Josh Lanyon: the series of Josh Lanyon
I guess everything I read is gay now?
This is a long entry; be prepared?
These are all works I’ve read twice or more, so hopefully I’ll not be too dumb about them (and I have stuff to say about some of them).
The Ghost… series: ok it’s two books but that counts as a series! An underprotected twink and his overprotective partner might be one way to summarize? They are quirky and I like them!
All’s Fair series: after reading a WHOLE LOT of Josh Lanyon, I think I understand the protagonist of this series, Elliot Mills, as being an actual genius at crime solving? It feels like Lanyon works to keep her characters believable, and, of the heroes of hers that I’ve read, Elliot comes closest (I think) to being, like, uncannily talented at solving stuff. And then pays for it in other ways, as I’m sure most geniuses do. I love Tucker, btw—of the big, brawny alpha male love interests Lanyon writes, I feel like he is the secret golden retriever.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks series: it’s basically unfair to judge these because the plot extends really throughout the series—like not just an issue or two, but full-on chunks of plot line that are still all tangled after three books. I am not the world’s biggest fan of John, but that might change! Maybe! Like, maybe the reason I am not his biggest fan is because he and Cosmo don’t know each other that well?
The Art of Murder series: I kind of love these because of the art parts (like, I didn’t know what a netsuke was—how cool! And also looking up some of the artists mentioned is really fun and educational)—I love the deranged folk artist element—and I LOVE that Snowball in Hell comes up, diegetically, as a lost piece of gay Hollywood history and then Lanyon HAS WRITTEN THE BOOK so that even if you can’t watch it (and you might wonder what the [in-world] Hollywood Code forced as changes to its ending) you can at least read the story. I like that Jason West is a little bit too pretty and polite to make his “I don’t always play by the rules” attitude expected, and that he and Sam Kennedy have more chemistry than understanding.
Secrets and Scrabble series: so…my main objection is that there really isn’t that much scrabble in these books. It’s a weird objection, given that I’ve never played a single game of scrabble in my whole life, but I feel like there are SO many other things that draw this series together more pertinently than the scrabbling. You could call it the Pirate’s Cove Murder Mystery Bookstore Murder Mysteries (…), Ellery and Nora vs. Evil, Jake the Not-Straight…The Further Adventures of Watson and his Attending Human Companions? I really enjoy the series.
Adrien English series: I…sigh. I really like this series. Apparently Fatal Shadows, first in the series, was originally published in 2000, so—a closeted, homophobic-ish—at the least, self-loathing—gay cop as a character was far more on the table 25 years ago. That said, I don’t like Jake very much. That said, I think Lanyon creates him as a character with whom one empathizes, doesn’t make too many excuses for him, and makes Adrien’s feelings for him believable and (eventually) earned. I appreciate that Lanyon clarifies that their relationship isn’t about the most right choices, but rather about the best choices, for Jake, and more importantly for Adrien. I like Adrien lots, and I’m glad he ends up with the one who he loves most.*
Holmes and Moriarity series: ok they are my favorite, in part because Christopher is laugh-out-loud funny. And bitchy. And hapless. And very relatable. And JX is super-adorable—very macho and very full of feelings. And I like Rachel, and I like Gage, and I like Mr Pinkerton and Miss Butterwith and the flaming Inspector Appleby (and how everyone makes fun of them). The part I like best, aside from Christopher’s narrative voice, is the meta aspect of Rachel trying to force new genres on Christopher while he is taking part in a mystery borrowed from said genre. I just think it’s clever in a tongue-in-cheek way that feels very Christopher. Which kind of makes me nervous that JX is just part of a fantasy series of cozy mysteries Christopher is writing in order to get back on his feet after Miss Butterwith, and not part of Christopher’s actual biography. But I’m not going to go there, because said nervousness is too like my feelings about the episode “Normal Again” in season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (except 9 million percent less grim)—if you know you know.
OKAY! So that is Josh Lanyon’s series-es…again, all gay cops/FBI agents/navy seals all the time. And one witch. And some mystery writers. And a lot of explicit sex. Except for Secrets and Scrabble. ANYWHOOZLE!!
*As a side-note, I’m not really into second-guessing authors’ choices for their characters?? I still remember the shot of horror I felt when someone (in middle school, so…32 years ago?) suggested that Jane Eyre should have ended up with St. John Rivers. Oof. The shivers. Anyway I feel like Josh Lanyon has her characters work hard for their happy endings, and I wouldn’t want to begrudge Adrien his.