Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Adrien English series challenge #1: Fatal Shadows
Calathea wrote: "But then, wasn't something mentioned about a cat when they first went to Bruce's place?"Sort of. Here are some relevant quotes and tidbits:
Right after they've had sex the first time, Bruce tells Adrien, "I used to have a Siamese cat with eyes just the color of yours. He was the prettiest thing."
Jake said the dead cat Adrien found had been old and well-fed, so it probably (hopefully) died of natural causes.
When Adrien first steps into Bruce's house, he notes that it had "the faint scent of air freshener and cat." And there were "photos of assorted dogs and cats, but no photos of Bruce. Pale squares and ovals on the wall indicated where his pictures once hung." Perhaps some of those pale squares and ovals were once Bruce's pictures, but probably also of the cat that Adrien found.
Mymymble wrote: "Calathea wrote: "A question: Do we know how Bruce's parents died? Why did I immediately assume he killed them first?But then... he only went on his killing spree after he thought of divine interv..."
Yes that is what I thought too. What other explanations can explain that both his parents and sister are dead?
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Am I the only one thinking that that description of his haircut was used to give the reader a "negative" impression of Jake..."
;-D
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This is what I love about audio -- and why audio can offer the opportunity to hear the book as if for the first time again.
Assuming you're the type of reader with the patience for audio.
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I'm genuinely amazed there is still anything to say about these books! I'm finding this really helpful for writing the Christmas story.
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LOL
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It does.
The SO's life insurance all goes to his kids. Which I'm 100% in agreement with.
Mine is divvied up between my loved ones.
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:-D :-D :-D
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It's bizarre as fuck!
This is by far one of the strangest books I've ever read as far as ..."
What's funny is the original version -- the GMP version -- was only about 27K That's a slim novella. And there was LESS romance. :-D
But for someone who only reads mystery, there's a ton of looks and comments that just don't fit anywhere but in romance.
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And I just got word it's going into Thai too. :-D
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I love Angus. Right away he was endearing to me, the way he asked if he could take a break, and then how much time he got. And at the end ..."
I remember my joy when the Advanced Book Exchange came along! Books I had been searching out for years were suddenly available. I think I found 3/4 of my search list in a matter of hours! Of course affording those books was something else!
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Just thought I'd point that out.
Also, Bruce says at the end, "I wondered what this would feel like when it happened." I assume he's referring to killing Adrien, as his comments seem to be leading there. The important thing to note here is his use of the word "when" and not "if". He knew he'd kill Adrien eventually. Even if he did love Adrien.
Who's to say he didn't poison the cat? At this point he probably kills all that he loves as well as hates in a way to keep them forever his. Well, just a thought.
He could've poisoned it. I doubt anyone did an autopsy on it to find out how it died.
I just finished FS. I swear nobody ends a book like Josh. I can't even describe the level of frustration I have whenever I finish a Lanyon book sometimes! And yet that is the genius of it, because it definitely made me want to start reading ADT asap. Yay, finally some Jake and Adrien time!
Calathea wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "Karen wrote: "I've gone on to the book's discussion, but wanted to note this before I forget again.There's something very sad about Bruce, about who he was and who he became. Tha..."
I hadn't made that connection or else I pushed it far out of my mind :)
Jordan wrote: "Also, Adrien is quoted as saying "the hell you say" in regards to Angus at one point. Later on he's quoted as saying "stranger things have happened."Just thought I'd point that out.
Yes, I snickered when I read both those lines.
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More of the quirky treasures found when re-reading. Although in my copy it says, "Stranger things had happened." Ah, but the have version is repeated in TDT. Crazy things we Fanyons notice. :)
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Just thought I'd point that out..."
Exactly!
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Just thought I'd point that out..."
Me too!
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Ha! And yet compared to Joseph Hansen or any of the great mystery writers I linger lovingly, even ludicrously over my romantic wrap-ups. It just depends on the frame of reference. In real mystery reading circles I'm positively MUSHY.
