Status
Available
Call number
Publication
GMP (2000), Edition: 1, 190 pages
Description
Adrien English runs a small bookstore in Pasadena, which is reputed to have the largest collection of gay and gothic whodunnits around. But mystery invades his own life one morning when his best friend is found stabbed to death and he is seen as the most likely suspect. More murder and mayhem ensue in this nailbiting thriller with plenty of twists and turns.
Media reviews
User reviews
LibraryThing member silversurfer
A really enjoyable, nifty liitle mystery with a Gay central character. Our reluctant sleuth is Adrien English, a gay bookseller and mystery writer that finds himself in the middle of a murder. His best friend is killed, and slowly, other people start to get murdered. And Adrien is the prime
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suspect. To complicate matters, enter L.A.P.D. Homicide detective Jake Riordan, who is closeted and has major relationship issues...Yes, Adrien finds himself attracted to this mess of a man...And as the bodies mount up, so do the questions...who is the killer? Will Adrien & Jake "Find" each other? Will Adrien ever eat a decent meal? It's all alot of fun...can't wait to read the next in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
Books I love generally fall into two categories: 1) books I love for what they're doing with sentences or form or genre or 2) books I love for the stories they tell. Mrs Dalloway is a good example of the first; Outlander is a good example of the second; At Swim, Two Boys and The Lord of the Rings
It's a murder mystery, and the mystery bits are entertaining and just mysterious enough (I did figure it out, but it took me to the two-thirds point), I love the characters, the writing is solid, and the romancy subplots work out (delightfully) as they should. I'm super excited that there's a handful more in this series and that Lanyon has written lots else besides. Looks like I may have a new go-to author for when I want something fun, fast, entertaining, and good. Woot!
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are good examples of the rare beauty what falls into both categories. Category one tends to fire up the old brain pan, while category two makes me grin stupidly, get the warm fuzzies, and entertain notions that the author somehow magically wrote a book just for me. I think the kinds of books that land in category one generally tend to be held above those in category two, but I'm much more excited these days to find these category two loves. Probably because I spent so long (grad school) immersed in very little but litfic, finding joy in story, even ones that employ (*gasp*) formulaic genre tropes, feels really fresh and wonderful. (This is a lesson I apparently need to relearn over and over: see anything I've ever written about my experience reading the Harry Potter series for the first time). Fatal Shadows was a category two, warm fuzzy, grin like an idiot, loved it read. It's a murder mystery, and the mystery bits are entertaining and just mysterious enough (I did figure it out, but it took me to the two-thirds point), I love the characters, the writing is solid, and the romancy subplots work out (delightfully) as they should. I'm super excited that there's a handful more in this series and that Lanyon has written lots else besides. Looks like I may have a new go-to author for when I want something fun, fast, entertaining, and good. Woot!
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LibraryThing member thelibrarina
Adrien English is happy with his life and his bookstore--until his employee and high school friend is murdered. Although the menacing (and attractive) Detective Riordan keeps telling him to mind his own business, Adrien does anything but. He becomes involved with a reporter interested in the case,
I found the mystery and the characters engaging, and I enjoyed the book very much--but I wanted to strangle Mr. Lanyon's editor. The first edition of the book is riddled with homophone errors--someone's "breaks" are cut, for example--and there are places where entire lines have been accidentally excised, sometimes in the middle of a word. I certainly don't advocate writing in library books, but I had to sympathize with the person who had scrawled a frowning face in the margin beside one of the more egregious errors.
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and eventually he launches an informal private investigation into the murder. When a second friend is killed, suspicions turn to Adrien himself. Is there a serial killer targeting L.A.'s gay community, or is there a much more personal motive behind the murders?I found the mystery and the characters engaging, and I enjoyed the book very much--but I wanted to strangle Mr. Lanyon's editor. The first edition of the book is riddled with homophone errors--someone's "breaks" are cut, for example--and there are places where entire lines have been accidentally excised, sometimes in the middle of a word. I certainly don't advocate writing in library books, but I had to sympathize with the person who had scrawled a frowning face in the margin beside one of the more egregious errors.
