Status
Available
Call number
Publication
MLR Press (2008), 224 pages
Description
His romantic weekend in ruins, shy twenty-something artist Perry Foster learns that things can always get worse when he returns home from San Francisco to find a dead body in his bathtub. A dead body in a very ugly sportscoat--and matching socks. The dead man is a stranger to Perry, but that's not much of a comfort; how did a strange dead man get in a locked flat at the isolated Alton Estate in the wilds of the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont? Perry turns to help from "tall, dark and hostile" former navy SEAL Nick Reno--but is Reno all that he seems?
Media reviews
User reviews
LibraryThing member jshillingford
Hmmm. I'm still not sure about this one. Something went wrong for me. I purchased it because I really loved Lanyon's Adrien English mysteries. And the title was quirky. The opening pages were great. Perry comes home to find a dead body in his tub and when he finally convinces someone to check it
The book did pick up somewhat when the second body is discovered, and many of the tenants begin acting strangely (strange being a relative term with this bunch!) There is some humor in the book with our house full of eccentric boarders, almost like a game of Clue. It has the aspect of a locked room mystery, only I quickly figured out the culprit (Colonel Mustard :-) Everyone in the boarding house gets some introduction, or takes part in conversation or scenes with our protagonists - except one person. And that person stood out like a sore thumb. Our "sleuth" Perry spent too much time moping over a breakup, and it isn't until the very end that they start "investigating."
Since Lanyon often imbues his work with a romantic subtext (erotically enhanced!!), I was expecting the same here. I was disappointed. I think this tried to be a romance, with a mystery subtext and Lanyon's talents are better in the reverse. Though the author lays a foundation for an attraction between Perry and Nick, two thirds of the novel go nowhere with it. I felt like I was floundering in the water. There is sex in the end but it's not graphic. It is tasteful and appropriate to the context. Also, the sex is quickly followed on by the climax (pun intended) of the mystery. The story wraps up very quickly with all the threads neatly tied - except who gets to the loot.
Despite these flaws, I kept reading because Lanyon is a very good writer and I did want to know the how and why. The atmosphere of the story, and the creepy old house is excellent. Other have obviously enjoyed it, but for me, this just wasn't his best effort.
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out, the body has vanished! Yet from there the story quickly started to drag. More than half the book is background on who's who, how long they've been there and their peculiarities. Normally, I don't mind this type of set-up. I want to know the people I'm going to be spending a few hours with. Only, I couldn't connect with the main characters, Perry and Nick. Adrien English felt real, these two never did. And progress on the mystery happened sporadically and slowly. The book did pick up somewhat when the second body is discovered, and many of the tenants begin acting strangely (strange being a relative term with this bunch!) There is some humor in the book with our house full of eccentric boarders, almost like a game of Clue. It has the aspect of a locked room mystery, only I quickly figured out the culprit (Colonel Mustard :-) Everyone in the boarding house gets some introduction, or takes part in conversation or scenes with our protagonists - except one person. And that person stood out like a sore thumb. Our "sleuth" Perry spent too much time moping over a breakup, and it isn't until the very end that they start "investigating."
Since Lanyon often imbues his work with a romantic subtext (erotically enhanced!!), I was expecting the same here. I was disappointed. I think this tried to be a romance, with a mystery subtext and Lanyon's talents are better in the reverse. Though the author lays a foundation for an attraction between Perry and Nick, two thirds of the novel go nowhere with it. I felt like I was floundering in the water. There is sex in the end but it's not graphic. It is tasteful and appropriate to the context. Also, the sex is quickly followed on by the climax (pun intended) of the mystery. The story wraps up very quickly with all the threads neatly tied - except who gets to the loot.
Despite these flaws, I kept reading because Lanyon is a very good writer and I did want to know the how and why. The atmosphere of the story, and the creepy old house is excellent. Other have obviously enjoyed it, but for me, this just wasn't his best effort.
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LibraryThing member Kaysbooks
Coming home after the first date of hell isn't great, but finding a dead man in your bathtub afterwards isn't much better. Having made such a ghastly experience it's nice that the macho guy next door offers help; quite reluctantly though, but nevertheless, a nice start of a brief romance and a
Another one of those lovely romantic detective stories by the hand of Lanyon with a sweet guy that seems to be helpless as a puppy and the tough guy who appears to be able to deal with the world..... First impressions can be misleading.
It would have been a 5 star book if Lanyon had taken more time to work on his characters, to look into the depths of their minds and feelings. This book could easily have done with twice the amount of pages. Go for it, Josh!!
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great help while finding out what actually happened in the house because the police aren't offering much help.Another one of those lovely romantic detective stories by the hand of Lanyon with a sweet guy that seems to be helpless as a puppy and the tough guy who appears to be able to deal with the world..... First impressions can be misleading.
It would have been a 5 star book if Lanyon had taken more time to work on his characters, to look into the depths of their minds and feelings. This book could easily have done with twice the amount of pages. Go for it, Josh!!
