The Hell You Say

The Adrien English Mysteries, Book 3

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Chris Patton

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

The third novel in the Adrien English series finds the "ill-starred and bookish" mystery writer and bookseller battling demons - maybe literally. After bookstore clerk Angus flees following terrifying death threats, Adrien must contend with a mysterious Satanic cult, a hot and handsome university professor, and his on-again/off-again relationship with closeted LAPD Homicide Detective Jake Riordan. And, oh, yes, murder...

©2007 MLR Press (P)2013 Josh Lanyon

Best book in series so far!

Would you listen to The Hell You Say again? Why?

Absolutely. I have listened to it twice already.
Josh Lanyon does a great job of showing how far people are willing to go to remain acceptable to their peers and the repercussions of how soul destroying denial can become.
Chris brings a great character range, making the book even more appealing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Hell You Say?

The most memorable scene for me was how calm Adrien remains about the marriage announcement. Chris's performance of this scene made my heart hurt.

What about Chris Patton’s performance did you like?

Chris has a great vocal range for characters. He also adds a lot of emotion that increased the overall appeal of the book. I look forward to listening to him read.

Any additional comments?

Both Jake's and Angus's actions in this book show the degree of destruction they are willing to accept in order to fit in with their peers.
Jake's homophobia becomes more than fear, it develops into a mental illness, causing him to endanger others through unprotected sex and physical violence.
Angus's need to fit in brings him into contact with a group of people who are more than willing to kill to protect themselves and he is willing to turn a blind eye because of his need.

Cool mystery, simply perfect narration

What made the experience of listening to The Hell You Say the most enjoyable?

Chris Patton's narration. Such a marvel! and of course he had the best material to work with. I love the book and had very high expectations which were met by Chris' narration and more.

What did you like best about this story?

What i like best about this book (3rd in a series of 5) are the mystery (which is really cool) and the introduction of Adrien's new family (which provides a much needed comic relief). In addition, there is the story of what is going on between Adrien and Jake (some tough decisions are made in this book), and that part is emotionally intense. I admire Josh Lanyon's writing for weaving all of the above together seamlessly.

What about Chris Patton’s performance did you like?

I truly like everything about Chris Patton's performance, and he gets better and better with every book in this series. I enjoy in particular the voice nuances, which give each character a distinct voice that is completely in sync with what i imagined. My personal favorite is Jake's voice. The scenes between Adrien and Jake (everyday interaction and erotic) are crucial to the understanding of these characters, and especially for Jake, whose inner thoughts we don't have access to. Since these books mean so much to me, i felt apprehensive when i started listening to Fatal Shadows (book 1), and to A Dangerous Thing (book 2), because there are specific scenes that have this perfect clarity. Never fear, Chris' narration is wonderful! Any doubt i might have had evaporated while listening to Fatal Shadows, but with The Hell You Say i now feel that i completely trust Chris Patton with any of my favorite scenes.

If you could take any character from The Hell You Say out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Jake. I'd like to talk to him about stuff. And since he's been thrashing about inside, it seems that he might welcome being able to openly talk to someone, without fear of repercussions. It might make him feel less lonely (hey, this *is* fiction).

Andrien and Jake

Any additional comments?

Whew! That last scene with Jake and Andien...good Lord...I was scared myself. That was so intense!!!!

Of course, this is a great mystery and man oh man Andrien just does not know how to stay away from dead bodies and he sure as hell can't figure out how to stay away from trouble! i.e. Jake

Hellacious times

Curses, Satanists, dead bodies, marriages and a pregnancy. Just about everything but the kitchen sink happens to Adrien this go-around.

Not my favorite of the Adrien English series, but every book is a great read/listen. You cannot go wrong with Josh Lanyon.

Great Story!!!

Where does The Hell You Say rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Narrator did an excellent job of telling the story. Brought the story to life! Wouldn't mind listening to it again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Hell You Say?

Jake knocking Adrien down during a confrontation.

Which scene was your favorite?

There was too many to list, but the ones showing Adrien's humor were my favs.

Any additional comments?

I want more of this series!

Brilliant!

I had long ago given up on the m/m genre, whether the stories be paranormal or suspenseful or merely contemporary romance, because they all started to run together... just the same old stuff. I've recently discovered, however, that in giving up all together I've been missing out on the writing brilliance of Josh Lanyon.

The Hell You Say is the 3rd book in the Adrien English Mystery series and, so far, my favorite. This story of occult and murder is action packed and fast paced, and simply amazing. Exciting, intriguing, humorous, steamy, and at times even poignant... to say this was entertaining is to say the least!

The audio version is very, very good! Chris Patton's voice is seductive and comfortable and appealing. He does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life, and I can't imagine a more perfect voice for this series.

The Occult was never more readable.

What did you love best about The Hell You Say?

I loved the research that went into this book. It effortlessly educates the reader into a dark world of cults and ritual killings that paints the best milieu of the series.

What other book might you compare The Hell You Say to and why?

I don't read enough books involving the occult that to compare it to.

Which scene was your favorite?