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LibraryThing member shojo_a
Book One of the Adrien English Mysteries. Adrian English owns a book store in LA, and one day the police show up to tell him that his co-worker and high school friend Robert has been murdered, and so far they only have one suspect: Him. Can he convince the cops he's innocent, and find out who the
I'm going to be completely honest: I picked up this book because the hero's name was Adrien. But I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries, but I enjoyed this book a lot. It kept me going back to it compulsively to find out what was going to happen next, and when the big reveal came, I actually let out a gasp and said "Oh no!" As far as the romance went...there wasn't much. There are only the smallest hints that the main couple will go on to get together in later books. I hope the later books spend a lot of time convincing me of their romance, because I didn't really see much attraction in this book.
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real killer is?I'm going to be completely honest: I picked up this book because the hero's name was Adrien. But I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries, but I enjoyed this book a lot. It kept me going back to it compulsively to find out what was going to happen next, and when the big reveal came, I actually let out a gasp and said "Oh no!" As far as the romance went...there wasn't much. There are only the smallest hints that the main couple will go on to get together in later books. I hope the later books spend a lot of time convincing me of their romance, because I didn't really see much attraction in this book.
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LibraryThing member MlleEhreen
This is a spoiler-free review of all five books in the Adrien English series. Short version: Superb mix of mystery and romance, fantastic writing, recommended buy.
I’d heard a lot of praise for Josh Lanyon’s prose, so I started the first book in the Adrien English series expecting something
The Adrien English series consists of five books that must be read in order. Written in first person. The protagonist, Adrien English, owns a bookstore specializing in mysteries and writes mysteries on the side. (Making a list of all the things that Lanyon does well would be tedious, but here’s one: I generally dislike writer characters in novels, but Lanyon handles it with humor and a minimum of posturing.)
The first book sets the pattern for the rest. In it, Adrien is caught up in an actual murder investigation when his employee turns up dead. Since the cops – including closet-case detective Jake Riordan – seem content to pin the crime on Adrien, he decides to be pro-active about finding the real murderer. By the end, we know whodunit and Adrien and Jake have launched a relationship of sorts.
In each subsequent book in the series, there’s a new crime and more development of Adrien and Riordan’s relationship. Adrien, as an amateur sleuth, is realistically hurt and wearied by this close contact with violent death. He has a heart condition which makes him both reckless and fragile. Likewise, Adrien’s relationship with Riordan ebbs and wanes realistically. Riordan’s stuck in the closet and he’s selfishly willing to hurt a lot of people in order to live a lie.
There were times that I hated Riordan, but I rooted for him too. All the characters are amazingly well drawn. You can see them, you know who they are, they feel real. The mysteries are pretty decent, and for every book where I guessed the murderer early there was another where Lanyon had me fooled.
These books are fantastic reads. I started the first book and before long I was sucked under. I didn’t come up for breath, I didn’t feel the time pass. When I finished one book, I moved immediately on to the next – I was happy to lose myself in them. Highly, highly recommended.
I’d heard a lot of praise for Josh Lanyon’s prose, so I started the first book in the Adrien English series expecting something
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flowery. And, yes, when Lanyon waxes poetic his writing is vivid and visceral in a way that seems to bypass your eyes and just make images explode in your brain, but that’s not what’s remarkable about his writing. It’s how well he shifts gears – he can be a very efficient writer, economical with words, keeping the pace trotting briskly ahead. He can be funny, with an eye for human foibles and a gift for witty dialogue. And he balances that with an ability to drench the page with emotion, sweet, searing, bittersweet, sexy. He does the hot stuff very well indeed.The Adrien English series consists of five books that must be read in order. Written in first person. The protagonist, Adrien English, owns a bookstore specializing in mysteries and writes mysteries on the side. (Making a list of all the things that Lanyon does well would be tedious, but here’s one: I generally dislike writer characters in novels, but Lanyon handles it with humor and a minimum of posturing.)
