A Dangerous Thing [Paperback]

 

 

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It has been two months since Rob Hersey's murder was solved with Adrien escaping death at the hands of a deranged killer thanks to LAPD detective Jake Riordan. Since then his relationship with Jake has taken some interesting turns. At Jake's overtures, they are spending time together watching television or DVDs and becoming friends. But, good-bye hugs and a failed attempt at kissing is the extent of their physical relationship and it's starting to take its toll on Adrien.

Detective James Patrick "Jake" Riordan is a bundle of walking and talking hang-ups and contradictions. On the one hand he is a self-loathing homophobe, and on the other, a homosexual cop, who has a penchant for anonymous gay S/M sex and an aversion to real intimacy with another man. As Adrien aptly puts it, Jake is buried so deep in the closet he doesn't know where to look for himself.

Another last minute date cancellation by Jake has Adrien packed and on the road to the Sonora region and the Pine Shadow Ranch, the property willed to him by his grandmother, for a much needed getaway. He entrusts the bookstore to his occult-fascinated employee Angus and leaves Jake behind in the hopes of getting some writing done and getting Jake out of his system. But, when Adrien arrives at the ranch he finds a dead body on his land and the ranch's overseer Ted Harvey missing. Already shaken by the discovery, Adrien becomes even more frazzled when upon the arrival of Sheriff Billingsley and Deputy Dwayne the body that was there a minute ago has disappeared into thin air. Add to this the discovery of a sizable patch of waist-high cannabis mysteriously planted on his land and a group of archaeologist squatters digging for buried treasure and Adrien quickly realizes that his much needed vacation has turned into yet another sleuthing exercise.

While Adrien prowls around the missing Ted Harvey's trailer for clues, he receives a hard knock to the head that has him waking up in the hospital with LAPD detective Jake Riordan by his bed. With a second dead body suddenly appearing, phantom 911 callers and marijuana plants on his land, Adrien finds himself yet again as the number one suspect. But this time he's not alone in his quest to solve the mystery and clear his name. This time he's got Jake on his side. While each discovery brings Adrien and Jake closer together and closer to solving the crimes, it also endangers their lives as they both find themselves on the killer's hit list.

In "A Dangerous Thing," Josh Lanyon presents us with a new crime to solve and a host of possible suspects with motive by once again combining an intricate plot with the continuing story of Adrien and Jake to write another page-turning mystery. But this time Adrien teams up his amateur sleuthing skills with Jake's professional investigative talents with the goal of finding out who's been killing and leaving dead bodies at his ranch, where is Ted Harvey and what, if any, relationship there is between all these mysteries and the group of archaeologists camping out on his property?

While I found the crime mystery in Book 2 of the series to be as well written and riveting as that of the first book, and thoroughly enjoyed guessing as to the culprit, I must admit that I was much more focused on the slow revelation of the enigmatic Jake as a character, Adrien's rich introspection and perspective in regards to himself and Jake, and by extension their evolving relationship. In fact, through his writing Lanyon makes it next to impossible to not become completely mesmerized by these two characters and their relationship dance.

The bringing together of Adrien and Jake has all the makings of an unforgettable coupling, but not necessarily in the traditional romantic sense, because the books of the Adrien English Mysteries series are not romance. Rather, their attraction as a potential couple lies in the complexities, imperfections and realism of both characters and in their ensuing relationship dynamics.

I consider myself very much a character-driven reader and Adrien and Jake are precisely the types of characters that I enjoy sinking my teeth into. I very much appreciated the author's measured peeling back of Jake's layers delving into his complexities and slowly revealing his subliminal feelings for Adrien as he begins to drop his guard in the relative safety of the ranch's isolation and in response to Adrien's subtle and sometimes not so subtle prompting. For his part, Adrien's rich personal introspection and emotionally intelligent insights into all matters, especially his relationship with Jake, continue to endear him to the reader as a refreshingly unlikely but altogether accessible hero. I thoroughly enjoyed their well nuanced dialogue and the verbal sparing between these two characters and felt that it was highly effective in portraying the mounting sexual and emotional tension between them. All these elements converge to increase the anticipation of their first sexual encounter, which I found to be highly erotic, but at the same time surprisingly poignant because given their individual circumstances and issues, it leaves both exposed and vulnerable, albeit in different ways, as the nature and parameters of their relationship change.

After reading "A Dangerous Thing," I can say with certainty that I have become completely invested in Adrien and Jake and the possibilities of their relationship, whatever its evolving nature.

NOTE: This review was originally published online by Rainbow Reviews on January 24, 2010.

