Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mystery, #4)

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Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mysteries #4)

by Josh Lanyon (Goodreads Author)

4.45 of 5 stars 4.45 · rating details · 2,231 ratings · 204 reviews

#4 in the acclaimed Adrien English Mystery Series by award winning author Josh Lanyon. Gay bookseller and reluctant amateur sleuth Adrien English's writing career is suddenly taking off. His first novel, Murder Will Out, has been optioned by notorious Hollywood actor Paul Kane. But when murder makes an appearance at a dinner party, who should be called in but Adrien's form...more

Paperback, 1st Edition, 248 pages

Published September 1st 2008 by MLR Press

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Jan 29, 2013 Baba ♥♥♥ Marcus, Tyler, Tate, Dan, Ty, & Hunter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: josh-lanyon, m-m

Review completed January 29, 2013*****Loved it--my favorite book in this series!

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Death of a Pirate King is the fourth book in the Adrien English series. Adrien is recovering from pneumonia. It's been about two years since our bookstore owner, part-time writer, and amateur sleuth had last been involved in a murder investigation. Adrien loves to write books but it's not enough to make a living at it. That being said, Adrien did achieve a success though. He sold a book that he wrote to the movies....more

50 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Bookwatcher ~Mary MooCow~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, glbt-gay, favorites

Adrien will have to convince Jake someone is not what appears

I loved this book and so far is the best of the serie in my view.

Jake is less asshole... but he is still an asshole and annoyed me a lot

Adrien is more sick...

Adrien's mother is more annoying...

and Adrien love life is a mess...

all the old same problems to Adrien... BUT the mystery and the prose was (in my modest opinion) the best of the serie! It's certainly in my favorite shelf!

Loved it, can't wait any longer. I'm already starting...more

27 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2013 Loederkoningin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, mystery-suspense, josh-lanyon, favorites, pampers-the-emo-within, pirates, bouts-of-fangirl-craziness, wow-re-read-material

This book turned me into a quivering cry baby. I cried because of a blow-job in The Hell you Say and now I cried some more during the love scenes in Death of a Pirate King.

Something must be wrong with me.

Or something is very right with Josh Lanyon.

The last book that actually made my eyes water was GWTW. And let’s face it, that one is SUPPOSED to make you cry. Lanyon is something else. Nothing indicates that he carefully steers you towards the eye of an emotional tornado. His books are not your...more This book turned me into a quivering cry baby. I cried because of a blow-job in The Hell you Say and now I cried some more during the love scenes in Death of a Pirate King.

Something must be wrong with me.

Or something is very right with Josh Lanyon.

The last book that actually made my eyes water was GWTW. And let’s face it, that one is SUPPOSED to make you cry. Lanyon is something else. Nothing indicates that he carefully steers you towards the eye of an emotional tornado. His books are not your typical tear jerker material either. They are mysteries, for God’s sake! An endless stream of possible suspects passes by, one more suspicious than the other. And the mystery element in this one was rather compelling too, thanks to a few quirky and nasty characters. I guess what I’m trying to say is: the focus is NOT even on the hero’s and their struggle to resist an attraction that cannot be.

And yet here we have Adrien English, the bookshop owner with his dodgy heart, his dry sense of humor and his obnoxious mother, who still treats him like a little boy. And Jake Riordan, that tough, hot and handsome Detective, who unfortunately is buried so deep in the closet he didn’t know where to look for himself, as Adrien accurately puts it.

But together...these two are larger than the paper and ink they’re condemned too! They are so fucking brilliant together that I longed along with Adrien for Jake. And it crushed my heart when bad things happened to my favorite amateur sleuth, when there seemed no way past that feeling of betrayal and everything looked bleak…

But then, finally, those love scenes! Those amazingly tender and spectacularly hot love scenes. That are not only written so gently, but are about "my boys"! And I just couldn’t help but cry some more. I don’t hate Jake, I understand his struggles. Although I keep yelling "What the hell Jake!" every time I discover something else I wish Adrien had never found out about..

But it would be madness to hate someone who makes love like that.

Wouldn’t it?