Adrien's visit to Angus home and the discovery of the ...

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This one did not make me cry. "Dark Tide" did.

Any additional comments?

One of the best in the series.

Love these books

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

All the Adrien "with an e" English books are great. The story lines and the romance is great. I re-read and re-listen to them frequently

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adrien of course. He is funny, whitty, and brave without trying to be.

Which character – as performed by Chris Patton – was your favorite?

You know what ALL OF THEM. I have bought so many audibles in the last few months and so many of them I can't even finish the performances are so horrible the sound of their voices gets on my nerves and I don't finish, because if I do it will ruin the book that I loved reading.

Chris Patton is excellent in all ways - his characters, the sound of his voice, the emotion all of it. I so wish he had a lot more books in this genre for me to buy. I'd buy them, no doubt.

Another good book in the Adrien English series

Josh Lanyon continues to deliver in another instalment in the Adrien English series. The relationship between Adrien and his closeted cop continues to develop with it's twists and turns.

Story still feels dated

I am so angry at Jake. SO ANGRY. There are no words to fully describe how much I utterly despise him at the end of this book. Poor Adrien.

I will try to review this book in spite of Jake.

Content notes for abuse, homomisia, satanic cults, racism, references to Harry Potter, and stalking.

This is one of those books where the story is compelling enough for a reader who may decide to just give up on reading solely for the romance. Last I checked, this is a series in the romance genre, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it. I’m not necessarily sure there’s technically cheating involved, since it was never stated that Adrien and Jake are in a monogamous relationship. BUT, Adrien certainly doesn’t want them to be in an open relationship either. I know a lot of romance readers view this as a hard no for books, but since this exactly doesn’t crop up until the third book…if you’ve made it this far into the series, you’re probably not going to stop reading the series now.

Adrien isn’t the one really getting cheated on, per se. He’s really the “other woman”, for lack of a better term, in this relationship with Jake. Jake still very much wants to be married, and have babies, and all this he envisions having with a woman. Which means that Adrien’s not even in the running for that future Jake thinks he wants. And it hurts to realize that. We’ve known for two books now that Jake has some really big hang-ups about being gay, but we don’t really quite know the depths of it until shocking revelations in this book that’ll make you want to punch Jake in the face. (Or that’s just me, because I really feel like someone should punch Jake for being awful).

ANYWAYS. The saving grace in this book is the mystery. I have a weird fascination with cults, and this story brings it. In spades. There’s a Satanic cult involved with threatening messages to Adrien’s bookstore, and at the center of it all, might involve his employee, Angus. Angus is a strange college student Adrien managed to hire after a slew of temps sent over by the temp agency. Angus is odd, but he gets the job done, and Adrien can’t really ask more from him. Except the messages left for Angus has Angus scared and Adrien pays him to go hide away for a little while. The move is innocent enough in Adrien’s mind, until, that is, it puts Adrien at the center of yet another crime investigation.

This book is also extremely dated at this point and the contemporary references hasn’t aged well. There’s a prolonged explanation about Yu-Gi-Oh, references to the Flintstones?, and for some unexplainable reasonable while Adrien does own a cell phone he still calls from a pay phone and wired phones? It’s strange. Also, Adrien reads like his age would be now, roughly 20 years since the book was originally published past his age of 33, so more like a guy in his 50s. At least. The way he views and comments on people in their 20s was so weird when he’s only supposed to be in his early 30s in this book.

There’s a lot of new characters, but most importantly, a guy named, well, Guy Snowden. He’s a university professor with what seems to be a fake English accent. He’s into teaching classes on witchcraft and older than Adrien. He’s attraction to Adrien is not subtle. He’s a suspect, but also likable enough? I do like that Adrien has a new family in this book and everyone is actually really lovely. Poor Adrien being in his thirties and getting siblings for the first time is really fun to read about.

SO BACK TO JAKE. BECAUSE HE IS THE WORST. Problems with Jake include unprotected sex with Adrien when he’s clearly sleeping with other people. And he gets abusive at the end and Adrien himself says that he’s frightened that Jake would kill him, because Jake is pissed off at Adrien. HOW DO YOU COME BACK FROM THAT. It hasn’t been a physically abusive relationship before that point, and yet we’re supposed to forgive Jake down the road? Like, IDK you guys. This is a touted as a ~romance and Adrien and Jake are supposedly endgame. But, as far as I’m concerned at the end of this book, Jake can leave Adrien’s life forever and never return.

And there ends my very passionate stance on LAPD Detective Jake Patrick Riordan.

This book, like all the rest so far, ends quite abruptly and I don’t know if the author just doesn’t know how to write an ending or what, but it’s very odd. Thank goodness the next book is out? Because the ending of very unsatisfying.

Enjoyable Story

The story premise is good and the characters are likeable. The narration was good too.

I like consistyency in a series

The stories continue to be good, and the narration is too - and once again it would be better without the unnecessarily descriptive sex scenes (well, actually the sex scenes themselves are't really necessary, but at least there aren't many of them), so I marked down for that.