Death of a Pirate King

When I started to read this series on Monday I was kicking myself and wondering why I had been procrastinating when it is so clearly excellent and everything I love: smart characters, some angst, good mystery, atmospheric and love of the non-gooey variety. Well I think if was a heretofore unappreciated self preservation instinct. I can't imagine what those who read the series as it was released had to go thru as they waited for the next installment. Happily I've been able to binge all week and even so I feel punched in the gut. But in a good way. ;-) It helped that the punches were delivered via the narration of [a:Chris Patton 1381825 Chris Patton https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1297104882p2/1381825.jpg]. Masterful.This is book 4 in the series and we are two years removed from the events in book 3. I don't think it is or should come as a spoiler to say that Jake & Adrien have not been together during this time. In fact they've been very much NOT together. At the end of book 3 Jake proceeded to do what he felt was the right thing for his self preservation and for the hopes & dreams his family and society held for him. Adrien for his part continued to live and some would say thrive in his new post-Jake reality and has done okay for himself with a boyfriend, Guy and a family he never expected but enjoys. Professionally he is also on the rise. His book store is doing stellar business and his first novel has been optioned for the movies. Perfect. Except Adrien is really just sort of coasting, letting himself go with the current, letting himself be loved and giving affection in return and then of course murder comes to town in the midst of a dinner party.Jake, who has been promoted to Lieutenant, heads the investigation but not necessarily because of Adrien, though he does his level best to insulate him from the fall out. At the behest of a less than savory character, Paul Kane, Adrien starts poking around the case and besides ultimately discovering the identity of the killer he garners unwelcome information about Jake. Things he would prefer not to know. The mystery is as usual entertaining and twisty and we get the Hollywood types: bimbo starlet, bombastic money-man producer, screen writer and the tabloid leading man. But what we also get is that Jake has continued to be an unseen presence in Adrien's life. One he doesn't always welcome but present nonetheless. Adrien continues his battles with Lisa and with his own heart, the anatomical one and the one that houses our unwise affections. However as in all of these books the character who against his will (mostly out of fear) is dragged kicking and screaming out of his comfort level and shell is Jake. He has so much to lose that he can't see all that he can gain, missing the forest for the trees. So sad. And yet even if it's not evident to Adrien, we the reader, know that Jake loves Adrien. He loves him against his will almost and though he's not yet a the point where he can say the infamous three words we know it to be true. Here is a case of show and not tell. Happy clapThis installment ends with a bang and everything is up in the air. To build something new you've got to tear something down.

I enjoyed the first 3 books in this series, but Lanyon really outdid himself with Death of a Pirate King. I think what made this mystery so much more interesting to me is that Jake had a connection to the situation on a personal level through his relationship with Kane. This led to more interaction between Jake and Adrien, which I thought was somewhat lacking in the first 3 books. It also causes Jake's inner conflict with who he is to come to a head. I had trouble putting this one down, and I find that the more I read, the more I love Adrien - everything about him, from his fragility to his smart-ass comments. I want the best for him; he deserves nothing less!