He tasted dark and bittersweet, like my memories - only more intense. My heart pounded hard, blood drumming away in my ears, like spring's freshet after the ice began to break. I kissed him with all the hardness and hunger in me - let him feel it all: my anger and grief and frustration. When we finally broke apart he didn't look shocked: he looked...predatory."
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May 24, 2012 Lola rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Adrien dies, his grave will say: "Here lies the most unfortunate motherfucker ever lived in this city."

He's just got a terrible life: No permanent bf, friends getting murdered, slept with a serial killer, heart condition, a mother that seriously needs to have some pills, annoying police always on his ass, always wrapped up in crime....and I can go on...

Whatever god watching over this man...have mercy...lol

14 likes · like · see review

Feb 02, 2013 Macky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-thriller-mystery, best-m-m-couples-ever, faves, hot-cops, favourite-aothors, keepers-never-to-be-deleted, palpable-sexual-tension, snarky-humour, series, sizzling-chemistry

Wow. What can you say about this one ! Definitely the best up to now. I adore Adrien and as much as Jake can be so exasperating I still love these two together and just want them to go on forever. The back story in this is perfection.
*review edit * 02/ 02/13
First of all the above review was written way after I first read Death Of A Pirate King because I wasn't into writing reviews round the time I first read it but on reflection after re- reading, is far too trite and short to do justice to this...more Wow. What can you say about this one ! Definitely the best up to now. I adore Adrien and as much as Jake can be so exasperating I still love these two together and just want them to go on forever. The back story in this is perfection.
*review edit * 02/ 02/13
First of all the above review was written way after I first read Death Of A Pirate King because I wasn't into writing reviews round the time I first read it but on reflection after re- reading, is far too trite and short to do justice to this fabulous instalment of the series.

On reflection as much as the first three are pure enjoyment and addictive in a sort of understated way, DOAPK takes all the unresolved tension that has been brewing and bubbling between Adrien and Jake and brings it all to a head alongside a cracking murder mystery that forces them to face their true feelings for their present partners, families,careers and ...of course each other. It's a couple of years after they last saw each other, Adrien is yet again thrown unwittingly into a murder and Jake appears on the scene as lead detective, surprising them both and bringing up deep feelings and forcing them back into each others paths! During his amateur sleuthing Adrien learns some painful truths about Jake that connect with one of the people involved in the case and of course in true Adrien style this puts him in the path of being both suspected and in danger of his life.The tension reaches a crescendo sexually and emotionally and when the inevitable happens and they give in to their feelings, its one of the - BEST.SCENES.EVER.!! Off the charts in terms of ST and chemistry.

This might be set in a contemporary present day period but to me everything about it shouts vintage 40's. Josh Lanyons unique writing style makes this reminiscent of "The Thin Man "style comedy/ mysteries romances of that era, only m/m, a little screwball ( not slapstick ) meets film noir. There are references to this golden era , dropped here and there in these books every so often and it subconsciously planted the visuals in my head ! The character of Paul Kane immediately brings to mind the swashbuckling, hell raiser stars of the day like Errol Flynn and of course Adriens constantly being likened to the late great Montgomery Clift is a clincher - and for me, whenever Lisa ( Adriens mum ) is in a scene, I just picture the cool graceful Grace Kelly!! This book makes me do the happy dance. I heart this and cant recommend it highly enough. :)(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Akansha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, series, mystery, suspense, romance, crime, favourites, first-person-pov

4.5

This is definitely the best book in the series so far.

It picks up two years after the events of the last book and it's just another day in the life of Adrien English to find himself mired in a murder mystery and run into none other than Jake Riordan, ex-boyfriend and deeply closeted cop. Adrien is a lot more cynical, bitter, meaner and jaded than the previous books. He despises being mollycoddled and yet yearns for intimacy and companionship. His deteriorating heart condition has even made...more

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May 24, 2012 Beanbag Love rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: friends who like m/m romance, mystery, suspense

Oh Adrien! How many times can my heart break for you. I felt like throwing up a few times reading this book I was so emotional.

