a lot of the attention. It was interesting to see him for the first time. He was more sleazy than I expected. But his lack of concern for people, both Kit and Dicky, really showed how callus he is. J.X. is a million times better.

I’m not mad at what mystery there was, but the sleuthing definitely felt like it was on the back burner. The climax of the book was both tense and funny. Only Kit would end up hiding in a field of corn that his would-be murderer then tries to mow down with a tractor.

My last complaint is that the ebook ended at the 86% mark. That’s way too short. It completely caught me off guard. But it lends credence to the idea that the original mystery plot wasn’t enough to carry the book, so other things, like Jerry and the clowns, had to be added to pad the run-time.

Even though the mystery was underwhelming, I still liked this book for the romance between Kit and J.X. I’m looking forward to the next book, which I hope will have a wedding in it.

Be sure to check out the reviews for Somebody Killed His Editor, All She Wrote, and The Boy With the Painful Tattoo.

5 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 228 pages. Published October 5^th 2014 by Just Joshin

Blurb:

It’s moving day at Chez Holmes. Somehow, against Kit’s better instincts, he and J.X. are setting up house together. But while J.X. is off at a writing conference, Kit unpacks a crate that should contain either old books or new china. It doesn’t. Within the mounds of green Styrofoam popcorn is a dead body. A very dead body.

There goes the neighborhood.

Likes:

• The relationship between Kit and J.X.
• The fears that still creep up on Kit.
• Kit dealing with how he feels about sex.
• The stalker added tension.
• Great sex scenes.
• Great mystery.

Dislikes:

• J.X. being so sure everything will be fine and that Kit is just overreacting.
• Some TSTL moments.

I jumped right into this book after finishing the last one – one of the perks of coming to the series late since there was a four year publishing gap between books two and three. I loved this book even more than the last ones. All the things I liked had been magnified.

First off, the relationship between Kit and J.X. was stronger than ever. They even moved in together, despite Kit’s fears. And at this point, Kit having fears about the relationship is a given. But all his fears are so understandable and relatable that I don’t mind. J.X. is a rising star while Kit feels like he’s fading.

I wish J.X. had been more accepting of what Kit was feeling instead of trying to tell him it was fine. J.X. didn’t understand, and his constant attempts at bland comfort got annoying. There were times when it felt like J.X. thought Kit was overacting about everything and automatically dismissed his concerns out of hand. Sure, Kit overreacts a lot, but not all the time.

The men definitely have things they need to work out in their relationship, but that’s part of the fun of reading about them. Kit’s discoveries about sex and how he feels he should be were powerful. I’ve never read a book where the couple actually discusses the way sex and the societal images of it can make people feel. It truly was a great moment.

 The mystery was great in this book as well. I think this book had the best combination of romance and mystery so far. Add in Kit’s stalker, the new characters introduced, and the new setting, and this book was full to bursting without being overwhelming.

However, there were moments within the context of the mystery that made me cringe. Bad decisions that made me want to scream at Kit. TSTL – too stupid to live – is harsh, but honest. It’s a good thing J.X. was there.

I am once again looking forward to the next book in the series.

Be sure to check out the reviews for Somebody Killed His Editor, All She Wrote, and In Other Words… Murder.

4 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 173 pages. Published December 28th 2010 by Samhain Publishing

Blurb:

Giving screwball mystery a whole deadly new meaning.

A murderous fall down icy stairs is nearly the death of Anna Hitchcock, the much-beloved American Agatha Christie and Christopher Holmes’s former mentor. Anna’s plea for him to host her annual winter writing retreat touches all Kit’s sore spots: traveling, teaching writing classes, and separation from his new lover, J.X. Moriarity.

For J.X., Kit’s cancellation of yet another romantic weekend is the death knell of a relationship that has been limping along for months. But that’s just as well, right? Kit isn’t ready for anything serious and besides, Kit owes Anna far too much to refuse.

Faster than you can say Miss Marple wears boxer shorts, Kit is snooping around Anna’s elegant, snowbound mansion in the Berkshires for clues as to who’s trying to kill her. A tough task with six amateur sleuths underfoot, six budding writers with a tangled web of dark undercurrents running among them.

Slowly, Kit gets the uneasy feeling that the secret may lie between the pages of someone’s fictional past. Unfortunately, a clever killer is one step ahead. And it may be too late for J.X. to ride to the rescue.

Warning: Contains one irascible, forty-year-old mystery writer who desperately needs to get laid, one exasperated thirty-something ex-cop only too happy to oblige, an isolated country manor that needs the thermostat cranked up, various assorted aspiring and perspiring authors, and a merciless killer who may have read one too many mystery novels.

Likes:

• That Kit is finding all of these murders away from home.
• The romantic relationship drama.
• The plot had me guessing.
• Kit’s personality.

Dislikes:

• Dissatisfied with what happened to the murderer.

I charged straight through to this book after finishing the last one only to find that Kit and J.X. were basically over. Kit’s many insecurities had once again raised their ugly heads hydra-style, causing the relationship to deflate. That put me in a bleak enough mood to enjoy the frozen, wintery setting even though I’m not a fan of the cold.

Looking into who’s trying to murder his former teacher, as well as running a writer’s workshop, gave Kit plenty to think about without dwelling on J.X. It also makes this book much fuller than the previous one. It definitely felt like there were more possible murder suspects, despite having less people around.

I liked the mystery plot much better in this book. The romance definitely felt secondary this time. It was still important, and even though this book is set three months after the first one, we got to see Kit and J.X. seriously try to make their relationship work for the first time. I thought that was masterfully done. The sex scenes really moved their relationship along, as did all the little ways Kit realized how much J.X. meant to him.

Speaking of Kit, I still love his personality. He’s got major hang-ups, but they all feel reasonable to me. He’s far from perfect, and I like that in my characters. The book made me laugh. Like this passage:

            “[J.X.] scooped up Victoria practically before she hit the ground, well within the five-second rule. If she’d been a potato chip, he could have still eaten her.”

The murder plot had me guessing the entire way. There were lots of characters and incidents to act as red herrings. What made me give this book a lesser rating than the first was how the murderer was dealt with.

I will say that I like how Kit has found these murders away from home. Sometimes cozies can get a little silly with how many people are murdered in small towns. It feels a little more natural this way.

I’m raring to go read the next book in the series. Hope to see more romantic progress between J.X. and Kit!

Be sure to check out the reviews for Somebody Killed His Editor, The Boy With the Painful Tattoo, and In Other Words… Murder.