Josh wrote: "Viv wrote: "I just finished FS. I swear nobody ends a book like Josh. I can't even describe the level of frustration I have whenever I finish a Lanyon book sometimes! And yet that is the genius of ..."Mushy?! I've actually never read any mysteries besides yours. I'm strictly a romance kind of gal. Thankfully I get both with your books and I love them. And I know going in that I'm not getting an epilogue. ;-)
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You'll get it with a Christmas coda! ;-D Right? Am I right? :-D
Now the codas are the truth of my secret mushy side. Because no purist mystery writer would be adding these romantic bits and bobs in afterward. But here I am year after year saying, SEE! THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
:-D :-D :-D
Josh wrote: "Viv wrote: "Josh wrote: "Viv wrote: "I just finished FS. I swear nobody ends a book like Josh. I can't even describe the level of frustration I have whenever I finish a Lanyon book sometimes! And y..."So glad you're not a purist, Josh. :-D
Keep the codas coming, please, we won't tell the mystery writers police. Promise.
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:-D
I love the codas! Thank you so much, Josh! Happy Thanksgiving!
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Thank you, Viv! :-)
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Well, that's exactly what I thought.
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And I just got word it's going into Thai too. :-D."
Cool!
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Ha! And yet compared to Joseph Hansen or any of the great mystery writers I linger lovingly, even ludicrously over my romantic wrap-ups. It just depends on the frame of reference. In real mystery reading circles I'm positively MUSHY."
:-D
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MUSHY, I TELL YOU!!!!! ;-D
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MUSHY, I TELL YOU!!!!! ;-D"
LOL. You're exactly the kind of mushy I like, my dear! :-D
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But other elements within the story are a bit dated now (or were, previous to this last election). So, for example, when I read a story clearly overly inspired by the AE series where characters are unduly closeted in their LEO profession, it makes me impatient.
Things have changed a LOT since 1997 (which is when I began writing FS) and even *I* wouldn't write Jake's character the same way were I to write the book now.
In fact, I don't write LEO characters as closeted as Jake anymore because there isn't the same need for it. It's not realistic, even taking into account how macho and homophobic law enforcement can be in some ways (depending on individuals and circumstances).
Jake being so extremely -- but at that time believably -- closeted created a set of conflicts and barriers to the relationship that were specific to a certain place and time. But to write that same dynamic now?
Jake would seem cowardly, IMHO.
Now none of us can say what might happen after this last election, but right now I wonder how long the AE series will continue to have legs given that so many younger readers have no personal experience or emotional reference points to some of the elements that really drive the story.
Josh wrote: "I've always thought that the reason Fatal Shadows has "lasted" so long is that A - It's a mystery and mysteries have longevity, and B - It's about emotions, especially loneliness and lack of accept..."I don't think it would necessarily become obsolet. It's always a challenge to admit and/or act on your emotions. It could as well turn meta. ;)
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It was already "in the past" when I first read it. The thing is that Jake's fears were never a plot device; they were true to the time the story takes place. Jake's finally overcoming those fears, and Adrien somehow still being there when he does, propels the overall story, the romance. Romance overcoming adversity is classic. Plus the books are engaging mysteries, and have wicked humor.
Even when these seem to be "historical" to new readers, I believe they'll hold their own over time. They are classics for this genre. After all, the reader doesn't have to have directly experienced Hansen's time to empathize.
Karen wrote: "Even when these seem to be "historical" to new readers, I believe they'll hold their own over time. They are classics for this genre. After all, the reader doesn't have to have directly experienced Hansen's time to empathize."Exactly.
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Meta! :-D You girl scientists are wacky!!!
