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A review by isalaur
Footsteps in the Dark by Z.A. Maxfield, L.B. Gregg, Josh Lanyon, Dal Maclean, Meg Perry, C.S. Poe, S.C. Wynne, Nicole Kimberling
4.0
This is an anthology of m/m mysteries and includes works by some of my favorite authors so it was a no brainer to read! I skipped around in reading order, choosing some of my very favorites first as I was in the mood for some clever writing and witty dialog.
The first story I read was Lights. Camera. Murder by CS Poe. With the opening paragraph of the prologue I knew it was a good choice. “Now I knew I needed to pick up milk, sugar, bread, and a new boyfriend.” Love it! And then shortly after, “I’ve been called worse things by better people.” I was all in already!
I’ll start out by saying one of the things I really like about Poe’s work is that her MCs are grown-ups. It makes the snark and wit that much more realistic. Rory is a 45-year-old PI who is hired to go undercover on a filmset in Queens to solve a theft with over 100 potential suspects. Marion Roosevelt is the star of the television show filming on the set Rory is sent to investigate and therefore a potential suspect. Of course, Rory is immediately attracted to him.
There are of course several secondary characters that make up the suspects in the case and also, interestingly used as a plot device, the ex-boyfriend referenced in the first quote above who acts as a kind of Jiminy Cricket piling on to Rory’s self-reflective inner monologue.
The stakes are raised on the investigation when Rory discovers a dead body. The hints to who is behind the crimes are cleverly interwoven and once revealed cause the reader to have that head-banging aha moment! The crisis scene is appropriately tense and has a satisfying resolution and the ending is sweet. Great story!
The second story I read was Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon. Like Poe, Lanyon writes great grown-up characters with flaws and snark and intelligence. Her books are the closest to Agatha Christie, the master of the clever detective story to my mind, of anyone writing these kinds of books today. I always wonder what Christie would have thought of the m/m romance element of the mysteries.
In Stranger in the House we meet Miles, an American high school art teacher who has just inherited an estate in Montreal worth millions from his godmother. He arrives to find strange happenings at the estate and the belief that there is someone else in the house and that items are missing. When he spots some of the items in a pawn shop window he is sure something is afoot. Miles also has to deal with the two sons of the deceased woman and he has some guilt about that, especially since he has long had an unrequited crush on the younger brother.
The writing is clever and several red herrings are woven into the tale. Things appear to be explained after a death occurs but of course that would be too simple. The crisis moment reveals all and brings the story to a sweet conclusion though there are some strange tidbits left hanging.
I look forward to reading the rest of the stories in the book. Mystery is one of my favorite genres and I am always happy to find stories that while also including romance concentrate on the mystery element of the story.
And that point is yet another reason why Poe and Lanyon are among my favorite writers. The mystery is as big, if not bigger, than the romance element of the book. Too many books today give short shrift to the cleverness of the mystery in favor of adding as much steam as possible. Good writers know how to balance and appeal to the mystery genre’s readers. If I want erotic stories I’ll select that genre. When I want a mystery I turn to those writers I can depend on to do the genre justice and Poe and Lanyon are among the best.
*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *
The first story I read was Lights. Camera. Murder by CS Poe. With the opening paragraph of the prologue I knew it was a good choice. “Now I knew I needed to pick up milk, sugar, bread, and a new boyfriend.” Love it! And then shortly after, “I’ve been called worse things by better people.” I was all in already!
I’ll start out by saying one of the things I really like about Poe’s work is that her MCs are grown-ups. It makes the snark and wit that much more realistic. Rory is a 45-year-old PI who is hired to go undercover on a filmset in Queens to solve a theft with over 100 potential suspects. Marion Roosevelt is the star of the television show filming on the set Rory is sent to investigate and therefore a potential suspect. Of course, Rory is immediately attracted to him.
There are of course several secondary characters that make up the suspects in the case and also, interestingly used as a plot device, the ex-boyfriend referenced in the first quote above who acts as a kind of Jiminy Cricket piling on to Rory’s self-reflective inner monologue.
The stakes are raised on the investigation when Rory discovers a dead body. The hints to who is behind the crimes are cleverly interwoven and once revealed cause the reader to have that head-banging aha moment! The crisis scene is appropriately tense and has a satisfying resolution and the ending is sweet. Great story!
The second story I read was Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon. Like Poe, Lanyon writes great grown-up characters with flaws and snark and intelligence. Her books are the closest to Agatha Christie, the master of the clever detective story to my mind, of anyone writing these kinds of books today. I always wonder what Christie would have thought of the m/m romance element of the mysteries.
In Stranger in the House we meet Miles, an American high school art teacher who has just inherited an estate in Montreal worth millions from his godmother. He arrives to find strange happenings at the estate and the belief that there is someone else in the house and that items are missing. When he spots some of the items in a pawn shop window he is sure something is afoot. Miles also has to deal with the two sons of the deceased woman and he has some guilt about that, especially since he has long had an unrequited crush on the younger brother.
The writing is clever and several red herrings are woven into the tale. Things appear to be explained after a death occurs but of course that would be too simple. The crisis moment reveals all and brings the story to a sweet conclusion though there are some strange tidbits left hanging.
I look forward to reading the rest of the stories in the book. Mystery is one of my favorite genres and I am always happy to find stories that while also including romance concentrate on the mystery element of the story.
And that point is yet another reason why Poe and Lanyon are among my favorite writers. The mystery is as big, if not bigger, than the romance element of the book. Too many books today give short shrift to the cleverness of the mystery in favor of adding as much steam as possible. Good writers know how to balance and appeal to the mystery genre’s readers. If I want erotic stories I’ll select that genre. When I want a mystery I turn to those writers I can depend on to do the genre justice and Poe and Lanyon are among the best.
*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *