Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

TITLE: Snowball in Hell
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
PUBLISHER: Aspen Mountain Press
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 37k)
GENRE: Historical gay romance
COST: $5.99

In 1943 Los Angeles, Lieutenant Mathew Spain has to find a murderer – the killer of rich boy Phil Arlen. Suspects and motives abound, but straightshooter Spain is only interested in the truth. When his path crosses with reporter Nathan Doyle, he is intrigued by the battle-scarred veteran, but it doesn’t take much digging to learn that the man who intrigues him so is at the top of his suspect list.

Though historicals aren’t my typical bag, I’m the first person to admit I love stories set from the 1920’s through the 1940’s. There’s just something about the desperation of the war to create a really stirring romance, or the grittiness of the noir detail, or the glamour of figures like Fred and Ginger, that really gets my blood pumping. This one had me hooked at the cover, and the blurb and excerpt only cemented it.

Thank goodness it didn’t suck. I always hate it when a book I’m really excited about doesn’t even come close to measuring up to my expectations.

This is not your typical romance. It’s not even sold as a romance on the website. They have it categorized as a mystery, which is probably more than fair. The vast bulk of the story is given to solving the mystery of Phil Arlen’s murder, but because there is a romance with consummation, I’m being difficult and classifying it as such. But the build-up is slow, wonderfully slow, with the first half of the book dedicated to getting to know the two leads and discovering facts about the murder more than anything else. It makes it very easy to connect with them as characters before they move on to the romantic aspects of the story.

While both characters are strong, I think Nathan, the reporter, is the stronger of the two. Mathew’s sexuality isn’t as fully explored prior to the romance, which makes it more difficult to believe that a widower would fall for a man. Nathan, on the other hand, is built with multiple layers – the scarred veteran returned from the war, the scarred young man half-convinced his homosexuality makes him a freak, the bored reporter who isn’t entirely sure how to keep himself occupied after the trauma of the war. It’s very easy to sympathize with him, especially with all the suspicion cast upon him in regards to the murder investigation. Characterization is done with a delicate touch, nothing that feels rushed or forced. It’s a sign of an author who knows what he’s doing.

The one thing I wish is that it was longer. Not through any fault of its own, it’s more than successful at its length. But the author is good enough and the characters interesting enough to carry a full-length novel. I have another Josh Lanyon book in my TBR pile that’s longer. I think, based on my opinion of this one, it’s getting bumped up. A new author for me to keep my eye out for.

Readability	8/10 – Some crisp writing and smart storytelling going on here.
Hero	8/10 – Solid and hugely believable, though I wasn’t completely sold on the bisexuality.
Hero #2	8/10 – Sympathetic and compelling.
Entertainment value	8/10 – I was probably expecting more romance in this, and I wished it was longer, but this works very, very well for what it is.
World building	9/10 – Great period detail helps to make this jump from the page.
TOTAL:	41/50