The mystery was great. Lanyon has referred to something a couple of times in the AE books. Adrien is a mystery writer and he often thinks to himself: "that only happens in mystery novels". Well, the solution to the mystery isn't really what happens in mystery novels. I was able to figure it out but not before Adrien did, and that's what I love about Lanyon's writing. Th...more

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Oct 07, 2012 L-D rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, cop-pi-bountyhunter, author-writer-journalist, murderer-serial-killer-rapist, mystery, read-rage-tstl, angst-stew, series, mc-is-a-super-douche, nook-lendable

This series was completely stressful to me. I read this entire book feeling like a band was constricting around my chest. Jake is the detective and former love interest of the protagonist, bookstore owner Adrien English. In the last book, Jake left Adrien because Jake knocked up his girlfriend and wanted to have a "normal" life. So he married her and I (I mean Adrien) was devastated. But good riddance, right? Wrong. Jake is back in this book and he makes me madder than ever. The only reason I co...more This series was completely stressful to me. I read this entire book feeling like a band was constricting around my chest. Jake is the detective and former love interest of the protagonist, bookstore owner Adrien English. In the last book, Jake left Adrien because Jake knocked up his girlfriend and wanted to have a "normal" life. So he married her and I (I mean Adrien) was devastated. But good riddance, right? Wrong. Jake is back in this book and he makes me madder than ever. The only reason I could even make it through this book was because I had friends that told me not to quit and I would be happy at the end of the series. As I continued to read it, however, I kept asking myself, how the hell is this total dickwad Jake ever going to be able to redeem himself??

In this book Adrien is trying to move on from his disastrous affair with the closeted asshole ex-boyfriend, Jake. I know. Tell us how you really feel, L-D. Adrien is now dating stuffy weird professor Guy who kind of creeps me out a little. I think the point of introducing Guy to the storyline is for us to possibly decide that Jake is the lesser of two evils? Come on Adrien - have some self-esteem. You're supposedly hot and look like a old school movie star, right? Find a cute twink in a club or something. Maybe sell the bookstore and start fresh in another state. Wash your hands of this whole miserable life.

From a plot perspective we have murder, mystery, and mayhem in spades. Some new characters are introduced including Paul Kane, bi-sexual actor and murder suspect. Paul hires Adrien to privately investigate the murder at his dinner party which brings Adrien back in contact with extreme toolbag ex-boyfriend Jake.

I guess a review is not the place to rant and rave about character development. I did that enough on various buddy read threads. Did I enjoy this book? I guess in the same way you enjoy bungee jumping. You scream all the way down, maybe feel nauseous and puke in your mouth a bit, oh wait, I forgot - I HATE bungee jumping. And I still HATE Jake.

Should you read this book? Maybe if you have a slew of sadistic goodreads friends like I do who will peer pressure you into anything. I guess misery loves company. So "YES"! Definitely read this book!

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May 24, 2012 Dina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Dina by: Beanbag Love

Shelves: m-m, romantic-suspense, ebook, mystery-thrillers, to-review

This book has left me close to tears, angry, frustrated and morally conflicted, but it was soooo worth it! Loved it!!!

7 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Mel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, e-book, favorites

4 minus- yes, I'm a nitpicker

In this fourth book of the Adrien English Mysteries, Adrien gets dragged in to yet another murder case. A case which his ex lover Jake is handling. Seeing Jake after two years rattles Adrien more than he likes to admit. And as the mystery unfolds, the emotions run high. Anger, pain, cynicism, distrust... all sprinkled with a little bit of drama.

I liked this installment a lot. I loved the first 85%. The mystery plot was engaging, the romance plot was nicely weaved in...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

***Series Spoilers Ahead***

Adrien, Adrien, Adrien! :) He’s at it again. Madness, mayhem, and mystery! This time Hollywood comes a’ knocking bringing all sorts of trouble, possible movie deals, scandal, gossip, and murder (of course) into our favorite sleuthing bookseller’s life.

The fourth book in the mystery series finds Adrien, once again, mixed up with a murder investigation, which brings him face to face with his ex-lover, Jake Riordan. Even though two years have passed since they parted way...more ***Series Spoilers Ahead***

Adrien, Adrien, Adrien! :) He’s at it again. Madness, mayhem, and mystery! This time Hollywood comes a’ knocking bringing all sorts of trouble, possible movie deals, scandal, gossip, and murder (of course) into our favorite sleuthing bookseller’s life.

