Monday 22 October 2012

REVIEW, The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon

Prod dets
The Dark Tide
Series: Adrien English Mysteries #5
Pub:  2009
Author: Josh Lanyon
Genre: contemporary mystery
Format: ibook; 263p w/ 18 chapters
Age Range: adult

                        Synopsis
As if recovering from heart surgery beneath the gaze of his over-protective family wasn’t exasperating enough, someone keeps trying to break into Adrien English’s bookstore. What is this determined midnight intruder searching for?

When a half-century old skeleton tumbles out of the wall in the midst of the renovation of Cloak and Dagger Bookstore renovation, Adrien turns to hot and handsome ex-lover Jake Riordan -- now out-of-the closet and working as a private detective.

Jake is only too happy to have reason to stay in close contact with Adrien, but there are more surprises in Adrien’s past than either one of them expects -- and one of them may prove hazardous to Jake’s own heart

                   Thoughts
Hu…the last book, no matter how much you want, need to read the book, there is always something truly sad about reading the last of a series.
Lucky for me, Lanyon finished it perfectly, if you asked me.

We start off about three week(?) from the last book with Adrien at home, finally, after his operation, only to have someone try to break into his house—lucky for Adrien the bastard was hoping no one would be there and went running, but it was just the start.

This one goes into the past, again, only this time, it’s an old body and hold history that’s just on the brink of having all that were involved being dead. I found myself, if I’m honest, so wrapped up in Adrien’s personal life that the murder plot didn’t really resister like it had the other books. It’s not like it wasn’t there. It’s not like it wasn’t somewhat interesting, or helpful to the whole book, but…it wasn’t the highlight.
Maybe this was because it’s the end and for four books I have wanted the conclusion for Jake and Adrien. It was coming, you could feel it back in book one.

This book, maybe because of that point, went faster, the murder plot a point of Adrien not wanting to think any more about Jake when his emotion got too much, or when he didn’t want to see things, maybe.
Hell, I’m explaining this really bad, but Lanyon has a way, especially in this series, with being able to write the most authentic realisation into one’s self. Brilliant as that is, you see what’s going to happen while you still sitting on the edge of the seat.
You see what everyone around him sees, while you’re as clueless as him. And he’s clueless for the point that he’s making himself. He doesn’t want to see it, feel it, but it’s there regardless.
It’s one of the magic he’s able to pull out of his books. Out of himself, and for that it makes his books so engrossing.

The best bit, and I’ll pull what other have said, the book is concluded and yet there story is just beginning and the end of the book gives them that (gives them a life off the pages). You can see that, you can feel it. And because of that it was so much more…..
It made it finished in a way fully closed off books don’t.

All in all I’m very glad I picked up the series. I’m glad I went for that adventure when normally I would have stayed clear (mystery isn’t my thing, not a deal breaker, but not really my thing) but I’m glad I didn’t. it was a great set of books.

Series
Fatal Shadow, A Dangerous Thing, The Hell You Say, Death of a Pirate King, The Dark Tide
☼☼☼
(not: none of the cover pictured is the iBook cover--I couldn't find that one, which is a shame, 'cause it's one of the better of the series)

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