The first book sets the pattern for the rest. In it, Adrien is caught up in an actual murder investigation when his employee turns up dead. Since the cops – including closet-case detective Jake Riordan – seem content to pin the crime on Adrien, he decides to be pro-active about finding the real murderer. By the end, we know whodunit and Adrien and Jake have launched a relationship of sorts.
In each subsequent book in the series, there’s a new crime and more development of Adrien and Riordan’s relationship. Adrien, as an amateur sleuth, is realistically hurt and wearied by this close contact with violent death. He has a heart condition which makes him both reckless and fragile. Likewise, Adrien’s relationship with Riordan ebbs and wanes realistically. Riordan’s stuck in the closet and he’s selfishly willing to hurt a lot of people in order to live a lie.
There were times that I hated Riordan, but I rooted for him too. All the characters are amazingly well drawn. You can see them, you know who they are, they feel real. The mysteries are pretty decent, and for every book where I guessed the murderer early there was another where Lanyon had me fooled.
These books are fantastic reads. I started the first book and before long I was sucked under. I didn’t come up for breath, I didn’t feel the time pass. When I finished one book, I moved immediately on to the next – I was happy to lose myself in them. Highly, highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member Tam2603
I found everything written by Josh Lanyon great, but this series is definetly going to be one of my favourites.
LibraryThing member Capnrandm
As far as mysteries went, this one was a bit of a stretch (and thus the reason for three stars rather than four). The characters and romance were spot on, however.
9/16/12 - Bumped my review up to 4 stars on re-read. I have the omnibus of books 1 & 2, which means I tend to view them as a single
9/16/12 - Bumped my review up to 4 stars on re-read. I have the omnibus of books 1 & 2, which means I tend to view them as a single
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story. Adrien and Jake have great chemistry, and Adrien himself is one of my favorite amateur sleuths. Show Less
LibraryThing member JDRuskin1184
I have reread this series an embarrassing number of times.
LibraryThing member Penny01
Good Mystery. A little slow , but a nice build. Look forward to see where this series is going.
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
Books I love generally fall into two categories: 1) books I love for what they're doing with sentences or form or genre or 2) books I love for the stories they tell. Mrs Dalloway is a good example of the first; Outlander is a good example of the second; At Swim, Two Boys and The Lord of the Rings
It's a murder mystery, and the mystery bits are entertaining and just mysterious enough (I did figure it out, but it took me to the two-thirds point), I love the characters, the writing is solid, and the romancy subplots work out (delightfully) as they should. I'm super excited that there's a handful more in this series and that Lanyon has written lots else besides. Looks like I may have a new go-to author for when I want something fun, fast, entertaining, and good. Woot!
Show More
are good examples of the rare beauty what falls into both categories. Category one tends to fire up the old brain pan, while category two makes me grin stupidly, get the warm fuzzies, and entertain notions that the author somehow magically wrote a book just for me. I think the kinds of books that land in category one generally tend to be held above those in category two, but I'm much more excited these days to find these category two loves. Probably because I spent so long (grad school) immersed in very little but litfic, finding joy in story, even ones that employ (*gasp*) formulaic genre tropes, feels really fresh and wonderful. (This is a lesson I apparently need to relearn over and over: see anything I've ever written about my experience reading the Harry Potter series for the first time). Fatal Shadows was a category two, warm fuzzy, grin like an idiot, loved it read. It's a murder mystery, and the mystery bits are entertaining and just mysterious enough (I did figure it out, but it took me to the two-thirds point), I love the characters, the writing is solid, and the romancy subplots work out (delightfully) as they should. I'm super excited that there's a handful more in this series and that Lanyon has written lots else besides. Looks like I may have a new go-to author for when I want something fun, fast, entertaining, and good. Woot!
