Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon

TITLE: Death of a Pirate King
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 73k)
GENRE: Gay mystery romance
COST: $7.99

Adrien English is back, though it’s taken two years for another murder to distract him. The charismatic Hollywood star Paul Kane has optioned his first book for a film, but when the financial backer takes a nosedive into his soup at a dinner party right next to Adrien, everything Adrien has come to hope for in his life changes. Because the cop called in to lead the investigation is none other than Jake Riordan…

Reviewing an installment in an ongoing series is hard, but when you’re emotionally invested in the characters, it raises a lot of questions on whether or not you’re actually being objective. Am I overlooking flaws because I love the character so much? Am I more forgiving? I can’t tell you whether or not my opinion on the latest Adrien English story falls prey to these pitfalls. All I know is that I spent the entire time reading it alternately miserable because of the cascade of emotions it evoked, and exhilarated to rush through to the next chapter. I love Adrien to pieces, so when he’s a wreck, and angry, and worried, I am, too. That is the magic of these stories.

I’m not ashamed to say I loathed Jake at the end of the previous book. I thought – and still do – that his behavior toward Adrien bordered on condescending and abusive. Not that Adrien is perfect, but it’s hard to watch someone you care about being jerked around. Which is what Jake was doing. Yes, I know it was about his own fears, his own phobias, but that doesn’t mean I have to like that he was acting out on Adrien. So going into this book, straight away, I have anger issues toward Jake. Am I thrilled Adrien is with Guy? Eh. I was just happy Adrien wasn’t with Jake anymore. My anger issues compounded as the book progressed, too, as Adrien finds out – very early, so it’s not really a spoiler – that Jake has been involved with Paul Kane. I felt betrayed, much like Adrien did, and constant exposure to Jake exacerbates those feelings.

But here’s the thing, and this is indicative of Lanyon’s talent for alchemy. This book is as much about Jake as it is about Adrien, in ways I can’t explain without spoiling people (go back and think about the title when you’re done with it). By the time I finished reading, I had resolution. Reaching the end was like taking a long, shuddering breath. I was able to take everything I knew, and everything I learned, and create something new and manageable. Do I love Jake? No. I don’t think I’ll ever love Jake. But I don’t hate him, which for how strong my feelings were going into the story says a lot.

It’s a roller coaster. That’s all there is to it. For me, because the emotions are so tangled and often explosive, the mystery actually suffers. I wasn’t surprised by the outcome – it felt telegraphed quite early, actually – and certain sections felt sketchy, like racing through something that had to be done in order to get to the good stuff. But the impact of the book for me rested with Adrien, not with the murder. He has come so far since the first book – harder, less patient, and yet more fragile than he’s ever been. Like blown glass, deceptively strong only to shatter with one wrong touch. I’m dying to see where he goes to next. Lanyon’s prose is leaner than it’s ever been, his characters richer, and if maybe I didn’t laugh as much in this one as I have in others, that’s purely a reaction to the emotional tempest created here. I'm invested. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Readability	9/10 – Spare and tight prose makes for a compulsive read.
Hero #1	10/10 – Adrien breaks my heart.
Hero #2	7/10 – Last book, this would have been a 2. Maybe even a 1. The fact that Jake now gets a 7? Should tell you something.
Entertainment value	9/10 – A roller coaster of emotions
World building	9/10 – Lanyon’s leaner prose focuses on the intangible to the occasional exclusion of detail I might have wanted.
TOTAL:	44/50