Murder Takes the High Road

Murder Takes the High Road (2018) Josh Lanyon

Two years ago, Librarian Carter Matheson bought tickets for himself and his boyfriend for the Tour to Die For, a bus trip through Scotland visiting many of the places that appeared in Dame Vanessa Rayburn’s books. But now Carter and Trevor are split, and Carter refused to give his expensive ticket to Trevor’s new love, Vance. So Carter is solo on this tour, watching his ex, and wondering why he just doesn’t go home.

Except that he loves Vanessa Rayburn’s books.

This was quite an interesting mystery. First, the author had been convicted of murder as a teenager, which gets to explore some of the interesting ethical quandaries posed by a real life author who committed murder as a young teen: Can you still enjoy an author’s mysteries after you discover she has a sordid past? Does an author’s past change how view her works–especially when those works are murder mysteries?

It’s not that Vanessa Rayburn is even a lot like the real life author with a difficult past. But it does allow you to think a little more abstractly about a situation that can make people uncomfortable.

In any case, you couldn’t write about the murder of children if you were in the least bit squeamish— if you want my honest opinion.”

It appeared Edie and Bertie did not, and the conversation behind me died a quick and chilly death.

(To be clear, the author in the story had NOT killed a child.)

But that is not the main reason to read the book–it’s just what immediately sucked me in.

What kept me reading and reading was Carter.

“You didn’t tell me you were a librarian,” he said.

I grinned. “You know how it is. The minute guys find out, they start treating you differently. Asking if you can fix their late fines, trying to get you to put the new releases on hold for them.”

Although I appreciated that the main character was older, it also made me wish there were more older heroines in romance.

There were a lot of older people on this tour. I was pushing forty and I was likely the youngest person on board.

But I also liked many of the secondary characters. On a bus tour, of course there are going to be a lot of people, but as with any real group, certain characters managed to stand out.

Nedda said wearily, “I’ll examine her.” She explained she was a retired GP.

“Why haven’t you said so before now?” Yvonne demanded. “Why isn’t it in your bio?”

“I didn’t feel like spending the trip dispensing free medical advice,” Nedda told her.

That cracked me up. The author has obviously spent time talking with real doctors.

All in all, it was a decent mystery, a cute romance, and I enjoyed it.

Publisher: Carina Press
Rating: 7/10

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