Title: In Other Words…Murder
Series: Holmes and Moriarity: Book Four
Author: Josh Lanyon
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 265 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Murder Mystery
At a Glance: I encourage you to pick up In Other Words…Murder post haste. If you haven’t yet indulged in this series, please do. It is a gem of a mystery series and heaps of fun to boot.
Reviewed By: Sammy
Blurb: Death reveals all secrets.
Mystery author Christopher Holmes, now comfortably married to sometimes rival, sometimes nemesis J.X. Moriarity, is starting a new career as a true crime writer when threatening anonymous notes start arriving.
Even worse, Christopher’s ex also arrives–asking for help locating the man he left Christopher for!
It’s life–and death–as usual at Chez Holmes. In other words… Murder.
Review: I must admit the Holmes & Moriarity series by Josh Lanyon is a bit like crack for me. Lanyon continues to crank out tidbits in this collection that both amuse and fully satisfy my amateur sleuthing bone. In Other Words…Murder picks up directly from the last book, with little break, and finds Kit Holmes right back in the proverbial murder seat when he is informed by his cheating ex that their house has been discovered as harboring a dead body in the back yard. If that weren’t enough trauma for Kit, he’s also informed that his stalker has been bailed out of jail while awaiting trial, and is on the loose—something both he and J.X. are unhappy about.
From there he is stalked and attacked by a killer clown, forced to interact with the man who broke his heart as well as their marriage vows, and is still attempting to force himself beyond the crippling writer’s block that has kept him from publishing for over a year. Once again things are not looking good for poor Kit Holmes. But J.X. is faithful as ever, and even though he doesn’t press, he is definitely eager to get their wedding and honeymoon on the front burner. Now, if Kit can survive long enough to conquer his fear of commitment and finally agree to a honeymoon venue.
For me, I think the one thing that stands out in this series is the humor and ludicrous situations Kit so often finds himself in at the end of the day. Murder just doesn’t chase Kit down, it lives in his house with him, and while that shouldn’t necessarily be funny, it so often is when Lanyon gives it her familiar combination of dry wit and outlandish yet believable extenuating circumstances. When you couple that with the lovely growing relationship between J.X. and Kit, then you really can’t go wrong when investing in one of these stories. I believe the development of the relationships between her men is something Josh Lanyon does so well. She never rushes her characters, instead allowing life to play out in all its ups and downs and forcing her guys to either adjust or abandon ship. I appreciate how Kit’s reluctance to avoid what he has convinced himself will ultimately be another rejection flavors every response he gives to J.X., and the way in which J.X. reads Kit so perfectly makes the partnership they have just sing.
The mystery elements were spot on as well, and as usual the climax to the story had me on the edge of my seat wondering how Kit was going to manage to save his hide once again. As always a Holmes & Moriarity novel is top notch, and I am thrilled that we will be receiving yet another installment in the future. Until then, I encourage you to pick up In Other Words…Murder post haste. If you haven’t yet indulged in this series, please do. It is a gem of a mystery series and heaps of fun to boot.
You can buy In Other Words…Murder here:
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