From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Murder Takes the High Road

Josh Lanyon

Start date: May 1, 2018

Finish date: May 31, 2018

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Why we're reading this: This will be our May 2018 read!!!
[close] This will be our May 2018 read!!!

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What Members Thought

Apr 22, 2018 Chris, the Dalek King rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mc-pairing-mm, uniforms-and-private-dicks, murder-and-mystery, foreign-uk, contemporary, nerds-and-geeks, love-bytes, bookshops-libraries-museums, owned-ebook-or-audio

This book has it all: Scotland! Book-Groupies! Jealous, Vindictive Ex Boyfriends! Murder?!?

When Carter Matheson originally booked two tickets for a week-long bus tour of Scotland to visit the many sites of inspiration for one of his favorite mystery crime author’s books, he did so as a surprise present for him and his boyfriend. Well two years, and one hellish breakup, later, and things have gone a bit off the rails. For one his ex demanded that Carter hand over his–very expensive, thank you ver This book has it all: Scotland! Book-Groupies! Jealous, Vindictive Ex Boyfriends! Murder?!?

When Carter Matheson originally booked two tickets for a week-long bus tour of Scotland to visit the many sites of inspiration for one of his favorite mystery crime author’s books, he did so as a surprise present for him and his boyfriend. Well two years, and one hellish breakup, later, and things have gone a bit off the rails. For one his ex demanded that Carter hand over his–very expensive, thank you very much–ticket to the new man in his ex’s life (which, yeah, no). And when Carter (rightly) doesn’t, his ex goes ahead an pays for the second ticket himself, so now Carter is stuck on a week-long bus tour with his angry ex and his asshole new boyfriend. Which makes things a bit awkward, to say the least. Then the rumors of a death on the previous bus trip start circulating, people start mysteriously dying, and the stranger now sharing his hotel room is acting all kinds of shifty. It is, to say the least, not the vacation Carter was looking for.

Though not terribly deep, dark, or daunting, Murder Takes the High Road is what I would consider a fun read. I was totally into the story for the entire length of the book, and it was a quick read because I kept wanting to flip to the next page to try and figure out what the hell was going on with this bus-tour.

The characters were by far the standout of the story. Quirky, annoying, mysterious, and downright odd, I found the whole cast to be rather memorizing. Carter himself, well, he was a blast. Especially when he was interacting with his ex. I loved their scenes so much. And while I don’t think John Knight (Carter’s mysterious roommate), and Ben (another fellow passenger) get quite enough fleshing out for my tastes, I found their individual interactions with Carter to work well with the story.

My one gripe with this book, really, is that the mystery–which I very much enjoyed for a large portion of the story–just fumbles around itself near the end. There is this secondary mystery that seems to come out of nowhere, and some character history that feels a bit rushed into the plot so that the story can wrap itself up nicely in a speedy manner. A lot of revelations happen in such a short span of time, that it kinda killed all the fun of discovering these things for myself. It was very much–here’s a clue, here’s a clue, here’s a clue…and here’s the answer! No time to breathe or ponder. I like all the parts that make up whole of the mystery, but the ending was so rushed that I didn’t get to enjoy half of them half as much as I wanted.

Of the two Josh Lanyon books I got the chance to read and review this month, I think I have to say that this one is my favorite…if only by a few decimal places. I just think I had more fun reading this one than I did The Magician Murders. I was never quite sure where this story was going, and while I think it flubs the ending a bit, overall the it was a very nice experience. It ended up being a fairly standard Lanyon mystery novel, but if those are your jam, like they are mine, I have a feeling you will enjoy this one as well.

This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

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Apr 10, 2018 2shay rated it really liked it

As a long time fan of Josh Lanyon, I was thrilled at the opportunity to get my greedy hands on this ARC! One thing that can always be counted on is that Lanyon NEVER disappoints! This story was a joy to read. I loved Carter from page one. His ex, Trevor, is a little bit..ch! Trevor is self-absorbed and greedy...and dislikable. My main question was why in the world did Carter let Trevor have the ticket for the tour in the first place? Carter paid for the trip. Harrumph! That’s the kind of nice gu As a long time fan of Josh Lanyon, I was thrilled at the opportunity to get my greedy hands on this ARC! One thing that can always be counted on is that Lanyon NEVER disappoints! This story was a joy to read. I loved Carter from page one. His ex, Trevor, is a little bit..ch! Trevor is self-absorbed and greedy...and dislikable. My main question was why in the world did Carter let Trevor have the ticket for the tour in the first place? Carter paid for the trip. Harrumph! That’s the kind of nice guy Carter is and the kind of a$$hole Trevor is. Enough about that or I’ll do a full, lengthy rant about exes taking advantage.

