4 out of 5 stars
Ebook. 215 pages. Published July 13th 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.
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