Death of a Pirate King

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

Excellent performance of an excellent book

Once again Josh Lanyon creates real life characters with flaws and strengths, loves and hates. Chris Paton brings them to life.
I read this book before listening to it. Unfortunately, one cannot forget the ending of a great story... I would have loved to have heard Chris perform "that scene" for the first time. Thankfully, Chris' performance was able to create the emotion I felt during my first read.
I cried and laughed in all the same places. I was able to see some scenes in a different light that added a different dimension to parts of the story.

I highly recommend this audiobook. It is not a standalone, so make sure you listen to/ read the other three first!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

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.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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).

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Clutching My Heart!

Any additional comments?

I was completely terrified of that boat scene. My heart literally did flips with anguish and soooooooooooooooooo wasn't expecting what happened!

Fabulous read! Fabulous series!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This series continues to impress!

Of course I was going to love this book because I love the series!

As with the other books it is a perfect blend of intriguing plot,lots of witty humour and wonderful characters.

The mystery was interesting as Adrien starts to mix with some Hollywood types and celebrities. The mystery takes up more page time than the relationship between Adrien and Jake but the relationship somehow still seems integral to the book.

The author wonderfully conveys so much about Jake and Adrien without necessarily using words. Every look nad action tells so much about their feelings. The relationship between Jake and Adrien just seems so honest and real, despite the secrets and all the thing unsaid. It seems so natural for them to be together despite the other people in their lives.

One more book to go! Please, please, please give me the perfect ending for Adrien and Jake!

Once again, as with earlier books in the series, I listened to this one via audio book and can't speak highly enough of the narrator - brilliant!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It feels like a finale

It will be interesting to see if another book in the Adrien English series sees the light of day. This is what feels like the final instalment in the series. Adrien and Jake's relationship seems to come full circle - the perfect moment to wrap it all up.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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.

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

Thrilling, dark.... Pirate!

This an awfully amazing book. Tortuous dark story with a manipulative pirate king finding his ways through murders! The audio version read by Chris Patton is really excellent. Bravo Messieurs Josh Lanyon and Chris Patton and a very thoughtful thank you :)