A Dangerous Thing

A Dangerous Thing (2002/2012) Josh Lanyon

Adrien English is tired of Jake Riordan canceling their dates–not that Jake would admit they were dates, since he’s deep in the closet.

Swell. He preferred humiliating strange men in costume to kissing a man he knew. And presumably liked.

So Adrien heads to the ranch he inherited from his grandmother in an attempt to escape Jake and hopefully work on his new book.

But the discovery of a dead body that disappears–and evidence of illegal activity on his property–keeps Adrien from writing and puts him in danger.

You’re the one paying that no account Ted Harvey to sit around and smoke dope all day.”

“I’m paying him to look after my property.” Smoking dope was a perk.

As with the previous book, this was written and then rewritten a decade later, which leads to some uneven parts–namely that drug laws changed in the intervening decade which makes the threat to Adrien less than it would have been

Of course, it’s possible that the book is supposed to be set in the early aughts, but in that case I think it should say so.

Although some things haven’t changed.

“How long have I been here? Where am I exactly?”

“Almost forty-eight hours. You’re in Calavares County Hospital running up a sizable bill even as we speak. I hope you’ve got health insurance.”

I hoped I had enough. I’ve known solvent, gainfully employed people bankrupted by a hospital stay.

Shaky but stubborn, I sat there peeling off the lime-green plastic hospital bracelet, demanding an “Against Medical Advice.”

“We can’t hold you prisoner,” the man of medicine admitted when pressed.

I delivered the coup de grâce. “My insurance won’t cover another day.”

Open sesame.

And I quite liked this bit:

(T)rying to convince myself I didn’t feel so bad, it struck me that I had really underplayed this concussion thing in my own writing. Jason Leland was routinely knocked on his noggin and an hour later was back to chasing bad guys backstage, upstage and all around the town. The reality was a shattering headache to end all headaches, blurred vision, a touch of nausea, and pulverized neck and shoulder muscles.

And I was amused by this.

Sniffing my ear, he said, “You smell good. What is that?”

“Bacon grease.”

It’s an interesting mystery and the relationship bits are fascinating, as Jake continues to try to hide and deny his nature.

Publisher: JustJoshin Publishing, Inc.
Rating: 7/10

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