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That's my hope anyway. I think the emotional core of the story stays true. And the other stuff--well, that's one reason why (recalling our discussion of Nava rewriting the Rios series) I won't try to rewrite anymore. For one thing the world has changed a lot. And for another, I have changed a lot. ;-)
I keep forgetting about this, but I finally finished my relisten this last weekend. Don't remember which book we talked about if Jake was with Kate before he was with Adrien or not, if it was this book or one of the later ones. But the detail here that always made me think he was with Kate first is that her voice is on Jake's answering machine when Adrien calls to tell Jake he's going to Bruce's house. If they've only been dating a couple of weeks, that's awfully quick to put her voice on her casual-not-serious boyfriend's answering machine, isn't it?
Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "I keep forgetting about this, but I finally finished my relisten this last weekend. Don't remember which book we talked about if Jake was with Kate before he was with Adrien or not, if it was this ..."I wondered about that when I was re-reading and I forgot to ask.
I wasn’t sure if the female voice on the answering machine was really Kate’s voice or if it could just be a pre-recorded voice. I’m not very familiar with answering machines, but I remember some telephone company here offering that kind of service years ago. It said something like “this is… (insert telephone number), leave a message after the beep”, like when you call a call-center and they made you choose a number for the service you want.
I wondered if it could be something like that, because Adrien was pretty surprised to hear Kate’s voice when he called Jake that famous Saturday morning and a woman’s voice on the answering machine would have been a pretty obvious sign that Jake was in a serious relationship.
That's a good point and that could be it. It could just be me presuming the voice is Kate's. As for that Saturday phone call, Adrien was obviously just in denial and he had just had a rude surprise when he discovered the weed, after discovering a body that disappeared. He didn't contemplate that female voice could be Kate's. Not that he had any reason to know what Kate's voice sounded like.
But what does that say about his impression of Jake at the start of ADT that he’s more willing to think Jake was still in the club scene but not dating women anymore? I guess Adrien saw the club scene as less threatening than other individual people - and that turned out to be correct.
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Jordan wrote: "Adrien wasn't surprised about the voice on the answering machine, that I recall, so yes, it must have been an automated voice. I heard that again this time around and was going to mention it, but f..."I wonder if he would have taken note of it being a female voice if it had been an automated voice.
And then he didn't know much about Jake or even think about a relationship with him at that point. So a female voice on the machine wouldn't have to cause surprise, yes?
Calathea wrote: "I wonder if he would have taken note of it being a female voice if it had been an automated voice. And then he didn't know much about Jake or even think about a relationship with him at that point. So a female voice on the machine wouldn't have to cause surprise, yes?"
Good point. Still, a woman recording Jake's answering machine message would have implied a serious relationship, like Linda said.
It was the home number Adrien called, wasn't it? That would mean they were practically living together. And if it was Jake's personal cell, even worse.
Adrien might have been in denial about Jake's seeing other people before he called from the ranch, but it seems a little too much to forget about a pretty heavy piece of information like that, even if at the moment he wasn't thinking about a relationship with Jake.
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Ah. No, I wasn't thinking the voice was Kate's. I was thinking one of those prerecorded voices -- and that the fact that Jake would choose a female recording said something about Jake and who he wanted people to think he was.
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Ditto. Always male though. Always female on my satnav however. I prefer a woman telling me wh..."
Yes! And with a British accent. It is a well-know fact British women are the best explorers.
Josh wrote: "Elena wrote: "Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "I keep forgetting about this, but I finally finished my relisten this last weekend. Don't remember which book we talke..."Thanks for clearing that up Josh!
Josh wrote: Yes! And with a British accent. It is a well-know fact British women are the best explorers. "Perhaps, but I always pick the British man. I hate the American woman; she always sounds so sarcastic when she says "reCALCulating" (I obviously don't even like the navigation system telling me where to go!).
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Perhaps, but I always pick the British man. I hate the American woman; she always sounds ..."
:-D :-D :-D
Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Fatal Shadows / A Dangerous Thing (other topics)Stranger Things Have Happened: An Adrien English Write Your Own Damn Story (other topics)
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo (other topics)
Here there be dragons (other topics)
Fatal Shadows / A Dangerous Thing (other topics)
More...
But then... he only went on his killing spree after he thought of divine intervention in the first case.