From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Three Nick Nowak Mysteries (Boystown #1)

Marshall Thornton

Start date: March 1, 2012

Finish date: March 31, 2012

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Aug 01, 2013 Otila rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites-mm

This is a collection of 3 novellas staring Nick Nowak, a former cop turned PI. Set in Chicago in the early months of 1981, during the pre-AIDS era, when indiscriminate unprotected sex was prevalent. Each novella covers a different case that Nick is solving. During those cases, we get glimpses into Nick's life so we start to form a whole picture.

This is not a romance or even m/m. It's gay fiction. Yes, there's a lot of sex, but it's not sexy or hot. It's emotionless and mechanical. This isn't a c ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2014 Irina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: gay, favourite, lena-rec, mystery, historical, suspense, adult, contemporary, erotica, marshall-thornton

He is smart but reckless. He is promiscuous, yet very lonely. He might appear as cold and sometimes ruthless, but he is hurt too. And he is sexy as hell...

Marshall Thornton's vivid writing makes Nick so real, it was like watching 3D movie. I just wish I could hide and 'watch' it undisturbed ;) ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2014 Sam rated it really liked it

Shelves: 3-5-star, 2014-reading-challenge

Nick as a character is engaging, as is the writing, but having read this in April (it's now August), I haven't found myself searching out the other books in the series.

I'm not sure if this book of three shorts was the best way for me to start this series. I loved the setting of years past, but the rehashing of facts in each book (apartment, job, appearance) annoyed me. I missed having a developing romantic entanglement, even if I found how Nick lived his life to be fascinating. Shoddy editing al ...more

1 like · Like · see review