Death of a Pirate King

Adrien English Mystery Series, Book 4

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Chris Patton

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

This is Book 4 in the acclaimed Adrien English Mystery Series by award winning author Josh Lanyon.

Gay bookseller and reluctant amateur sleuth Adrien English's writing career is suddenly taking off. His first novel, Murder Will Out, has been optioned by notorious Hollywood actor Paul Kane. But when murder makes an appearance at a dinner party, who should be called in but Adrien's former lover, handsome closeted detective Jake Riordan, now a Lieutenant with LAPD - which may just drive Adrien's new boyfriend, sexy UCLA professor Guy Snowden, to commit a murder of his own!

©2008 MLR Press (P)2013 Josh Lanyon

Great story. Great narration.

A tense mystery with a few twists and turns. Lanyon does an excellent job of fleshing out some complicated characters, and dropping them into situations that force them to make seemingly impossible choices.

Favorite in the Series by far

This was a good read, fast read even though it's nearly twice the length of previous novels I couldn't stop listening and waiting for Adrien and Jake to work out what was going on. I find it interesting that the mystery isn't so much cloaked for the readers, but more cloaked to both Adrien and Jake due to the amount of other things going on in their life and in their heads that they can't see what's in front of them.

I started this series a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed the first in this Adrien English book, so after the rave reviews of the 2nd and 3rd books I was admittedly a little disappointed that I wasn't enjoying them as much as everyone else and I wasn't even sure I was going to try this fourth book. I think my disinterest had more to do with the way the mysteries were framed in the two books.

That said I'm glad I cracked and got this one because this fourth book absolutely suited all my preferences much more than the previous two. Not that it wasn't so much playing in the supernatural and mystical as it was just getting down to the nitty-gritty of character building with people who are trying to protect their hides. But also that Adrien and Jake have had time to grow in the gap from the last book to this one.

Adrien has always been a somewhat (intentionally?) difficult to like narrator. For me at least, though I don't think that's a bad thing. It makes him real. He's flawed, he's got a pushy attitude, jumps to judgement and at times spews out an annoying amount of casual sexism, so it was a delight to see how much his new family has helped him grow as a person. Even behind all that hurt and bitterness he has in this story, it's more understandable and relocatable because he has reason to be lashing out. Also, I'm sorry to say, Guy is nice and all but about as exciting as moss growing on a rock so unfortunately I didn't care so much for his role in Adrien's life. But then again I didn't care for his role in the last book either.

Jake on the other hand has grown on me more and more and has now entered a special place in my heart. I resented Jake as much, if not more than, Adrien in the last couple books, but the way he and Adrien played off each other here showed just how much he'd grown to accept himself. Another reviewer mentioned that they don't have much interaction, but I'd disagree and say it's the similar to previous books. Adrien does go off on his own a lot but he's actually more in contact with Jake than he's ever been. And lord is the longing and the feelings ever still there in full force.

Lastly I will also add a slight spoiler, but an important one as it's bound to be a huge TRIGGER for some. There is a threat of brutal rape that occurs towards the end (about the last 20 or 30 minutes if i recall correctly) and it made my stomach absolutely churn with fear. I had to pause the audiobook and collect myself to continue. So keep that in mind as you're reading.

The only thing I'll nitpick about is the way Adrien perceives women in general, as mentioned above. (Or maybe it's more the way Lanyon writes them? I can't tell yet.) For example, Kate is only ever mentioned in passing like a prop to Jake's angst, Porter's new wife was written as being a stereotypical "dumb" blonde who's only married the man because of money. In previous novels describing the girls Angus knew or even Angus' girlfriend whom we never actually meet. It makes me sad to see Adrien so harsh towards women calling them bitches, portly and pug faced when he has no reason to. That said, it was a vast and welcome improvement for this novel with the inclusion of his new sisters and his doting mother who was portrayed much kinder and less nagging this time around. I hope the trend continues in future works.

P.S. Chris Patton as a narrator is an absolute gift! His voice for Jake gives me chills and his biting sarcasm for Adrien makes me laugh so hard sometimes I have to rewind to listen to what I missed. I look forward to listening to more of his work as well.

Will Adrien ever get a happy ending?...!!!

I was so excited to see the next book in the "Adrien English" series up on Audible. I'm so in love with this series, although at times I want to give Adrien a good shake and tell him what's what! I was not to be disappointed!

"Death of a Pirate King" sees the continuing saga of bookseller, writer and (sometimes) sleuth Adrien English who is now about to have one of his fiction books made into a movie. Things (as usual) don't go exactly to plan, and not for the first time is Adrien considered a suspect in a homicide investigation. Worst (or best) of all, Jake Riordan is back, trying to keep Adrien out of Jail and work out their complicated relationship in the process. I won't give anything away, but needless to say that this new book brings both warmth and anguish in equal measures. It is also a pretty fine murder mystery, and although it is clear who the villain is, it seems to add positively to the tension as Adrien also quickly works out who the murderer is- only he has to prove it! In the process (in typical Adrien style) he puts his own life, and Jake's, in danger to catch the bad guy.

I love Josh Lanyon's work (have I said that enough?) and am anxiously awaiting with fingers crossed and baited-breath for the fifth book in the series. Can I possibly hope Adrien will finally have a happy ending?? Great listen, as always expertly narrated by Chris Patton (aka the voice of Adrien English).

Wonderful! Keeps getting better and better!

Would you listen to Death of a Pirate King again? Why?

