The Mermaid Murders

The Art of Murder, Book 1

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Special Agent Jason West is seconded from the FBI Art Crime Team to temporarily partner with disgraced and legendary "manhunter" Sam Kennedy when it appears that Kennedy's most famous case, the capture and conviction of a serial killer known as the Huntsman, may actually have been a disastrous failure. The Huntsman is still out there...and the killing has begun again.

©2016 Josh Lanyon (P)2016 Josh Lanyon

Fabulous!! Narration, characters, story. The best!

Josh Lanyon is one of the best there is at weaving mystery with romance. Her ability to capture the human condition, to paint all of her characters in a unique and compelling light, is second to none. Sam Kennedy and Jason West are prime examples, as they are each flawed, complicated, and compelling men. The mystery in this story is very tightly written, so intriguing. A definite "read till the end without putting it down" book. I read loads of mysteries and was still surprised at the reveal in this one. Lanyon also writes locations that are so vivid, they feel like actual characters. With this book, I felt as though I was actually there in the midst of the action - seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting. The Mermaid Murders has become one of my favorite Lanyon books and I eagerly await the next book in the series, early in 2017.

I am a huge fan of audio books and have several favorite narrators. Well, add Kale Williams to the top of that list. He took a story I already love and brought it to an entirely new level of awesome. He voices each of the many characters distinctly, capturing their personalities to a T. Nobody sounded like a caricature, no character's voice got confused with another. The character of Sam Kennedy is quite imposing, and Mr Williams absolutely nailed his voice, his mannerisms, his humanity. He conveyed Jason West's strength and sensibilites with sublime detail. To summarize, Mr Williams acted this story to perfection - smoothly capturing each character's emotions, state of mind, and actions His gripping performance had me starting the audio over again the moment I finished it.I am very happy to report that he has agreed with Josh Lanyon to narrate the next two books in this series. Lucky, lucky are we audiophiles!

Perfect Lanyon book!

I love Josh Lanyon. I have read a fair amount of Lanyon books. I didn't think it was possible with how much I fell in love with Adrien English after listening to the audiobooks, but The Mermaid Murders is now my favorite Josh Lanyon book.

I really enjoyed the narration of this one and felt that the voices were absolutely perfect (especially his Sam Kennedy voice!).

This book was just about perfect in my eyes and the only thing that would have made it better was to have Sam's POV. Do we really have to wait for 2017 for the next one? Waaaaahhhh!

A Wonderful Mystery...

A huge fan of Josh Lanyon and this story does not disappoint. Murder, mystery, and mayhem...plus a bit of romance. An excellent book. I was kept in suspense right until our protagonist figured it out...those are the best stories!!! As great as this audio book was, the narration of Kale Williams made this story come to life and added so much to the enjoyment. A great combination. An excellent listen!

Surprisingly Great!

FYI: It's not about mermaids! I'm a huge paranormal science fiction fan and assumed this was about actual mermaids..... nope, total murder mystery haha! Once I let go of that and actually listened to the audiobook, I could t stop! It is terrific!

Suspence mystery

This an excellent murder mystery but I guess I was just looking for some more build up chemistry between West and Kennedy which I didn’t feel. I think I was hoping for something similar with the sizzling chemistry of Ty and Zane another series. 😉

TOAM is dull.Period.

Would you try another book from Josh Lanyon and/or Kale Williams?

Yes -- I like Josh Lanyon quite a lot. I just found the first book in the series dull,and I didn't like Jason - who's part of the MC. I found him obnoxious and pushy, and even a little on the whiny side. I liked Sam Kennedy much more.

This just made me wish she'd kept going with the All's Fair series, rather than moving on to this one. TOAM is setting up the arcs for what's coming, so I'm hoping we'll get some development in Jason and Sam's relationship. There's really no romance here at all. Explicit sex isn't a requirement for me to enjoy a story, but these two have absolutely zero chemistry in the two scenes that there were.

As for the writing, there's an annoying amount of adjectives. If you have to remind me in every sentence who's talking, your conversations aren't flowing as well as they could be.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending felt like it went on and on and on. It's as if she wasn't sure where to end it. In the last 90 seconds it abruptly switched course, which made it feel choppy. But again, it is a set up for a future relationship between Jason and Sam. It just seemed to be rushed, as if she cut quite a bit out.

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

I like Kale's performance. I hadn't heard him narrate before, and his use of accents and pitch made it easy for me to identify who was speaking.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. It's very talky, and there's not much in the way of action, humor, or romance. The mystery is only OK, and it is populated with too many unnecessary characters.

The Mermaid Murders

I loved this book! The only creepy part was I listened to it on my drive to South Hadley, MA. That was surprising to listen to a book with a serial killer near that area! This is a book I will definitely listen to again! The narrator did a fantastic job and really brought the story and characters to life!

I've actually listened to this series twice in one week and am considering a relisten once I finish my current series. That's how much I love this series. The writing and narration are just perfect!

Enjoyed this audio!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mermaid Murders to be better than the print version?

Yes, I thought the audio made the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked both Sam and Jason. The character were different but compelling.

What about Kale Williams’s performance did you like?

He did a great job with the voices.

