Josh Lanyon Collected Novellas Vol. 1 contains the novellas Dangerous Ground, Snowball in Hell, Cards on the Table, and In Sunshine or In Shadow

Cards on the Table

Fifty years ago a murder occurred at a Hollywood party. The only clue found- a bloody Tarot card. Timothy North is determined to figure this real life whodunit out but when a Tarot card mysteriously shows up pinned to his front door, Timothy realizes that someone doesn’t want him looking too deeply into this old mystery. Scared and desperate, Tim turns to the one person that can help him. Detective Jack Brady, Tim’s neighbor, a man he had dated a few times, and a man who ultimately ended it after one night of intimacy.

Cards on the Table is a great little mystery story with a side tale of wrong moments and missed connections. The confusion and indecision that both men felt when faced with the circumstances surrounding their relationship, the mystery of the tarot cards, the suspense and drama, all joined together to create a great story.


Dangerous Ground

Taylor and Will are partners in the FBI and best friends. But then Taylor let his feelings for Will be known and gets rejected, not knowing that Will can’t get the idea of a naked Taylor out of his head. They decide that taking a camping trip into the wild is the best way to solve their problems. But what happens when their vacation turns into a fight for their lives when they stumble across a downed airplane and millions of dollars?

Dangerous Ground is an action packed, fast paced adventure from start to finish. The dynamic between Taylor and Will works on so many levels and each moment they are together is one that showcases Mr. Lanyon’s ability to build strong meaningful stories. Not only was he able to show the suspense of the story but how love changes even the strongest of bonds.

In Sunshine or In Shadow

In Sunshine or In Shadow is a bonus story in this collection and as such I don’t want to give too much away. The two main characters are Keiran Quinn and Rick Monaghan; they are partners in the Homicide division, former lovers, best friends and now Keir has dropped a bombshell on Quinn. Suffice it to say that it’s a doozy and that this is a very nice bonus story indeed.

Snowball in Hell

Nathan Doyle is a journalist just returned from the war. In his job as a reporter he begins covering a murder story that hits a little too close to home. Nathan is the last man to have seen the victim alive and now he has to prove his innocence. If only the man in charge of the police investigation didn’t make it hard for Nathan to think.

Lt. Matthew Spain is a member of the LAPD homicide department and is in charge of the investigation into the murder of a high profile victim. When Matt meets reporter Nathan Doyle he gets a gut feeling about the man. Unfortunately the feelings aren’t the ones that Matt needs to solve the case.

Josh Lanyon has captured the feel of the war torn 1940’s. The desperation and fear, the hardscrabble life of rationing and prejudice toward those that are different, all are seamlessly written into a story of loss, loneliness, and hopefully, love. Nathan and Matthew are two men that have returned from the war changed. Nathan is hanging on by a thread; his life is one of scrambling in the dark for an illicit touch just to have that momentary feeling of being loved. Matthew is a complex man who has buried himself in his work to cope with the loss of his wife. Very quick paced with a plot revolving around a murder mystery that is intriguing and not easily solved by the reader. This is not your typical romance or even your typical mystery with a little romantic subplot throw in, the few sensual scenes do nothing to detract from the plot, in fact they add to it. They serve to convey Nathan’s desperation for a human touch and later the growing intensity of the bond between the two men.

I love author Josh Lanyon, I can honestly say that I have never read a story by him that I didn’t enjoy in some fashion. Sure there have been some that I enjoyed more than others but all have been great stories. Detailed world building, strong, finely drawn characters, emotional upheavals, and superb plot lines have me putting him at the top of my go to author list. He’s also a fabulous author to re-read. Each time I come away with something different, something I missed the first time around.

Reviewed by: Hayley