Show Less
LibraryThing member jshillingford
This was a great debut for a new author. The mystery was something of a southern cozy, not real deep, but still very satisfying. The amateur sleuth, Adrien English, is likeable and humorous. Teh new resvised edition has some steamier scenes between Adrien and Jake, and the plot is expanded on. I
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read all 3 of this series in two days. Show Less
LibraryThing member InezGard
Just right mix of noir tropes and slash fic cliches
LibraryThing member ToniFGMAMTC
I really liked Adrien, and this was a great murder mystery. I like the way things just kept spiraling in directions that didn't make the guilty party obvious. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
LibraryThing member ToniFGMAMTC
I really liked Adrien, and this was a great murder mystery. I like the way things just kept spiraling in directions that didn't make the guilty party obvious. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
LibraryThing member Carol420
I am a huge fan of Josh Lanyon and almost everything she writes. Mostly what she writes is a murder mystery mixed with a little romance (same sex couple). The main character of this series...Adrien is no fool by any means...so when he is pulled into a murder case and he begins to look into the
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murder himself. After all the victims have all been friends of his and he can't help but wonder if he is also on the killers scope. Since he doesn’t want to be arrested for something he didn’t do.... he starts sleuthing on his own which doesn’t make him any friends with the cops. Ardien could use some friends. He seems to be a lonely man living his solitary life, running his book store and trying to write his own novel. I actually felt sorry for him and was just waiting for someone to see what a special guy he was....especially the homicide detective that couldn't decide if he was gay or straight. The book had enough twists and turns to make it a very intriguing storyline. As the crime is solved Adrien finds that he may have found just the “friend” he needs...or not. (sigh) Show Less
LibraryThing member AKBouterse
3.75 stars
I liked this one! It wasn't amazing and you could absolutely tell that this was first published 20 years ago but I still enjoyed the plot and the characters. I had this book on my TBR, then I removed it and then I put it back on when I saw I could read it on Kindle Unlimited. I'm glad I
This is a pretty short book so it doesn't take to long for the mystery to develop. None of the plot twists in this mystery were particularly surprising to me. However, that did not bother me as I was still able to enjoy the plot of this book. It was pretty fast moving, though there were some lulls at times. I liked seeing how Adrien was slowly unraveling what was happening to all of these people he'd known since high school.
I liked Adrien and I grew to enjoy the character of Riordan as the book went on. I can tell he is a character that is supposed to grow on us (and Adrien) as the series continues. He's the character I'm definitely most interested in seeing the development of in later books and learning more about his story and life before the events of this book.
I definitely want to continue on with this series. A lot of the reviews I've seen say that this first book is the weakest and then they get better. I'm hoping I think the same thing when I get to the second book!
I liked this one! It wasn't amazing and you could absolutely tell that this was first published 20 years ago but I still enjoyed the plot and the characters. I had this book on my TBR, then I removed it and then I put it back on when I saw I could read it on Kindle Unlimited. I'm glad I
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decided to give this a shot because even though I didn't love this one, I think the series will just get better from here.This is a pretty short book so it doesn't take to long for the mystery to develop. None of the plot twists in this mystery were particularly surprising to me. However, that did not bother me as I was still able to enjoy the plot of this book. It was pretty fast moving, though there were some lulls at times. I liked seeing how Adrien was slowly unraveling what was happening to all of these people he'd known since high school.
I liked Adrien and I grew to enjoy the character of Riordan as the book went on. I can tell he is a character that is supposed to grow on us (and Adrien) as the series continues. He's the character I'm definitely most interested in seeing the development of in later books and learning more about his story and life before the events of this book.
I definitely want to continue on with this series. A lot of the reviews I've seen say that this first book is the weakest and then they get better. I'm hoping I think the same thing when I get to the second book!
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LibraryThing member NannyOgg13
Re-read August 2021
This was my 4th re-read and the book was still engaging even though I remembered most of the plot.
This time around I finished the book 10 years (to the day) after my first read :)
This was my 4th re-read and the book was still engaging even though I remembered most of the plot.
This time around I finished the book 10 years (to the day) after my first read :)
LibraryThing member richardderus
This groundbreaking series started in 2000 at the late, very lamented Gay Men's Press, when there was a great deal less M/M fiction around.