Okay. I took a deep breath so I can forget about exes and move on, although the before-mentioned ex gives poor Carter a lot of grief throughout the book, this story is full of great characters. It’s a tour group, so there are a lot of people, some there because of their love of Dame Vanessa Rayburn’s books and some as tag-alongs...spouses, siblings and such. Some of these characters are likable, some less so, but they are a fascinating group. Lanyon is well known for writing fully fleshed characters, even when they’re secondary in the story. And then...and then...John Knight shows up. He arrives late. The only place left for him is to room with Carter. Carter is not pleased.

Carter is a bit of an introvert, so sharing a room with a stranger makes him a little cranky, but it doesn’t last long. John’s behavior is a little off. Carter wonders right away if the man has even read a single one of the Rayburn books! And...if he’s not a fan, why is he here?

Strange things start to happen on the tour. Carter and John get more connected as one bad thing after another happens. A mystery, wrapped around a mystery, wrapped around an even older mystery unfolds, page by page with Lanyon’s iconic style. Lanyon is also known for turning a book into a series, something I hope happens with this book...I would love to see more of Carter and John.

If you enjoy a good mystery, great writing skill or a m/m story that’s more about the emotional bonding than the sex, you should grab a copy and...

Enjoy!

2shay

ARC graciously provided by Carina Press and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review. ...more

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Apr 23, 2018 Dana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m

Reviewed for Rainbow Gold Reviews. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Through reading m/m romance and lgbt fiction, I have become a fan of the mystery genre. Mystery is afoot when Carter joins a tour group in Scotland to meet an author whose mysteries he enjoys. There are rumors of suspicious deaths on the previous tour and suddenly everyone wants to play sleuth until one of the tourists ends up dead. Others on the tour are acting strangely, and Carter hears noises in the night Reviewed for Rainbow Gold Reviews. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Through reading m/m romance and lgbt fiction, I have become a fan of the mystery genre. Mystery is afoot when Carter joins a tour group in Scotland to meet an author whose mysteries he enjoys. There are rumors of suspicious deaths on the previous tour and suddenly everyone wants to play sleuth until one of the tourists ends up dead. Others on the tour are acting strangely, and Carter hears noises in the night that leave him feeling like more is going on. More is going on. Things are definitely not what they seem at first, but there is trouble brewing. And before the trip is over a mystery does need to be solved. There are twists and turns in this book that leave me having to be vague in this review or risk giving away too much. If you haven’t already read this author, it must be said – Josh Lanyon does mystery very well.

I don’t know if labels are necessary but this story feels more gay fiction than romance because Carter Matheson feels like the main character in this story. The story revolves around him as it’s his POV, and we see how the other characters interact with him.There is a bit of romance between him and his mysterious roommate, John. I loved their chemistry and believed it even though their attraction very quickly turned to more. Carter’s ex, Trevor, and his new boyfriend, Vance, are also on this tour with Carter. Their anger/jealousy over Carter offers a lot of gossip for the rest of the group. Another tourist, Ben, also seems attracted to Carter. If only he weren’t too busy being embarrassed at all the complaining his mother was doing.

I felt like I was people watching while reading this book and it was interesting. There were many interesting characters. Some moved the plot along by prodding Carter to look into what is going on. Some were antagonistic for various reasons, and made you kind of wish they might be the next victim. 😉 There were also some characters that were vague and mysterious. In the long run, I’m not sure they were important enough to even have been mentioned. I definitely enjoyed reading this book, though. I guessed some of the twists and turns the plot would take, but when it came down to it, the victim and the motive for murder in this book remained a mystery to me until the very end.

9/10 pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars ...more

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Sep 20, 2019 Calathea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller

The audiobook version is great. The narrator Gary Furlong really helps the story to the next level.

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Jun 02, 2018 Dana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, mystery

I reviewed the ebook before and loved the story. I like the mysteries in this book, the made-up ones, and the real. The narration by Gary Furlong is awesome. He never disappoints me. I have to say how much I liked the main character of Carter. He reminds me just a little bit of Adrien English in his sarcastic sense of humor. He made me laugh.

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Jul 05, 2018 JSidelinger rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

When in need of entertainment and witty humor...Lanyon

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Nov 01, 2018 Lois - Who Reads rated it liked it

Shelves: stored-kindle-app, m-m, mystery-suspense, challenge-bingo, purchased-kindle

This was a really fun mystery. It was clear from the beginning that John was up to something, but I kept wavering on whether he was a good guy or a bad guy and what exactly he was up to. The members of the tour and their amateur sleuthing, with Carter occasionally trying to be the voice of reason, were such a blast. As some point in the story everyone acted suspiciously and that kept me on my toes. The ending was a complete surprise for me.

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