Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: In Other Words…Murder
SERIES: Holmes & Moriarity #4
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 215 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2018
BLURB:
Death reveals all secrets.
Mystery author Christopher Holmes, now comfortably married to sometimes rival, sometimes nemesis J.X. Moriarity, is starting a new career as a true crime writer when threatening anonymous notes start arriving.
Even worse, Christopher’s ex also arrives–asking for help locating the man he left Christopher for!
It’s life–and death–as usual at Chez Holmes. In other words… Murder.
REVIEW:
Christopher Holmes and J.X. Moriarity are (finally) back in their fourth novel, In Other Words…Murder. Taking up not long after the conclusion of book three, this story contains some leftover plot threads from the previous book, but also focuses on a new dead body that needs solving. Especially since the dead man was found buried in Christopher’s old backyard. Christopher’s recent past of being accused of various murders isn’t going to do him any favors with the police, either, especially when they start talking like the dead man might very well be the man whom Christopher’s ex ran off with. But that is not Christopher’s only problem, because he seems to have a very nasty person from his past still haunting his steps…in very big shoes.
With the way this book has been bouncing all over the release calender this year, I ended up not even realizing that it had been published till a week later. But whatever troubles it had in publication, I didn’t notice them reflected in the actual writing. Christopher and J.X. are just as well written, and while I think the mystery could have been a bit more beefed up, it was still well structured. There were enough hints that made total sense in hindsight, but not so obvious that you are yelling at the MCs to get a clue before the half-way point is even reached. I probably wouldn’t call this the best in the series, but it doesn’t let the side down either.
With their relationship having reached some sense of peace by this time, I was a bit worried that Lanyon was going to force some kind of dramatic breakup to liven up the series. This worry doubled l when I realized that Christopher’s ex was going to play a part in this book. But…thank gods…while flirting with a few of the most common troubles of dealing with an ex, nothing played out in such a way that I needed to rage quit the series. And by the end of the story I did feel that Christopher and J.X.’s relationship was still moving forward, not simply retracing old ground.
The thing that is hardest for me in this book is also responsible for a scene that had me cackling like a madman, so I can’t say I wish it was gone, but the whole stalking subplot that carries over from the last book was a bit tough for me. Not because I disliked the idea or the execution, but for some reason I have a hard time reading stalking subplots. It is not something I have had to deal with in real life, but even though I have no problem reading about other horrible things, stalking just gets under my skin. It made the book a bit hard to read at times. Still very well written, though.
I’m mostly left, after this book, looking forward to the upcoming book five. This has been a truly enjoyable series, and while I am sure Christopher could do without tripping over another dead body, I’m all for it!
RATING: 
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