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

When Sam finally showed some emotion at the end of the book.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed thus series and the spin off stories.

I relate

I relate to both characters. I have been both characters (minus the FBI, serial killers and mermaids). One of my fave series ever.

A Lanyon Standard

Josh Lanyon is rightly known for writing M/M mysteries. This one...just doesn't work for me as well as some of the other pieces of his I have read/listened to. The romance between Jason and Sam wasn't as memorable as some of the other Lanyon pairings I've read, and the mystery was fairly straightforward. As the beginning of a series, I was left without too much desire to continue. However, as a one off, it is enjoyable, if not the best of Lanyon.

Best MM Mystery I read this year so far

Oh boy, I forgot how much I like a good mystery and crime solving novel. And with a M/M action in the mix? PERFECT.

So, this is not your typical romance. The romance is a plus side to the story, but it's not the main focus. With that said, there is a lot of focus on their relationship, the beginning of it, which started with insta-hatred from both sides, it was hilarious really. It's a slow-burn romance, no insta attraction, no insta-love, no insta-sex, so of course I love it! They are so believable together, the build up was great.

But the main story is around a murder. By the title, I thought this book was supernatural Lol It's not of course, and I'm glad. I love the dynamic of our main lead, they were opposites trying to work out some work issues of their past. But neither wanted to work with one another. I does seem cliche, and it is, but the story itself is brilliant. The relationship, the mystery, the characters, all believed and well developed.

Something this book have that made me love more, was the vibe. It was set in a little town, the murders were strange and that feeling of unease, the suspense was palpable.

Kale Williams is a new to me narrator and I'm positive he's becoming one of my favorites. For starters, his voice is so beautiful, soothing, deep. And he has this ability to make the voices so distinct, it amazed me. He speaks a little slow, but I just speed up a few seconds and was good to go. He also does all the right pauses: between a speech and a action for example, he is not running with the narration like some narrators tend to do (which is understandably, when I read to my niece I forgot all the periods and commas Lol)

This audiobook was given to me in exchange of my honest review.

Thank Mercy for Kale!

I love Kale Williams’ ability to not only convey maturity and intelligence but also an entire emotional range. He is also very astute with his vocal choices, pauses and pacing. I could wax lyrical about how distinctively he portrayed characters and I loved his gorgeously contained and cool bass for Kennedy delivered in Kale’s uniquely rhotic accent. TMM is not material worthy of his talent, but Kale's smooth delivery is always a pleasure.

📚 The characters are shallow, the emotional connection was non-existent, the sexual attraction was so out of the blue that it beggars belief. I also offer chapter 9 where the dialogue was essentially ‘he said’ or ‘Gervais said’ or ‘Jason said’ or “No, Kennedy said’ or ‘Alright, let’s hear it, Boxner said’. I could not unhear it. The deal breaker was Jason who, upon stumbling upon a missing girl lying on the ground, was distracted by a bobble because he assumed she was dead already. She had to open her eyes to get his attention. This, folks, did not work for me.

Peaks and troughs

It ended way too quickly. Both a blessing and a curse.

The romance is alright.

The relationship didn't work for me

It sounded like the book I'd been looking for. Nothing better than a murder mystery and a bit of romance on the side. The murder story was nothing original but still intriguing. Side characters felt a bit faceless, but the protagonists seemed alright. At the very least they had distinct personalities.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me because of the relationship. It didn’t seem realistic to me. I was glad that the protagonists were both experienced adults, but their relationship progressed like something from a teenage novel. I couldn't go through with it.

By the point the two men got together, their interactions had been friendly and natural. They hit it off quite well, yet the art guy expressed immediate doubts after the night together, as if he didn't even like the grumpy guy. His behavior before, during and after their romantic encounter was not unlike that of a young female in female oriented romance books. It took me right out of the story. Why not just have the two people hit it off, be self-aware and not acting all edgy around the topic of relationships? Usually it's what American college kids do before they get married. Doesn't add up with an image of a grown adult male to me.

Murder, suspense and MM romance

An excellent book I listened to on Audible. What I like is a really good storyline and I was not disappointed. There's a murder and FBI/BAU agents are brought together to work on the crime. Jason West and Sam Kennedy are totally different in characters and areas of expertise. From the start, West is irritated by Kennedy's attitude towards him but as the story moves along things change. Not going to say any more on that because it's a 'must' read/listen.

The narrator Kale Williams is a fabulous voice actor doing justice to both Jason and Sam. I like it when you can tell the difference in the voices of the characters it brings them alive.
Looking forward to Book 2

A fishy tale indeed

Superbly narrated which enhances the excellent writing and perfect dramatic characterizations of Jason and Sam in this quirky cop procedural drama. A perfect start to the series. Can't wait for Book 5: The Movie-Town Murders which is due out any time ; there is even a Book 6 scheduled. VERY ENJOYABLE

Enjoyable Story

The concept is interesting and well written. The characters are likeable and the narration is good.

Shadow of a serial killer on a small town

excellent mystery romance will be buying more Josh Lanyon. Narration was superb and voiced the characters well

Good mystery

This was a good murder mystery, well plotted and well narrated, however I never really connected with Jason and Sam, and wasn't convinced about their romance.