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LibraryThing member imayb1
Classic murder mystery in a boarding-house setting. There's suspense, humor, and heart as the story unravels the heroes' dilemmas, the tenants' quirks, and interesting facts about the historical home in which they all live. Alongside the mystery plot, a relationship begins to form between the main
I thought the story was fun and Lanyon does a nice job of having a main character who walks the line between (male) damsel-in-distress and very-capable person. If Lanyon decides to turn this into a series, I'd definitely buy the next one.
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character, an asthmatic painter/librarian who found the first body, and an former Navy SEAL.I thought the story was fun and Lanyon does a nice job of having a main character who walks the line between (male) damsel-in-distress and very-capable person. If Lanyon decides to turn this into a series, I'd definitely buy the next one.
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LibraryThing member amf0001
Set in Vermont in a weird old boarding house, Perry returns early from the worst weekend ever to find a dead man in his bath tub. He rushes out and bumps into Nick - tall, dark and hostile, ex SEAL. And the journey commences. A lot of time is spent on the mystery and the history of the house, but
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the book sparked for me with the interactions between Nick and Perry. I enjoyed this book. I wasn't as enamored with it as I was with the PsyCop series, but it had a sweetness to it that I didn’t expect, and was happy spending time with it. Show Less
LibraryThing member MsLasha
In "The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks," Josh Lanyon does it again, he combines murder, mystery and romance all in the same book! So far of all Lanyon's book, this is the one I have enjoyed most (although "Dangerous Ground" is a close second). The story starts as Perry, a struggling artist comes home from
However, the best part of the book was the romance of Nick and Perry. While I would have enjoyed a little more sexytimes between the two, the romance angle worked just fine for me too. Nick is coming out of a bad divorce and is reluctant to get involved with the inexperienced Perry, whose flaws and quirks are a great part of his charm, but the two cannot resist each other.
While I might have figured out the killer half way through the book, I still enjoyed the romance of the story. Pick up this title, you won't regret it!
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a vacation to find a dead body in his bathtub. Running downstairs to tell the landlady and his fellow neighbors, one a very sexy ex-Navy SEAL named Nick, he has an asthma attack. But by the time the cops arrive, the body has disappeared. The next 150 pages are excellent as Lanyon moves all the players around like a good game of Clue while attempting to throw the reader off the trail of who the killer is. However, the best part of the book was the romance of Nick and Perry. While I would have enjoyed a little more sexytimes between the two, the romance angle worked just fine for me too. Nick is coming out of a bad divorce and is reluctant to get involved with the inexperienced Perry, whose flaws and quirks are a great part of his charm, but the two cannot resist each other.
While I might have figured out the killer half way through the book, I still enjoyed the romance of the story. Pick up this title, you won't regret it!
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LibraryThing member silversurfer
The title is misleading. I thought it was going to be a ghost story, turns out, just a juicy murder mystery by one of my favorite authors. Perry comes home early from a trip to find a dead man in his bathtub. It wasn't enough that his boyfriend dumped him, but now a corpse is complicating things
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even further. Perry lives in a spooky, old rooming house filled with colorful characters. It's an 'Old Dark house' tale, complete with a hunky ex-NAVY SEAL coming to Perry's rescue. Will a romance ensue? Will Perry solve the mystery? Will he ever break his 'FRUIT LOOPS' obsession? It's alot of light hearted fun, a sexy romp, with thrills thrown in for good measure. A quick read. It is very frustrating to find that many of this author's title's are only available thru Kindle. Drat that little mechanical box!! Show Less
LibraryThing member Carol420
This has all the makings of a good mystery…a romance…and a little comedy. We also have in our mystery recipe… a dead man wearing a yellow sports coat and yellow socks in Perry’s bathtub..a creepy old boarding house complete with an assortment of eccentric residents, and weird happenings
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that begins with a disappearing corpse…though Perry didn’t think it disappeared quite soon enough. Josh Lanyon takes this scenario and carries it through with twists…scares… and clues along the way. I love the characters of Nick and Perry. They are so different yet so much alike. Nick is all business and Parry is all fun and adventure while sometimes bypassing how much danger he could be in. Other than “uglying” him blind…how much danger can you be in from a dead man? I read the second book first…I often do this on purpose but this time it was accidental as I didn’t realize that it was a trilogy. Since I had already read the second book I was a little confounded to find that the story resonated with many shades of the plot of the first book. Different local and the two guys hadn’t met yet in this one…but it was still very much the same, thus reducing the usual 5 star rating that goes to Josh Lanyon’s books. It was still a good read and she is still one of my favorite authors…but hey, Ms. Lanyon…FYI…these books are WAY too short. Show Less
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
When Perry comes home early from an out-of-town trip, he finds a dead body in his bathtub in his rooms in his boarding house. But by the time he can get someone else to go up and see, the body is gone. And thus begins a slightly old-fashioned-feeling mystery story with a strong thread of romance
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between Perry and Nick, another renter at the house. This was mildly entertaining (and it kind of made me want to go read some older mystery stories that it sort of reminded me off--Whose Body and maybe The Norths Meet Murder), but ultimately both the mystery and the romance felt a little thin, with the result being that the itch for neither of those genres was really scratched. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
ISBN
1934531146 / 9781934531143