Fatal Shadows

Fatal Shadows (2000) Josh Lanyon

Another re-read.

Adrien English is having a bad day–his former best friend and current employee has been found dead, and Adrien is a suspect.

“What makes you think he wasn’t mugged?”

“Fourteen stab wounds to his upper body and face.”

I felt the blood drain out of my brain again.

“Those kinds of wounds generally indicate prior acquaintance,” Riordan drawled.

This is a romance, but not one with a real and true HEA. It’s a murder mystery first and foremost, with one of the characters happening to be a gay bookseller and another happens to be a closeted gay cop.

NOTE: This was written in 2000. In case you’ve forgotten (or never known) things were very very different then.

One of the things that kept me reading this series (besides the mysteries) is Adrien. He’s broken, and there are so few expectations for his success, but he keeps doing what he can, and does try to be more than the guy with the bad heart who could die at any time.

Also, besides the general homophobia of the 2000s, there are bad things that happen in this book, which is awful and hard to read.

Publisher: JustJoshin Publishing, Inc
Rating: 6/10

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