The fourth book in the mystery series finds Adrien, once again, mixed up with a murder investigation, which brings him face to face with his ex-lover, Jake Riordan. Even though two years have passed since they parted ways, the tension and emotion still run so deep. The intensity and desire between these two men was heartbreaking and heart warming all at once. They pushed, pulled, and jabbed at each other verbally and emotionally. Pain and time have changed both men. New bitterness and jealousy from Adrien coupled with Jake’s quiet loneliness and longing made their relationship, chemistry, wit, and banter an experience to take in, pay close attention to, and savor. I found myself wincing, cheering, and holding my breath at times waiting for one of them to say more or react. My heart loved every moment between Jake and Adrien.

”…why did I feel like no one had touched me in years?”

Now *sigh* let me just get this out of the way. I really do not want to say anything negative about this series, but I have to say…this mystery was not much of a mystery. HELLO! Captain Obvious! :D But it doesn’t really matter. For me, the mystery played more of an opportunity, lure, or web that wrapped around Jake and Adrien pulling and urging them together. Forcing them to ask questions of each other. Plus the old school Hollywood mood created such a fun, drink-in-hand, back stabbing out for blood or spotlight type of setting that propelled this mystery along from one party, interrogation, and event to the next. The pace was non-stop. The real mystery here was whether Adrien could survive another mystery. Whether he could face his emotions and allow Jake back into his life.

I really cannot capture the emotional impact of this story. The years Adrien spent not thinking about the pain and loss, the emotions shoved down deep, the love thrown away—the power, ache, and sadness of it all continues to hit me over and over. Truly makes my heart hurt. The emotion held in these pages is unforgettable. It will tip-toe right into your heart and *squeeze*.

Adrien English’s journey through life, love, and murder has become one of my favorite reading experiences. One that will live in my heart for a long time.
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May 24, 2012 Angel Martinez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Thank goodness. After The Hell You Say I was concerned, but with this book both Josh and Adrien hit their rhythm once again.

The mystery in this one isn't the real mystery. If you take an Occam's razor approach, there's really only one solution. But it's a matter of motivations - the why's and how's that matter more than the who.

It's also about coming to grips with some hard realities. Both Jake and Adrien have some tough issues to face. Jake has to finally come to grips with how being a closet...more

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May 24, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-drama, m-m-romance, mystery, suspense-thriller, favorites

I devoured Death of a Pirate King in a 12 hour reading marathon. Quite honestly, I don't know what else to say about these books that hasn't been said already.

It has been my great privilege to read the stories and watch these characters evolve through the course of the first four books. It hasn't always been easy, but it's been hugely rewarding.

This book picks up a full 2 years after the ending of The Hell You Say. I must admit that I was unexpectedly shaken by that lapse in time. After the way...more I devoured Death of a Pirate King in a 12 hour reading marathon. Quite honestly, I don't know what else to say about these books that hasn't been said already.

It has been my great privilege to read the stories and watch these characters evolve through the course of the first four books. It hasn't always been easy, but it's been hugely rewarding.

This book picks up a full 2 years after the ending of The Hell You Say. I must admit that I was unexpectedly shaken by that lapse in time. After the way things had ended with Adrien and Jake, however, it was an entirely necessary intermission. It gave these characters the opportunity to continue through the courses of life, allowing the myriad small and large occurrences that shape our existences to readjust who they'd been when they'd separated, making their reunion amidst the bitterness, the unresolved feelings, and the heartbreaks acutely painful to witness. Jake's burden has been particularly difficult to experience, and I've found it hard at times to continue to love him, but I can only say in his defense, that the only person he's ever tried to purposefully deceive is himself. While I learned to accept that he'd never attempted to hide his intentions from Adrien, it was difficult to witness. In the tangled web Jake weaved, he caused no small amount of harm, intentionally or otherwise, to the people around him.

And surprise! Amidst all the relationship issues that were explored in this book, there was also another very satisfying mystery - Hard to believe that Josh Lanyon is able to so successfully interweave an emotionally charged murder mystery with an emotionally charged affair of the heart, but he does so with great finesse.

I continue on to the next book with a heavy heart, as I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters. While this book ended with more promise than I dare to hope for, I still can't help but remain cautious and skeptical that this series is going to end in the nice, tidy little happily-ever-after package that I want for Jake and Adrien.

