Fiction Friday - All She Wrote

My read of the week was actually an audiobook and a re-read.

All SheWrote (audiobook) by Josh Lanyon

Giving screwball mystery a whole deadly new meaning.

A murderous fall down icy stairs is nearly the death of Anna Hitchcock, the much-beloved American Agatha Christie and Christopher Holmes s former mentor. Anna s plea for him to host her annual winter writing retreat touches all Kit s sore spots traveling, teaching writing classes, and separation from his new lover, J.X. Moriarity.

For J.X., Kit s cancellation of yet another romantic weekend is the death knell of a relationship that has been limping along for months. But that s just as well, right? Kit isn t ready for anything serious and besides, Kit owes Anna far too much to refuse.

Faster than you can say Miss Marple wears boxer shorts, Kit is snooping around Anna s elegant, snowbound mansion in the Berkshires for clues as to who s trying to kill her. A tough task with six amateur sleuths underfoot. Six budding writers with a tangled web of dark undercurrents running among them.

Slowly, Kit gets the uneasy feeling that the secret may lie between the pages of someone s fictional past. Unfortunately, a clever killer is one step ahead. And it may be too late for J.X. to ride to the rescue.

Warning: Contains one irascible, forty-year-old mystery writer who desperately needs to get laid, one exasperated thirty-something ex-cop only too happy to oblige, an isolated country manor that needs the thermostat cranked up, various assorted aspiring and perspiring authors, and a merciless killer who may have read one too many mystery novels.

Having listened to Somebody Killed his Editor last week how could I not follow that up with All She Wrote. Once again narrated by the fantastic Kevin R Free I have to confess I luxuriated in this book, stretching it out over the entire week on my journey to and from work.

Having read the ebook I knew who the murderer was so I was in no mad rush to get to the end to salve my curiosity. And with that in mind I could focus on the budding relationship between Kit and JX. The way the narration breathed an extra layer of life into Josh Lanyon’s already superb prose. Kit’s self-deprecation and neurosis. (How I wish I had known Kit before David and Dickie. FYI, Josh, I would love to read about that weekend so long ago.) JX’s patience and love.

Oh, and for those of you that haven’t read the book, it’s another cracking mystery a la Agatha Christie but happy to take a sharp stick to those cosy detective/grand house mystery tropes. Like the first book, it is set in the world of writers and publishing, this time having a poke around in writing circles, wannabe authors and *shudder* writer’s block.

The original book got a resounding 5/5 for me and as I said before the narration gives the entire story another layer.

My blog, my rules: 6/5.

For an actual read Anne Tenino’s Too Stupid to Live gets a recommended from me.

It isn't true love until someone gets hurt.

Sam’s a new man. Yes, he’s still too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels, but he’s wised up. His One True Love is certainly still out there, but he knows now that real life is nothing like fiction. He’s cultivated the necessary fortitude to say “no” to the next Mr. Wrong, no matter how hot, exciting, and/or erotic-novel-worthy he may be.

Until he meets Ian.

Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now—possibly—ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships. He’s going to be cautious, though, maybe start with someone who knows the score and isn’t looking for anything too complicated. Someone with experience and simple needs that largely revolve around the bedroom.

Until he meets Sam.

Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong . . . can they?

A story in parts funny, sexy and sad. There were moments I wanted to punch things, other times when my Kindle damn near got a good shake, and then me giggling like a loon. There is IMHO to much sex in the book. I know it can be argued that sex was Ian's primary means of relationship communication, however I think in order to really show this it would have been better for the on page sex to peeter out as Ian became emotionally invested. However that is a small complaint, and one not every reader would find a problem.

I'm always up for recs, so did you enjoy any particular read/audiobook this week?