Yes, i'm sure i will listen to it many more times. I love the Adrien English mysteries, and as with the books, the excitement is just always there even though i know what happens. This 4th book in the series is particularly powerful - edge of seat suspense, cool mystery and a lot of raw emotion.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Adrien and Jake meet again after two years in which they had no contact with each other, and everything that transpires between them is suspenseful - not only do they need to deal with a lot of issues and redefine a relationship that is at once familiar and completely new, but in addition, they also have a mystery to solve! which brings into play conflicting loyalties. If that wasn't suspenseful enough, there is a scene towards the end of the book that has one completely spellbound.

What does Chris Patton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love Chris' voice and the voices he's created for Jake and Adrien. In my reading, i did have a general idea of what Adrien and Jake sounded like, but Chris has shaped them into something pretty perfect. Hearing that adds something more. It's like the characters themselves are telling me the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Quite a few. Particularly the little moments when Jake subtly takes care of Adrien. I love those best. I also loved the final scene. I cried. For everything that happened and for the hopeful future. It's a wonderful moment.

Fantastic!

I thought the last book in the series was the best. This one is even better. The story is great. I adore Adrien. Jake makes me mad but I love him too. Adrien's new extended family is perfect and adorable.

The narrator is my favorite of all (probably hundreds) audio books I've read (well,Harry Potter might win, by just a smidge though).

Seriously, if this is your genre, immediately buy the whole series because you'll be hooked

Fun & Entertaining

I really love this series, I hope the rest make it to audio sooner rather than later. I enjoy listening to this serious because they aren't difficult to follow or require you have a mastery of the English language. Josh writes in a casual style that allows you to melt into the story instead of sitting on the side line listening in. And Chris does a masterful job of providing a performance yet not getting so wound up trying to over do the acting. And finally, the romance isn't overdone, I'm not left feeling like a just read some teen romance novel, there's just enough "heat" to warm you up and entice you to read on.

great prose

a goid tale if a little unbelievable but then what more could you want from a couple oh hours

Story compelling, but still uncomfortably racist

I judge no one but myself. I haven’t forgiven Jake, but I no longer hate him with a fiery passion after reading this book? This is to say, I still very much disliked Jake for the majority of this story. This series is sending me very mixed feelings about Jake. The story is told solely in third-person from Adrien’s POV, so Adrien’s conflicted feelings about Jake are all we really see and experience.

Content notes include racism, ableism, homomisia, bimisia, cheating, health scare, mentions of a miscarriage, mentions of Harry Potter, and violence.

Two years have passed since the explosive ending of The Hell You Say. Adrien hasn’t seen Jake in those two years and is now dating Guy, the witchcraft professor who had been a murder suspect in the last book. Guy is quite considerate and sweet, but lacks the passion that Adrien had with Jake. When a murder at a party puts Adrien at yet another crime scene of Hollywood’s elite, Adrien winds up in the same vicinity as Jake.

Adrien has the worst luck of anyone I’ve ever read about. He’s an unwitting amateur sleuth who ends up in the middle of all the murders. I do think this is the best book of the series. There’s not really any place where the story gets bogged down by too much information, and the characters are all very intriguing. I kinda knew the ending and the suspect going into this book, because after The Hell You Say, I had to know what becomes of Adrien and Jake, so I skimmed ahead all the way to the very last book. This was really the only book I got spoiled, but it didn’t lessen the mystery of seeing how everything came together.

One of the more confusing parts in this book is that we’re introduced to another character named Paul. Jake’s older partner, and part-time writer who attends the writing meet-ups at Adrien’s bookstore, is called Paul Chan. We met him all the way back in book one. In this story, one of the actors that was at the party with Adrien, is called Paul Kane. Paul Kane was mentioned in a previous book only in passing, but we see him in the flesh in this book as an old acquaintance of Jake’s.

The racism throughout this series is VERY bad, and I don’t know if the author ever grows out of it in her latest books. But between the heavy racist tones in book 2, and what we see here with this one, I still wouldn’t be comfortable recommending this book to ANYONE. In this book, the one Latino character (a cop who is made out to be a homophone and a villain to Adrien and Jake) is referred to as an ape and a angry beaver (the second as a cartoon reference). It’s very uncomfortable to read. There’s also another scene where Adrien mentioned he was looking a little thin and his pants hung around him in “gangbanger fashion”. I don’t know why the author felt like it was necessary to add these comments into the story, no matter how long ago the book was published.

Adrien has some heavy contemplation about his mortality in this book. As with the other books, he kind of has a bit of a death wish. His heart is doing poorly, and it seems like he’ll need surgery soon. He’s the type of person who keeps everything to himself, so while he’s freaking out, the only one he can really talk to about it is the stray cat he’s adopted.

I do love a good murder-mystery story involving the rich and famous, and it’s interesting to see the story play out. Jake is less awful at the very, VERY end of this book. Yet again, the story ends quite abruptly. It’s quite jarring when I’m used to more…rounded. satisfying endings? And so far, the chapter transitions are strange as well. If it weren’t for the fact that all the books were out for this series already, I would probably be peeved about the ending, but since I can go straight into reading The Dark Tides, the ending isn’t too bad.

So…one major plot point near the end is that the only way for Jake and Adrien to be together is if Jake outed himself to his coworkers and his family. Adrien didn’t see how they could be together otherwise. Jake’s is so deeply in the closet that Adrien just doesn’t see another way to get out a situation where Jake’s getting blackmailed solely based on his sexuality. In the end, he’s put into a life-and-death situation where he has to out himself as gay. Jake’s in his forties and he’s been married for two years. He would have never told anyone he was close to that he was gay without that little scenario at the end of the book. It’s a bit disconcerting to see, perhaps, that Jake was practically outed against his will, so that’s definitely a major concern I had for this book.