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May 24, 2012 ElaineY rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cops-sherrifs-p-i-and-firemen, mm, mystery-suspense-with-some-romance

I still have the 5th, and final, installment to read but so far Death of a Pirate King is my favorite of the four books I've read so far. I enjoyed the murder-mystery here much more than the others and it felt contemporary, unlike the one in The Hell You Say (book 3) which I found embarrassingly dated. There was a liveliness in this 4th book that I did not find in the last three. The murderer may not be hard to figure out but it was still well executed, I felt. Perhaps the killer's identity was...more I still have the 5th, and final, installment to read but so far Death of a Pirate King is my favorite of the four books I've read so far. I enjoyed the murder-mystery here much more than the others and it felt contemporary, unlike the one in The Hell You Say (book 3) which I found embarrassingly dated. There was a liveliness in this 4th book that I did not find in the last three. The murderer may not be hard to figure out but it was still well executed, I felt. Perhaps the killer's identity was also a concession to a certain group of readers and therein lies my confusion about this series.

By the time I was in this installment, I had decided to join the rest of us who read this for the romance. Because somewhere along, the relationship between Adrien and Jake began to overshadow the murder mystery. I'm not sure if this was a mistake on my part because I don't like Jake and I need to like my protags in a romance. I liked him at first but lost an enormous amount of respect for him as the series continued. Not because of his decision to remain in the closet but because of his callousness towards Adrien and Kate, the woman he married. He was so self-absorbed and selfish, half the time I wished he would get bumped off and the series would revert back to a non-romance.

This never happened, of course, and I found myself dragged kicking and screaming into the Romantic Suspense book that DoaPK is because the Adrien-Jake relationship takes centerstage here, which it doesn't in the first three.

Maybe all amateur sleuths are TSTL but Adrien burrowed under my skin from the first book and even as I wanted to smack him at times, I found it easy to forgive him his foolishness in a way I was - and still am - unable to forgive Jake his lying, cheating, scumbag, @!?WTF!@!! ways. We can all argue about how Jake never technically lied to Adrien, that he never promised Adrien a real relationship, that Adrien went in with his eyes open in the same TSTL he does with his amateur sleuthing but we know in our hearts this is bullshit. Jake is chopped liver I wouldn't even feed that mangy feline Natalie wanted to keep much less see him as a protagonist in a romance.

Anyway, having read the series from the start back-to-back, if I were to take the series as a Romantic Suspense (I'm still vacillating. I'll decide after I've finished The Dark Tide later today) I would be less than satisfied with the way the resolution was played out. After what Jake put us through, he needs to grovel, to beg. Lanyon let him off way too easily! I was holding my breath as I read those final pages and my hopes went up when it sounded like Paul had lied about him and Jake having been together for five years (the source of my ugly little unforgiving heart) but after the initial "I did what?" response by Jake, it turns out to be true after all. It turns out that Jake and Adrien - or is it Jake and I - have different definitions about fidelity. Whatever, as a romance-reader, I am not satisfied that despite Jake's decision to stop the lies, the double life, when I reread those portions trying to figure out why I was unsatisfied, I realized that Jake was still preoccupied with himself. His life, his career, his family and the effect his double life was having on him. Not one word about how that double life had affected Adrien.

Real piece of work Jake Riordan is.

Book 5 here I come. Let's see I can be happy for Adrien taking the asshole back.(less)

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Jan 21, 2013 ❂ Endless rated it 4 of 5 stars

[*Edit - 2013/01/20 Update re-read count to 3]

The mystery was not much of a mystery for me 'cos i had the "who dunnit" figured out...so that didn't hold my attention. And even towards the end i can't bring myself to like Jake even a little bit...

I'm not writing a whole lot 'cos i don't want to include spoilers, 'cos for people like me the spoiler tag doesn't work - i still click on it to read it...and manage to ruin the book before reading it :-\

I'm going on to the 5th 'cos I've heard a lot of p...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-mm-read, josh-lanyon, ebooks-i-own, favorites, cops-hitmen-military-pi, cheating-bastards, growly-alpha-males

02.02.13

5 stars

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Written in July 2012 after reading for the first time.

Maybe I was just feeling uber emotional while reading this book, but this. THIS BOOK. Made me tear up at the end. Sigh. I still love Adrien and Jake together. I can't help it. Guy needs to go away.

