Death of a Pirate King (The Adrien English Mysteries, #4) in Q&A with Josh Lanyon

May 27, 2011 Bookwatcher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, suspense, glbt-gay

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 a ...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Amara rated it liked it · review of another edition

The ending saved it for me. Up until then I was struggling to get thru this one. I knew 'who dunnit' from the very beginning and just wasn't at all interested in the 'why dunnit' or watching Adrien go thru the sleuthing thing to find out. By about 1/2 - 2/3 thru the typos were annoying me and I'd become disinterested enough that I just started skimming over all the mystery parts and the family parts and pretty much only read the Adrien/Jake Adrien/Guy parts. By 3/4 of the way thru, wanting to kn ...more

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Jun 21, 2010 Merith rated it it was amazing

The ache and anxiety from THYS doesn't disappear in DoaPK; it becomes even more poignant.

Nearly two years have passed from when Jake and Adrien last spoke, and still, Jake takes up space in Adrien's head and heart. The story opens with Adrien recovering from pneumonia and attending a Hollywood dinner, hopeful in having his novel picked up for a movie option. He should have suspected that the dinner would end in murder... and he reunited with Jake.

Adrien has changed and it shows in his demeanor, The ache and anxiety from THYS doesn't disappear in DoaPK; it becomes even more poignant.

Nearly two years have passed from when Jake and Adrien last spoke, and still, Jake takes up space in Adrien's head and heart. The story opens with Adrien recovering from pneumonia and attending a Hollywood dinner, hopeful in having his novel picked up for a movie option. He should have suspected that the dinner would end in murder... and he reunited with Jake.

Adrien has changed and it shows in his demeanor, his appearance, and his wit. In creating the wall to keep from falling again, from getting hurt again, Adrien almost misses that Jake has changed, too. Maybe it was Jake's surprising naiveté, but he truly expected Adrien to remain his friend. It is in his revelations, some so minor they can be missed at first and second reads, it is understood that his leaving Adrien didn't only devastate Adrien. Jake in this story is beginning to become more open, though at times he seems even more reticent than ever. And his protective streak for Adrien is a bright and shining thing, though rough and loud at times.

DoaPK is a more subtle story than the three prior stories. The murder investigation by Adrien is more sedate, with Adrien drifting with the flow and not causing waves. At least, not causing waves until he has to, until he knows what he's fighting for. This drift is in part by Adrien's health, with the pneumonia wrecking havoc on his already taxed heart, and in part by his relationship with Guy, who wants more with Adrien, but cannot give Peter up either. Mostly, the drift is apparent because it isn't his curiosity driving the investigation but the possible producer for his novel; the man who Adrien finds out has history with Jake.

As the back stories of the suspects and counterparts are explored, another, older mystery is revealed and relationships are exposed, some still seething with hatred and bitterness. Adrien wades through the past and finds the connection only to worry that the connection might link Jake right in the middle of it. Feeling he has nothing to lose, Adrien picks up the metaphorical sword and hunts down the pirate who's high jacked his life.

DoaPK isn't a true mystery, not in the whodunit. However, the whys all around are slowly revealed. The mystery is more a cerebral exercise than a physical one, at least until the very end. Adrien's and Jake's relationship building starts anew, but with a stronger foundation, if somewhat fumbling. Never quite sure what's going to happen next, if anything is going to happen.

This story does not disappoint and builds anticipation in a good way for the fifth (and I hope not final) book. ...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Sharon rated it it was amazing

This was probably one of my favorite in the series. Why? well...that would be getting into spoiler territory. There is no need to review the story cause if you read the first in the series, you will be reading this one and the next (which is the last). So I will just tell you why I love this series. Jake and Adrien are perfect examples of non perfect people. I love them! Jake has a lot of haters, but I think he is just a product of his upbringing and it has left him quite damaged. He is *trying ...more

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Jan 24, 2017 Melyna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, audiobook, mystery

Read January 30-31, 2012 4.0/5.0
Started Audiobook January 23, 2017
I love this series. Fun mysteries, engaging characters and Chris Patton's narration is wonderful.
I finished the last book very angry with Jake and thought there was no possible way for him to redeem himself. (for some reason I did not have this feeling when I read the books. This is why audio makes revisiting this series so much fun. A new perspective)
I am happy to say that he is ranking much better in this book. ;-)
I enjoyed the ...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Tracy rated it it was amazing

This is my second time reading this book and I really think I not only like it better this time but feel I understand and appreciate the writing much more completely. This book was really hard for me to read originally as Paul was messing so much with Adrien and Jake, but that said they also began to communicate with each other or maybe Jake started to communicate with Adrien. What I missed with my first read was how Jake is finally trying to express how he feels. He still isn't real good about ...more

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