Returning home early from a romantic vacation gone awry, Perry Foster is shocked to find a body in his bathtub – a body wearing yellow socks and a cheesy yellow checked jacket. When the police arrive, the body is nowhere to be found, and while Perry knows what he saw, nobody else seems to believe him. Nobody, that is, except for his new neighbor across the hall.

Nick Reno is an ex Navy SEAL with a new divorce and a dishonorable discharge. He needs to find a job, not get tied up looking for bodies with the cute queer kid across the hall. He can’t resist Perry’s whipped-puppy look, however, and he agrees that something sinister is going on in the boarding house.

The other residents in the house seem to believe that Perry’s corpse is a ghost. Nick and Perry think otherwise, especially when another body shows up and one of the neighbors is clocked with a fireplace poker. As they investigate, they find that both the house and its residents have secrets, and someone is willing to kill to keep those secrets safe. Not only do Nick and Perry have to worry about a killer, they also have to deal with the growing feelings between them. Perry’s romantic dreams been already been knocked for a loop once, and he really doesn’t want it to happen again. Also, Nick doesn’t plan to stay around long enough for emotional entanglements.

The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks is another winning novel by Josh Lanyon, who has the knack for writing a good mystery. Missing jewels, secret passageways, and people with secrets all come together in an irresistibly suspenseful package, and once you start this story, it is nearly impossible to put it down. It starts with a bang and keeps the suspense flowing until the very end. There are no loose ends left dangling. Everything is tied up neatly at the conclusion and no questions are left unanswered.

Not only is the story excellent, but the characters are appealing as well. Nick and Perry are a unique pair with their own set of quirks and foibles. Perry exhibits an innocent idealism that immediately endears him to the reader, but he also possesses an underlying strength that belies his somewhat fragile appearance. Nick is not quite so nice. He is older and more cynical, referring to Perry as “the queer kid” and repeatedly trying to pull away.

Not only does The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks hook you into the mystery, but the emotion draws the reader into this story as well. Witnessing the two men come together is as suspenseful as the whodunit is, and the reader is left wondering until the very end how their relationship will be resolved.

For this combination of mystery, suspense, and romance rolled up in a neat package, I endorse The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks as a Recommended Read. Mr. Lanyon is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and I will eagerly await his next offering.

Reviewed by: Whitney