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

Amazing

I loved this book. I've been so hooked on the Adrien English series. Lanyons writing is really immersive and just a pleasure to read and listen to. Chris Patton's voice and performance is also so brilliant!! I wish he narrated the other series of Lanyon's books too! I can't imagine listening to anyone else reading. Hes outstanding!!

A little darker at times but still brilliant

Overall Series 5th Re-Read 2019:
Adrien with an "e", what can I say that I haven't already said? Nothing really because I absolutely adore Adrien and Jake. Yes, there are multiple times I want to whack Jake upside the head but he's learning, albeit slowly sometimes but still learning. There's heartbreak, there's joy, there's murder, and well there's plenty of love(even if it takes Jake a little longer to accept).

All but the final Christmas novella is narrated by Chris Patton and his voice is perfect for these two. I couldn't imagine listening to anyone else bring life to the pair but then when I listened to So This is Christmas, read by Kale Williams, he too is . . . well for the lack of a better word(and not to sound redundant😉) . . . brilliant. Obviously there is a difference between the two narrators but since Adrien and Jake are settled, or as settled as they can be considering Adrien's knack for stumbling into mayhem, which changes people and so the difference in narrators kind of reflects that I thought. So I say spot on to all involved bringing Adrien English and Jake Riordan to life.

Breathtaking Hollywood Mystery

What did you love best about Death of a Pirate King?

I enjoyed the Hollywood setting. It was glamorous and fascinating with sociopaths.

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

Yes.

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

Mr. Patton has an unparalleled ability to differentiate characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Not Lanyon's Best, But Good

I am a big fan of Josh Lanyon and I particularly like the Adrien English stories. This one is a respectable follow-up to the others, but in my opinion, not as good as the previous books. The story line is top notch but the character development leaves something to be desired. Chris Patton once again preforms flawlessly as narrator.

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!

A Favotite

The Adrien English series is superb. It is a high-water mark in M/M mystery/romance. The relationship between Adrien and Jake plays out across this fine series, with Jake needing time to come to terms with his bisexuality, and his love for Adrien. The voices of these characters is fantastically portrayed by Chris Patton---he gets Jake's hard-edged masculinity, and Adrien's cultured snarkiness pitch perfect. I have read, and listened, to this series many times. These characters feel real, their growth, their struggle toward each other, feels genuine. Josh Lanyon is an outstanding writer, and she has created two men who are easy to care about. These are books that need to be read in order. You need to take the journey with these two men to fully appreciate their ultimate happy ending.

two years later

Two years later things has changed. They grew up and moved on. Or did they?
Adriene is sleuthing again and basically chasing his own tail because people lie and hide things, and the killer is a sly ass!
I loved the mystery, the games and the ending.

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!

Can't Listen to just one!!

This series really keeps me going. I always have to find out what is happening next. some times you want to shake some sense in Adrian and other times you feel his pain. don't get me started on Jake.

Love Adrien and Jake

This might be my favorite of all Josh's books, and I've loved them all. This book is the one that yanks on the heartstrings so hard the tears will come while you're still chuckling from the last sarcastic/self-deprecating remark. I've never cheered so much for a couple as I have for Jake and Adrien❤