3 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Kati rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, ebooks, favorites, in-english, gay, mystery

Josh Lanyon at his best. The 4th installment in the Adrien English Mysteries is also the best one so far! I was happy to see more of Jake Riordan who's not the bastard he used to be anymore - that made me quite happy - and also more of Adrien's nutty family. And also for someone who likes hurt/comfort, this was perfect!

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May 24, 2012 Josh added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: my-own-work

Fourth in the Adrien English mystery series. Adrien is dragged into investigating the death of a Hollywood movie producer by the charming and persuasive actor Paul Kane.

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Jul 31, 2012 Ilhem rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: josh-lanyon, m-m, mystery

"Death of a Pirate King" is the fourth installment of the "Adrien English Mysteries".
2 years after "The Hell You Say", Adrien improves his detective skills in a Hollywood mystery. He became a brother to the "Dauten harem", is in a relationship with Guy and faces Jake's reappearance in his life.

The first three books were very enjoyable 4 stars readings, a true feast of words for greedy readers!

In this fourth book, the witty retorts I enjoyed so much turned acerbic and humor had sometimes a sour t...more

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May 24, 2012 Madame X rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm-romance, gorgeous-writing, brings-the-funny, mystery, favorites

Two years have passed since the end of book three, The Hell You Say. Two years without Riordan, two years without being implicated in a new homicide.

The book starts with a suspicious death. Adrien's first book has been optioned for a movie and he's at an intimate Hollywood-type shindig, chatting up the people poised to kick the project into gear, when the guy sitting next to him keels over. Turns out Adrien is a suspect and, yep, Riordan is on the case.

The mystery in this book was the easiest f...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Vivian Archer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, freebies, romance-contemp, mystery

Sweet Mercy! That's a kicker of an ending. I guess one could say I feel ecstatic, but whether it is happiness or frothing at the mouth variety is yet to be determined. I'll say this--bloody brilliant. I have to read the next one.

Being naughty and flagrantly ignoring all rules of series reading I dove into book #4 'cause I liked the sexy title. What? I can't help if I'm a victim of marketing. Of course, I'm sold on reading the entirety of the Adrien English series now. Yay for promotions that wo...more

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May 24, 2012 Trix rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action, adventure, cops, coming-out, bi-sexual, mm-novels, detective, angst, contemporary, hard-copy, mystery, suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was pleasantly surprised the fourth installment. And thank God I started reading the series at a later date otherwise the suspense would have been right down cruel.

I was a bit surprised to see the story pick up 2 years after the events in The Hell You Say because I held a small ray of hope that things could be mended between Jake and Adrien. A hope that died a slow death throughout the first half of the book. Things seemed settled and closed: Adrien was steadily seeing Guy while Jake had actua...more

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May 24, 2012 Elisa Ramblings added it

I must confess... is it the right thing to do since this is a mystery, isn't it? The naked truth is that I haven't read the first three books in the Adrien English mystery series!... Wow, the world is still up? the earth is not crashed down? There is not really a reason, I have all the books, I bought them when they were finally available in ebook format and I have heard only positive things on them, but... actually I never had enough patience to start reading something that I knew needs to be r...more I must confess... is it the right thing to do since this is a mystery, isn't it? The naked truth is that I haven't read the first three books in the Adrien English mystery series!... Wow, the world is still up? the earth is not crashed down? There is not really a reason, I have all the books, I bought them when they were finally available in ebook format and I have heard only positive things on them, but... actually I never had enough patience to start reading something that I knew needs to be read from the first book AND I knew that Adrien doesn't gets his man (Jake) not in the first, nor in the second, maybe in the third book? Too much time for my little romantic heart.

And so, here I was with the FOURTH book in the series and with a really hard choice: start from the beginning or going against all my normal behavior (I'm a freak for series and reading order) and try to enjoy the fourth book all by itself? I chose the second option and read the book in one day, all the more than 300 pages.

Adrien English is an uptight, a bit aloof, but in the end an hopelessly romantic man. A bookseller and mystery writer by day and amateur sleuth by night, he always finishes in the wrong place at the right moment. Like this time, at an Hollywood party where a guest is poisoned. As in all the right Agatha Christie style mystery (or Ellery Queen... actually Adrien reminds me a bit of Ellery Queen...), all the possible suspects are in the room, and Adrien English is among them. And like by chance, the detective that arrives to the crime scene is Jake Riordan, Adrien's former lover and closeted gay married man (I didn't know that Los Angeles Police Department was so small...).

