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gorgonine 's review for:
Secret at Skull House
by Josh Lanyon
Plot: Murder mystery.
1. Josh Lanyon is definitely an author who writes according to a strict formula. Common themes include murder plots, a very relatable narrator/protagonist and a love interest who is invariably associated in some way with the police or police-like institutions.
2. I don’t read Josh Lanyon for the romance. I’m mostly wary of older man/much younger man dynamics (another commonly occurring trope) and I wasn’t a huge fan of the police-y love interests even before the events of June 2020.
3. Things I do like about her books are the competent (and often funny) prose, the mostly intriguing murder mysteries (I mean, I may not be emotionally invested but they are interesting) and the plethora of lovely side characters. Oh, and the protagonists. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Josh Lanyon protagonist I didn’t get fond of in two chapters flat. All of this makes Josh Lanyon a very soothing read, and Secret at Skull House was no exception.
4. The small town life and politics stuff was my favorite part- the extended cast of characters and motivations were compelling. What is it about small town stories that inspire stories of secrets and coverups and forgotten crimes? Whatever it is, we should have more. Stories, I mean. Not murders.
5. I even got fond of the love interest. Fond, as in I don’t feel the need to keep harping about how much better off everyone would be if that guy weren’t in the picture. Don’t look at me like that. I have generally contentious reactions to about 60% of romance in media, and it shoots up to 90% for romances in non-romance books.
1. Josh Lanyon is definitely an author who writes according to a strict formula. Common themes include murder plots, a very relatable narrator/protagonist and a love interest who is invariably associated in some way with the police or police-like institutions.
2. I don’t read Josh Lanyon for the romance. I’m mostly wary of older man/much younger man dynamics (another commonly occurring trope) and I wasn’t a huge fan of the police-y love interests even before the events of June 2020.
3. Things I do like about her books are the competent (and often funny) prose, the mostly intriguing murder mysteries (I mean, I may not be emotionally invested but they are interesting) and the plethora of lovely side characters. Oh, and the protagonists. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Josh Lanyon protagonist I didn’t get fond of in two chapters flat. All of this makes Josh Lanyon a very soothing read, and Secret at Skull House was no exception.
4. The small town life and politics stuff was my favorite part- the extended cast of characters and motivations were compelling. What is it about small town stories that inspire stories of secrets and coverups and forgotten crimes? Whatever it is, we should have more. Stories, I mean. Not murders.
5. I even got fond of the love interest. Fond, as in I don’t feel the need to keep harping about how much better off everyone would be if that guy weren’t in the picture. Don’t look at me like that. I have generally contentious reactions to about 60% of romance in media, and it shoots up to 90% for romances in non-romance books.