Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  This Rough Magic

SERIES:  A Shot in the Dark #1

AUTHOR:  Josh Lanyon

PUBLISHER:  Loose Id

LENGTH:  173 pages

BLURB:  

Wealthy San Francisco playboy Brett Sheridan thinks he knows the score when he hires tough guy private eye Neil Patrick Rafferty to find a priceless stolen folio of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Brett’s convinced his partner-in-crime sister is behind the theft — a theft that’s liable to bring more scandal to their eccentric family, and cost Brett his marriage to society heiress Juliet Lennox. What Brett doesn’t count on is the instant and powerful attraction that flares between him and Rafferty.

Once before, Brett took a chance on loving a man, only to find himself betrayed and broken. This time around there’s too much at risk. But as the Bard himself would say, Journey’s end in lovers meeting.

REVIEW:  

“I’m in the lost-and-found business, mostly. And mostly what people lose are other people.”

“And do you always find them?”

“No. And sometimes when I find them, the people who hire me wish I hadn’t.”

That was a depressing notion.

Mr. Lennox has lost his folio, Brett Sheridan will be losing his freedom, and Neil Rafferty must be losing his mind—because there is no sanity in falling for the high-flying Brett Sheridan, especially when Brett’s bachelor days are quickly coming to an end.  But the crazy attraction doesn’t stop Rafferty from taking Brett’s case, even when their one suspect turns into everybody-and-their-grandma.

Throw in a Sheridan family intent on either living up the good ol’ days (on dwindling coffers) or consorting with minor criminals, and what had looked so cut-and-dry rapidly becomes a mess.  With their three days rapidly coming to a close, can Brett and Rafferty deliver a miracle–and the folio–or will everyone’s plans come to a crashing end?  And will Brett be all that disappointed if they do?

There are some stories in life I am always going to want to read, and Josh Lanyon’s mysteries are going to right there at the top.  They are almost always well written, with great twists, and leave me guessing along the way.  There is nothing more disappointing than figuring out who-done-it in the first few chapters of a book.  Well, ok, I am sure that there are…

Anyways, I liked the mystery in this book. There were no end to the suspects, or their motives, and every time I was absolutely sure that I had it figured out, I turned the page and something new made me question it all over again.  I do think the mystery did get a little left behind for some of the other subplots, though. I liked all the various plots, and they made for an interesting story, but I think when we finally got to the end, the answer was a little out of left field.

Not that I didn’t love the romance in this story. Brett and Rafferty were great characters, and there was enough angst for me to be unsure about how they would work, but it never got annoying.  I think we got a little more time with them than we usually do in Lanyon’s mysteries, but it was all the better for it, because we really got to know them.  Maybe it was just residual Amy Lane feels, from earlier in the day, but these two really got to me.  Their choices, their love, their need to walk away from everything—it all hit me right in the feels.

One of the thing I like about stories set in times where it was literally dangerous and/or criminal to come out as gay, is that you have to deal with the fine balancing act between honesty and safety.  Brett could secure not only safety for himself, but for his family (financially) if he goes through with the marriage, but he knows he will be living a lie.  Yet even if he was to choose Rafferty, there is always the danger that if the truth was known, it will hurt not only him, but the man he loves as well.  Everything in life becomes a balancing act between various shades of gray lies. And he has to decide just who is important enough for the truth, even when the rest of the world can only see the lie.  This book does a good job of showing the benefits and downfalls of both sides.  You may want nothing more than for Brett to walk out of his house, and out of his responsibilities to his family, and into Rafferty’s arms, but you also see why it is not that simple.

I’ve been a Lanyon fan from the first book I ever read of his, but it is nice to see love reaffirmed every time I pick up one of his books.  So many great mysteries, so many lovely romances, and yet each one feels unique and new.  I am really glad I got a chance to read this one, and I am most definitely going to check out the sequel, because Brett and Rafferty are definitely some of my favorite Lanyon guys.  I am always up for recommending Lanyon, and this book is no different.

RATING:  

BUY LINKS:

Josh Lanyon’s Website

Amazon

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