Fatal Shadows

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Josh Aterovis"><B><IMG SRC="57fa77d0.jpg" border=0 width="167" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news_and_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News Events">News & Events</A></div> <div> <A HREF="novels__short_stories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings">Writings</A></div> <div> <A HREF="order_books.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Order Books">Order Books</A></div> <div> <A HREF="blog.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Blog">Blog</A></div> <div> <A HREF="press_room.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Press Room">Press Room</A></div> <div> <A HREF="contact_the_author.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact the Author">Contact the Author</A></div> <div> <A HREF="art_gallery.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Art Gallery">Art Gallery</A></div> <div> <A HREF="resources_and_links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Resources and Links">Resources and Links</A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Courier New" ><B>Josh Aterovis</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Josh Aterovis">home</A>     <A HREF="book_reviews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Reviews">Book Reviews</A></div> <div> <A HREF="boy_meets_boy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boy Meets Boy">Boy Meets Boy</A>   ·   <A HREF="christopher.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christopher">Christopher</A>   ·   <B>Fatal Shadows</B>   ·   <A HREF="from_the_ashes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From the Ashes">From the Ashes</A>   ·   <A HREF="geography_club.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Geography Club">Geography Club</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_house_beautiful.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The House Beautiful">The House Beautiful</A>   ·   <A HREF="spare_parts.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hot Sauce">Hot Sauce</A>   ·   <A HREF="how_i_paid_for_college.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How I Paid For College">How I Paid For College</A>   ·   <A HREF="lust.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lust">Lust</A>   ·   <A HREF="one_picking_fruit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On Picking Fruit">On Picking Fruit</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_order_of_the_poison_oak.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Order of the Poison Oak">The Order of the Poison Oak</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_phoenix.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Phoenix">The Phoenix</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_protector.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Protector">The Protector</A>   ·   <A HREF="relative_stranger.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Relative Stranger">Relative Stranger</A>   ·   <A HREF="id623.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Rest Is Illusion">The Rest Is Illusion</A>   ·   <A HREF="spare_parts287.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spare Parts">Spare Parts</A>   ·   <A HREF="stepping_out.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stepping Out">Stepping Out</A>   ·   <A HREF="subsurdity.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Subsurdity">Subsurdity</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_trouble_boy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Trouble Boy">The Trouble Boy</A>   ·   <A HREF="you_can_say_you_knew_me_when.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="You Can Say You Knew Me When">You Can Say You Knew Me When</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Fatal Shadows</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3d4ba050.gif" border=0 width="442" height="5" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="58ec8390.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="313" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0">By Josh Lanyon</div> <div> ISBN: 9780979311048</div> <bR> <div> Mild-mannered bookseller Adrien English and Robert Hersey go way back. They were best friends at their exclusive private school, experimented together as they figured out their sexuality, and Robert stuck by Adrien's side when Adrien fell ill in school. They didn't remain as close after school when Robert married Tara, his high school sweetheart, so imagine Adrien's surprise when Rob shows up at his mystery bookstore one day and asks for a job. It seems he's decided he is gay after all. The new Rob is all kinds of trouble: irresponsible, lazy, and maybe even a thief. </div> <bR> <div> When Rob winds up dead in an alley, stabbed to death in an apparent crime of passion, Adrien is the cop's suspect <I>numero uno</I>. After all, they'd had a very loud and very public fight just hours before Rob was murdered. What's worse is that Adrien believes he's being targeted, too. His shop gets vandalized and a creepy flower arrangement is sent to him with a note that seems to indicate he's next on the killer's list. </div> <bR> <div> The police, including the hunky Detective Riordan, think Adrien is trying to divert suspicions from himself -- and they seem to be ignoring every other suspect at his expense. In fact, they seem more than a little homophobic. </div> <bR> <div> Finally, Adrien decides the only way to clear his name is to find the killer himself -- before he winds up the next victim. </div> <bR> <div> <I>Fatal Shadows</I>, the first book in the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon, is a rollicking good, old-fashioned mystery novel. Adrien, a gay, thirty-something bookstore owner with a heart condition, is an engaging protagonist. His circle of friends and acquaintances are also suitably interesting and quirky. There's Claude, an African-American restaurateur who puts on airs of being French; Adrien's mystery writers circle including a daffy co-authoring couple, a prickly feminist, and a super-masculine misogynist; the aforementioned Detective Riordan; and Adrien's mother, an overbearing, British, retired ballet dancer who doesn't mind that Adrien's gay (she'll never have to compete with a younger Mrs. English) but hates the fact that Adrien chose to open a bookstore (she considers it beneath him).</div> <bR> <div> As Adrien's investigation continues, more people wind up dead and the harassment against him picks up in intensity. Does the chess piece found in Rob's hand have any significance? It's a queen, so could the murderer be targeting gay people? Could Rob's estranged wife Tara hate him enough to kill him? She blames Adrien for Rob's leaving her. Or was the killer one of Rob's many exes? He left a brokenhearted trail of them in his wake.</div> <bR> <div> I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although I did have a few issues. I figured out the killer well before the big unveiling and thought the ending was a little contrived. Then again, I write mysteries myself, so maybe not everyone would pick up on the clues as quickly as I did. The characters were fleshed out and believable, and Lanyon's writing is quick and fun. I definitely think it's a great start to the series and I look forward to reading the next book, <I>A Dangerous Thing</I>. I've heard great things about this series so I have every reason to believe he's only going to get better from here!</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>