Anyway, even if at first Adrien doens't want to be involved, he cannot avoid it, and obviously dealing again with Jake doesn't do good to his relationship with Guy, his lover for the last two years, soon after the break up with Jake (mmm, a bit soon Adrien to start something with another man, this is not good for your imagine with the romance readers...). Then there is Paul Kane, an Hollywood actor who is whispered to be gay and who claimed to be a five years lover of Jake: five years means that he was with Jake two years before Adrien, and all during their relationship and also after their break up... so it appears that Adrien was not the first male lover for Jake as he believed (well this is good for Adrien's imagine with romance readers, since Jake is a liar, and Adrien did good leaving him and trying to rebuild a life with another man...).

Actually all the romantic readers obviously fan for Adrien to be with Jake (you never forget your real love...) and Josh Lanyon plays with them: yes, since Jake is married, so if he tries something with Adrien, he would be a cheating man, absolutely to avoid in a romance... but if between Adrien and Jake is true love, and Jake's wife is not a so positive character? Then there is the little problem of Adrien and Guy's relationship... Guy is the perfect boyfriend, tender and caring, handsome and clever; betray him is like kicking a puppy... but if he auto-deletes himself from the scene?

So here we are, reading of the developing mystery case, while greedily searching for the romantic details about Adrien and Jake. This book is double-faced: if read by a mystery lover, he would search for the culprit, and he would be not disappointed since the romance part is not obtrusive; if read by a romance lover, she would search for the final pair of lovers, and she would be not disappointed since the mystery part leaves space to the romance, and even to some erotic scene.

If you are like me, series order freaks, don't worry: you can pick up this book and read it stand alone, then if in the end you liked Adrien, and want to know more about him, you can read also the previous books, or instead wait for the fifth book where, accordingly to Josh Lanyon, all will be tighten up.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1934531316/?...(less)

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May 24, 2012 Kerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-same-sex, mystery

The worst thing about this book is that now I have to wait another year (or two, but I hope not) to read the next book in the series.

This book follows along in the life of Adrien, about two years after the last book is set. Adrien has changed and grown, and we get to see how the other people in his life have changed and grown. Jake makes a reappearance in Adrien's life, with predictably mixed feelings on Adrien's part.

The previous book left a lot of things unresolved, and this book does resolve...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Kelly Maybedog Hawkins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: what-glbtq, what-male-protagonist, how-ebook, what-thank-you-officer, what-mystery, what-m-m-read, where-borrowed, what-cheating

So there's one more book after this. I realized that there's a formula here:

Book 1: Couple meets and they get together.
Book 2: Couple explores relationship and they figure out how much they care.
Book 3: Closet becomes too much for one and they break up.
Book 4: (view spoiler)
Book 5: (view spoiler)

I found this one very frustrating. I loved the writing, the mystery...more

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May 24, 2012 Nancy L rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense-mystery, m-m, police-fbi-private-eye

although still pissed at Jake (cannot BELIEVE I kept rooting for them to get back together thru the last 2 books) I loved this latest mystery. Snarky Adrien in Hugo Boss is back and I love it. Hollywood certainly is a great backdrop for drama, lies and murder.

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Oct 08, 2012 Breann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Breann by: Pia

Shelves: lendable-kindle, gang-bang-read, gimme-the-next-one-now, mystery, poilce-military, romantic-suspense, m-m, artists, oh-the-angst, alpha-hero

"I'm not insane. This is very simple, very straightforward. Provided he doesn't kill me, it's foolproof."

Adrien seems to find trouble no matter where he goes. Adrien's book, Murder Will Out, has been potentially picked up for a movie script. Adrien is at a dinner party that features some Hollywood execs and what do ya know? The guy next to Adrien drops dead. Right next to him. Who better than to take the case? None other than Jake Riordan.