In a lot of ways, that fact explains the unquestioning acceptance of the M/M audience of Jake's waffling about Adrien, for whom he clearly has a lot of
I confess that, had the prose been less fun to read, I might be harsher. Author Lanyon is justly celebrated for her skill with dialogue. Funny when that's what the story needs:
“Just shut up and listen.”
“Well, since you ask so nicely...”
There was silence. I listened. He didn’t say anything.
“Are we communicating through the Psychic Hotline or what?”
–and–
“Drink your coffee—people in Africa are sleeping.”
...quietly intense in other moods:
I dug out the powder blue cashmere cardigan my mother Lisa gave me the Christmas before last, pulled on my oldest, softest Levi’s. Comfort clothes; the next best thing to a hug from a warm, living body. Lately there had been a shortage of hugs in my life. Lately there had been a shortage of warm, living bodies.
–and–
“Everything a gay man does makes a political statement. Everything matters: where you bank, where you shop, where you eat. When you hold your lover’s hand in public.”
Some verities are eternal, or so it seems....
What the reader gets by turning on this time machine is a hit of funny, a soupçon of sexy, a helping of gay awakening, wrapped in a pretty darn interesting mystery. I would have LOVED to see this as a TV series in the Aughties or the Teens; now, I just don't think it'd play that well. Not that I wouldn't sample it! But my hopes wouldn't be high.
The price of experiencing things after their time. Still, a very worthwhile read indeed.
In a lot of ways, that fact explains the unquestioning acceptance of the M/M audience of Jake's waffling about Adrien, for whom he clearly has a lot of
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feelings...even if he doesn't want to come right out and say so for quite a long time. This approach/avoidance dynamic doesn't play the same way it did in 2000. We'd probably call it "queerbaiting" today, and it really makes me personally feel squirmy, but I totally grandfather this book in under the "the past is a foreign country" rubric. I don't think being lenient with an artifact of a bygone era is always a mistake; more especially so when it's something as influntial as this book and series were in that barely-rememberable time.I confess that, had the prose been less fun to read, I might be harsher. Author Lanyon is justly celebrated for her skill with dialogue. Funny when that's what the story needs:
“Just shut up and listen.”
“Well, since you ask so nicely...”
There was silence. I listened. He didn’t say anything.
“Are we communicating through the Psychic Hotline or what?”
–and–
“Drink your coffee—people in Africa are sleeping.”
...quietly intense in other moods:
I dug out the powder blue cashmere cardigan my mother Lisa gave me the Christmas before last, pulled on my oldest, softest Levi’s. Comfort clothes; the next best thing to a hug from a warm, living body. Lately there had been a shortage of hugs in my life. Lately there had been a shortage of warm, living bodies.
–and–
“Everything a gay man does makes a political statement. Everything matters: where you bank, where you shop, where you eat. When you hold your lover’s hand in public.”
Some verities are eternal, or so it seems....
What the reader gets by turning on this time machine is a hit of funny, a soupçon of sexy, a helping of gay awakening, wrapped in a pretty darn interesting mystery. I would have LOVED to see this as a TV series in the Aughties or the Teens; now, I just don't think it'd play that well. Not that I wouldn't sample it! But my hopes wouldn't be high.
The price of experiencing things after their time. Still, a very worthwhile read indeed.
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LibraryThing member JorgeousJotts
A Couple times the main character did something totally bizarre, like 'what could you possibly even be thinking?!', but overall he grew on me. Unfortunately I read The Mystery of Nevermore by Poe (basically fan fiction of this book) before this one, so I can't judge the mystery fairly. I feel like
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I might have cracked it otherwise, but I just can't ever know for sure because I basically got spoilers from that knockoff version of this book. It's disappointing because I didn't like that book, and I did like this one, and I would have enjoyed this one more if I hadn't read that one first. Oh well. I look forward to continuing with this series. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000
ISBN
1902852095 / 9781902852096