From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

The Boy with the Painful Tattoo (Holmes & Moriarity, #3)

Josh Lanyon

Start date: October 5, 2014

Finish date: October 31, 2014

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Why we're reading this: A BRAND NEW RELEASE!
Book of the Month October 2014
[close] A BRAND NEW RELEASE!
Book of the Month October 2014

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What Members Thought

Jan 27, 2013 Lila rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-authors, favorite-couple, all-nighter, mm, book-boyfriend, mystery, smart, great-mc, 5-stars, laugh-out-loud

I reread both book in series prior release and in my opinion The Boy with the Painful Tattoo is the best installment. There is so many good things going on:

Mystery- Ok, it's not fair to say: "Josh is back!" since he released several post-sabbatical works. Stranger on the Shore is a mystery, good one at that, but mystery in TBWTPT was top notch. Kit and J.X. just moved together in their new house in San Francisco. Kit decided to stay and unpack their things while J.X. went to a convention. But, in a box where his china was supposed to be he finds a body. Now, my first thought was: "Only you, Kit... this can happen only to you." :D Personally, I couldn't guess neither who the killer was nor how to body even got there in the first place, but it's not just that- mystery has that quirky, to-the-point-of-ridiculous vibe we got used to reading every time Kit stumbles upon the body. I always thought that's a thing with his series. And just to spice it up, Kit also has two men chasing after him: one crazy lunatic and one psycho stalker. Lovely fellows. I have to say, though, that I had issues with (view spoiler)There is this scene at some bitten, off-the-road motel that was pure awesomeness. I reread it several times, because I was laughing so hard, and those are some nerve-wrecking moments. I love that scene to pieces.
Romance was perfectly balanced with mystery. If you prefer one over another you certainly won't be disappointed, since it has enough of both. I don't even know how to describe it, but this book is... substantial. So many things is going on, several parallel plots that somehow tied perfectly at the end.
Hence,we get just enough of Kit and J.X. being couple, doing things couples do. I guess that's the deal with most of us, but I got to Holmes & Moriarity after finishing Adrien English series. Now, that is my favorite series in genre, but Adrien and Jake were emotionally draining, I was a complete wreck with them. Kit and J.X. on the other hand were more relaxing to read because they were funny and they didn't have issues except Kit's insecurities and reluctance to dive into it completely. Well, hello complexity... I didn't feel like that in book #2, but here I found myself understanding some of Kit's issues. Yes, he is kind of a smartass. And he is reluctant and insecure. And he is a nag. But, despite what comes out of his mouth (or we read what's he thinking) he always ends up doing things that show us he wants this thing with J.X. to work. He is a complicated, high-maintenance puppy and I am pretty sure Kit will cause J.X. a heart-attack one day with his sleuthing adventures (poor guy, he was scared more than once). But it's not like J.X. is all perfect... I always thought of him as this knight in shining armor because he was so like the voice of sanity and his love was never in doubt and he always did the right things. So, I welcomed the fact that I saw some dirt on all that shine. He does think he is always right and he is pushing his case whenever he's got chance.(view spoiler) They fight. They discuss. They also have hot, earth-shattering sex (J.X., talking verra dirty during sex since 2009.) and they have it a lot. They are just being a normal couple; two people who are crazy about each other and that's never in the question.
Since I was dutifully avoiding every spoiler or excerpts of TBWTPT, I have no idea if it was a known fact, or intention Josh made clear somewhere. The thing that blew me away completely is...fan service. (view spoiler)

Then there were these funny, laugh-out-loud little things. Like Chandler quote that suits Kit's mood perfectly (brings back Adrien memories)...or the wicked, clever, awesome reason for title of this book... or Edna Mole reference... Or Harry Hole almost-pun...Or every damn thing that crosses Kit's mind.

I am gushing; I loved it.
...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2023 Meep rated it it was ok

Kindle-Sort-ReRead

This is bad
It's readable, I got to the end, but it's bad.
Remember why I quit originally.

The mystery. Lanyon has -and does- written a lot of cosy mysteries but has clearly lost the love of them, find too many of her later books feel scornful of the genre.
The plot to this is a weak mess.

Lanyon moved on to write a Nordic mystery. Here we get all the prep. What books she read, the breakdown of the style. Kit is an author but this smacks more of word block and writing what you're d ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 24, 2012 Bogusia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: firefighters-cops-mystery-mob, 2014

5+ STARS
Josh,
THANK YOU for writing such a great book !
I didn’t just like your book, I truly loved it :)
Thanks again for doing what you do.

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2013 L4dyGrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: alpha-male, mystery, fiction, funny, male-male, awesome-read, strong-male-characters, favorite-couple, great-reread, great-writing

Perfectly written....

Wholly crap!!!! Can't wait.... Publish, publish, publish! I love JX and Kit!!!!! ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2012 Alexandra rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm

WHAAAAT. That's what I think every time I swipe left on a Lanyon ebook and discover I have reached the end.

Perhaps because I started this series in audiobook format, I found it hard to match what I was reading with narrator-Kit's voice. But that's fine, it only makes me look forward to Kevin R. Free's performance.

There was some line J.X. said about never having wanted something as much as he had Kit? I'm not going to lift it out of the text, but the wording seemed very similar to something Adrie WHAAAAT. That's what I think every time I swipe left on a Lanyon ebook and discover I have reached the end.

Perhaps because I started this series in audiobook format, I found it hard to match what I was reading with narrator-Kit's voice. But that's fine, it only makes me look forward to Kevin R. Free's performance.

There was some line J.X. said about never having wanted something as much as he had Kit? I'm not going to lift it out of the text, but the wording seemed very similar to something Adrien said to Jake a time or two in The Dark Tide. That sort intrusion of a really passionate scene and turn of phrase from one book transplanted to another series was well, intrusive. And the cameo on top of that. JX and Adrien are two very different people, even if they are the obvious romantics of their relationships. It's odd that they wouldn't have different deliveries, even if the sentiment was the same. Is it just me?

And that Adrien English cameo. It was peculiar to see Adrien and Jake through Kit's eyes. For one, it didn't curb my Adrien & Jake 4ever lust but it also made me consider that Kit and Adrien should never, ever have unsupervised playdates. I can just imagine how large a pile of bodies they would leave in the wake of their combined curiosity. Jake remains infuriatingly enigmatic. Please, please. Can't Jake have his own book?

Boy kept me guessing. There was so, so much going on that by the end I have a list of unresolved things that might lead to a sequel...! (or ?) (view spoiler)

Okay. Loved the nosy neighbor. And Gage (Uncle Julieeeeeee! BWAHAHA). And their freaking house... I would live there! Also, all the raw emotionally honest scenes between JX and Kit as they do the hard work of adjusting to a life together. Kit's editor was hilarious with all her insistence about the direction his new work should take, and makes the title so much cheekier.

Passing thought, but what name does Lanyon himself use to refer to Kit? ...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Kay Sachse rated it really liked it

Shelves: schwulenkrimis, ebooks

I really love the Lanyon novels and his style but mr. Holmes really makes me wince with all his whining and doubting and second guessing. Why is J.X. in love with this guy? I don't get to know it because Christopher Holmes is the narrator of the story. Despite a lot of doubts about their relationship they finally move in together. But unfortunately that's still not the end of Christophers's whining (didn't we have enough of that in the first two books??).
Finding a corpse in the basement helps. ...more

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