This book takes place two years after The Hell You Say e...more

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May 24, 2012 Aoife rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, lgbt-characters, amateur-sleuth

Josh Lanyon's book always read really quickly, that is of course mainly because they are really engaging and everything but also because Lanyon has a tendency for 'small' end-of-chapter cliffhangers. Not the really annoying type, so many (mystery)-authors writer, where every other chapter the protagonist is alone, hears strange noises and is convinced that the murderer is after him, just to find out that it's only his mother bringing some cookies or anything like that. Lanyon's are more harmless...more Josh Lanyon's book always read really quickly, that is of course mainly because they are really engaging and everything but also because Lanyon has a tendency for 'small' end-of-chapter cliffhangers. Not the really annoying type, so many (mystery)-authors writer, where every other chapter the protagonist is alone, hears strange noises and is convinced that the murderer is after him, just to find out that it's only his mother bringing some cookies or anything like that. Lanyon's are more harmless, chapters often end with some new relevation about the case or at a crucial point in the relationship between Adrien and Jake. So while I do tend to read his books always in one or two days it's not so much 'I must know who the killer was' (not that the mysteries are bad, rather the opposite, but they're not so absolutely thrilling that I need to know the solution NOW), more a 'I need to know how this fact we just learnd affects the story and so I have to read another chapter' (which ends on a cliffhanger again...)
So, yes these cliffhangers are et least properly exiting (opposed to a first-person-narrator hearing strange noises in his flat when there are still 150 pages of the book left) but nevertheless constant end-of-chapter cliffhangers are one of my pet-peeves and tend to annoy me. It's not quite as bad as in some other books as they simply are really engaging books with a great cast, so it doesn't feel like a desperate attempt of the author to keep his readers reading...I just wouldn't mind if he cut it back at least a bit.

I think this could have been part of a review for any of this books, so let me finally get to Pirate King...and start with a really simple question: How often does Emma have riding-lessons? Adriens seems to drive her to them constantly...either she must go about four times a week, or - if she only goes once a week - this case must have taken about six months because the sentence "And then I drove Emma do her riding-lessons." sometimes seems to appear twice per chapter.
Sorry...it's not really a really bad thing (and the actualy lessons get only described once or twice, so it doesn't get boring)...it's just weird.

Perhaps I'm getting lost in details a bit because I don't really know what to say about the book in general (what I haven't already said in my reviews about the other Adrien English-books). Adrien is fun, his relationship (or here not-relationship) with Jake remains very emotinal and complicated and the case was really good, though I admit I didn't enjoy it quite as much as his others (also because of the somewhat melodramatic finale).

Oh, and another minor thing about Lisa
(view spoiler)(less)

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May 24, 2012 Paola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourite

A wonderful follow-up to the acclaimed The Hell You Say, I really can’t praise it enough.

Two years after the end of the previous book, Adrien is dragged again into a new investigation, or rather, persuaded to carry out some discreet questioning by one of the people present at the dinner party where a murder was perpetrated, and this time LAPD – or rather Lt Jake Riordan himself – even encourages Adrien in his sleuthing efforts. Adrien’s first book has been optioned to be made into a movie and, w...more

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May 24, 2012 Indie Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rainbow-reviews, fiction, indie-reviews, lgbt, mystery, romance

The fourth installment in the Adrien English Mysteries Death of a Pirate King not only lives up to the promise of the previous books, in many respects it surpassed my expectations which were already quite high. It is readily apparent that author Josh Lanyon has hit his stride in this book on all fronts.

While it is virtually impossible to provide more detail on the mystery without completely giving away the plot, I will say that the author has written an outstanding mystery plot in particular in...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Josh Lanyon

A distinct voice in gay fiction, multi-award-winning author JOSH LANYON has been writing gay mystery, adventure and romance for over a decade. In addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and novels, Josh is the author of the critically acclaimed Adrien English series, including The Hell You Say, winner of the 2006 USABookNews awards for GLBT Fiction. Josh is an Eppie Award winner and a three-...more

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Books by Josh Lanyon

Fatal Shadows (Adrien English Mystery, #1)

The Dark Tide (Adrien English Mystery, #5)

A Dangerous Thing (Adrien English Mystery, #2)

The Hell You Say (Adrien English Mystery, #3)

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Quotes from Death of a Pirate King

“I was hoping you weren't gay. Or that you were only half-gay. Like Paul."

"Uh...sorry," I said. "It's pretty much full-time now. The pay's not great, but the perks...” — 5 people liked it

“I'm not insane. This is very simple, very straightforward. Provided he doesn't kill me, its foolproof.” — 3 people liked it

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Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mysteries #4)

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