From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out (The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks #2)

Josh Lanyon

Start date: January 1, 2019

Finish date: January 31, 2019

Discussion leader: Jordan Lombard

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

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Dec 27, 2018 Meep rated it it was ok

Shelves: cosy-mystery-crime-detective

I approached this warily, seeing no need for a sequel, but having loved the first book so much -it was my first Lanyon and a genre I enjoy- I wanted to read it. And, I still don't think the first book needed a sequel. This doesn't offer anything more.

The first 20% could have been condensed into one page. I was struggling, wanting the story to progress but instead being treated to Perry telling me what Nick must be thinking then Nick's concerns for Perry... it felt heavy handed, there's no relati I approached this warily, seeing no need for a sequel, but having loved the first book so much -it was my first Lanyon and a genre I enjoy- I wanted to read it. And, I still don't think the first book needed a sequel. This doesn't offer anything more.

The first 20% could have been condensed into one page. I was struggling, wanting the story to progress but instead being treated to Perry telling me what Nick must be thinking then Nick's concerns for Perry... it felt heavy handed, there's no relationship development beyond repeated assurances that Perry likes sex, yet at the same time it stops us getting on with the mystery. They don't come across as a joint front.

An indifferent mystery. Perhaps the level of separation is part of that, in the first book they lived in the building while here they're outsiders. The fact the mystery seems more silly than a real concern. The solving was Perry jumping to conclusions and Nick giving a learned evaluation. No detecting. And no one involved garnered any care. Even at the ta-da my reaction was 'oh that's the end then'

And seriously when the powers off who immediately gets into an elevator? Got the feeling that was pointed out and there was a hasty acknowledgement of it a few pages later - but why would you do that?

Ah the quirky, quirky cast. They read like caricatures; there must by a psychic as there was one in the first book, lets give her rainbow hair, it'll be a way to identify her. Their personalities aren't fleshed out in the slightest so they remain pinpointed by their oddity and never feel real or amusing. Also one character referred to by his first name was suddenly being alluded to by his surname in the next sentence. Both nice four letter names. Cue confusion. The only person who sounded vaguely interesting was the Detective, wouldn't be surprised if he got a book of his own, though with this sequel taking a decade...

To me the story felt forced, there's no enjoyment to it, in the writing or reading of. There's none of the fun, the jumping at shadows or odd noises. I LOVED the first book it remains a favourite but this is instantly forgettable. It's so meh it doesn't impact the first.
There's a note that joining JL's newsletter gets you a free audio - but if it's the audio for this no thanks. Sadly I'm going to have to acknowledge JL is no longer an author for me. ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2019 Grace rated it liked it

Shelves: mm-romance, mm-smut, mm-mystery, kindle-loanable

2.5 rounded up

I generally liked it, but was mostly just a bit disappointed. I really enjoyed the first book, and I was very much looking forward to seeing Nick and Perry again, and while it was lovely getting more of them, the whole book sort of felt like a missed opportunity. The mystery plot was okay, though I never felt particularly invested, and the relationship stuff was barely explored. There were tentative mentions of points of tension between Nick/Perry (age difference, Nick traveling a ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2019 ΛNNΞ rated it liked it

Not my favorite series by this author. I struggle through the first book in this series and found this book plagued with similar problems. My biggest issue was the cast of oddball characters in strange situations. And ofcourse Perry's meddling interference it matters that would cause most people to run for the hills. Whereas I found the large cast of supporting characters in the whodunnit style mystery in the first book annoying, the supporting cast in this book just came across as over-the-top ...more

Like · see review

Dec 27, 2018 Lillian Francis rated it really liked it

Oh my, I've been waiting forever for this book and out didn't disappoint. An array of madcap secondary characters kept a nice theme going from the first book. As did the mystery, which at first glance could have had supernatural leanings, but turned out to be all too human a motive.
Love Nick and Perry together. And their thoughts for the future.
My only quibble is that despite only a year passing from the first book, we seem too have jumped forward about a decade.
...more

Like · see review

Dec 23, 2018 Lakerkat rated it liked it

Well. This wasn’t what I expected.

The best thing about this book is Nick’s love for Perry.

I finished because Lanyon is one of my favorite authors AND I hoped Perry would get his inheritance. 😬

Like · see review

Jan 01, 2019 Carey rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m-romance

I’ve waited so long for this book, having loved the first book and this was so meh. It’s short and took me about a week to read, so it never grabbed my interest. It was pretty slow and boring.

Like · see review