Used bookseller Adrien English had had it! He was tired of LAPD Detective Jake Riordan waffling back and forth between wanting to have a relationship with him and being too scared to admit that he could have feelings for another guy that didn't involve S&M and bondage. So Adrien threw some stuff in his car, left his beloved store in the hands of his less-than-able assistant, and headed out to his grandmother's Pine Shadow Ranch, which she left to him when she died.

Adrien hadn't been to the ranch since he was a little kid and he was looking forward to the peace and quiet so that he could work on his latest guy-whodunit, which wasn't going so well. However, running into a dead body in his driveway was not the best way to start a vacation. By the time Adrien had contacted the sheriff and explained the situation, the body was gone. Vanished. The sheriff was sure that Adrien was just imagining things and saw a drunk trying to sleep it off and Adrien let himself be persuaded for the time being. Unfortunately, things didn't look too much better in the morning. Adrien soon discovers that his supposed "caretaker" was growing marijuana on his property and he had forged Adrien's name to give permission to the local university to run an archaeological dig on his land. Too bad he is missing and Adrien can't find him. Before Adrien can do much else, Jake shows up on his porch demanding to know why the police are calling to ask questions about Adrien. When Jake hears that Adrien is involved in another murder mystery, he tries his best to persuade Adrien to go back to Hollywood where he belongs. But Adrien is positive that the dead body he saw that first night was the body of his caretaker and is determined to get to the bottom of the many mysteries in the sleepy, small town.

This is the second book starring Adrien English, following Fatal Shadows, and it was just as good, if not better than the first. This one is much longer and has a more fleshed out and fully developed story. All of the characters are fun to get to know and it is amusing to watch Adrien and Jake try to get along together and figure out what they are going to do about their supposed "relationship." I also really enjoyed the mystery(s). The plot was fast paced and very interesting. I sat down and read the book in a couple of hours, it was that good. The fact that the main character is gay may put some readers off, but this is a fine mystery in its own right. Give it a try.

What a great read! Light and entertaining, yet riveting and suspenseful, I read "A Dangerous Thing" in just two nights. The story starts with the main character, a bookseller from LA, traveling to his grandmother's old ranch in the Sierra Nevadas. He arrives to find a dead body in the middle of the driveway and no clue as to the cause. The story just takes off from there and never stops. Josh Lanyon has a superb grasp of language and plays subtle word games throughout this first-person narrative. Even at critical moments, the story remains witty and entertaining. I may have been at a slight disadvantage by starting with the second Adrien English book, rather than the first, but the characters still seemed well developed and understandable. My all-time barometer for a mystery is whether I can solve it, but not too quickly. A mystery solved too quickly means the author was sloppy with his clues, and a mystery with a surprise ending often means the author just tricked the reader. I found the pace of the "reveal" to be very well timed and thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you're looking for a good mystery where there are gay characters but their sexual orientation isn't the focus of the book, then this is the story for you. --Andrew Barriger, author of Finding Faith

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4.0 out of 5 stars Nice follow up
to the first book. This had more focus on the relationship between Adrien and Jake, than the mysterious happenings around them, or more specifically around Adrien. Read more

Published on Mar 30 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Wait
The first Adrien English mystery, FATAL SHADOWS, was published in 2000 and was a truly auspicious debut for its author, who gave us a lead character of enormous charm and... Read more

Published on Feb 16 2003 by Randall Ivey

5.0 out of 5 stars It only gets better
Josh Lanyon is onto something. The second book in the series is, again, a great read but the book as a whole is much better than the first. Read more

Published on Jan 30 2003 by RMS Bear

5.0 out of 5 stars A series which is proving to be a gem
I read this right after I finished "Fatal Shadows". "Fatal Shadows" is great but "A Dangerous Thing" is even better. Read more

Published on Nov 29 2002 by R.Parklane

5.0 out of 5 stars Should Please Old Fans and New Readers
As I mentioned in my review of Lanyon's first Adrien English book, Fatal Shadows, I usually don't like mystery novels. Read more

Published on Nov 5 2002 by Duane Simolke

5.0 out of 5 stars Adrien English Is Back And Beter Than Ever!
Adrien English is different. He's not your ordinary run of the mill murder mystery sleuth. He's the proprietor of Cloak and Dagger Books, a small mystery bookstore in Los Angeles,... Read more

Published on Oct 28 2002 by Robert Edler

5.0 out of 5 stars Josh Lanyon Does It Again
Bookseller Adrien English escapes to his ranch to try to relax and to get over writer's block (he is working on his second novel), as well as to get away from Detective Jake... Read more

Published on Sep 24 2002 by Dominic Tyllen

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