The Hell You Say: The Adrien English Mysteries Paperback – September 20, 2012

My name is Aunt Lynn and I am a Fanyon.I am not a regular reader or fan of mystery in any format, but I had heard great things about Josh Lanyon's Adrien English series, and since I am reading almost nothing other than m/m right now, I took the plunge. I am so glad I did! I purchased books 1-4 ( Fatal Shadows , A Dangerous Thing , The Hell You Say, and  Death of a Pirate King ) all at one time and had a marathon reading session one weekend. Although each book can be read as a standalone, it is best to read the series in order, especially as you get further in as references are made to previous events and built-upon emotions. Oh, and I should mention that I bought the ebooks after the re-edits and the new publishers, so I did not experience the editing problems many people had with especially FS (reflected in many of the more negative reviews).Quickie plot: Angus, Adrien English's mystery bookstore employee/resident warlock is getting threatening phone calls. Throwing money at the problem, Adrien sends him away to get a break from the harassment. Now there are bodies turning up that seem to point to satanic/occult involvement, and Adrien once again plays sleuth to clear Angus' name. Oh, and there is a missing author, a new family, a maybe boyfriend who wants Adrien to butt out of the investigation, and a sexy UCLA professor in the mix.Set about eight months after the end of ADT, this is another well- and tightly-written, fast-paced whodunit, laced with pop culture references and humor. It made me laugh and it made me cry. As with the other books, THYS is narrated first person and it is damn-near perfect. Adrien much more developed and complex as a character here. Anyone who has read the previous books knows he is a truly wonderful, realistic, charming character. He is quick, witty, sarcastic and smart, and he maintains his take-it-as-it-comes attitude while longing for a "normal" life, one where he is deservedly loved opening and completely. I shed a tear for him in this book; his poor wonky heart can't take much more.And Jake... My love-hate relationship inches toward the hate side in this installment, but I am an optimist and I cannot give up on him. Jake is hard to love. There are readers who asked Lanyon to kill Jake off (or to get rid of in another way) after THYS, that he is reprehensible, that there is no redemption for him, that his actions toward Adrien inexcusable. I don't feel that way, or at least I didn't once I got over my initial anger. As conflicted as my feelings are for him and though I'd like him to be kinder to Adrien and do not condone what he did, I've reread the book several times and have decided that I do kinda like him the way he is. There were moments of surprising tenderness, dare I say loving, and I was disappointed, though not surprised, that it just seemed to disintegrate before my eyes. We know that Jake is closeted, self-loathing, and as desperate to have as "normal" a life as Adrien is (though his definition of normal is very different than Adrien's). I shed a tear for Jake, too; I felt sad for him, for his being, as Adrien put it, a "victim and a prisoner of his internalized homophobia,"and knowing that no matter what he does he is going to be unhappy. Although I'm mad as heck at him, I want to give him a hug, too. [sigh] There is no surprise that being in a relationship with Jake is challenging at best for Adrien; he is not going back into the closet for anyone, and Jake can barely turn the handle to peek out. I understand that he has deep-seated issues, that he is tortured, that he has a huge inner struggle that in many ways defines how he lives his life, but I was angered and heartbroken at the end, especially after the incredible tenderness of one particular scene after Adrien has a little heart scare from an electrical shock. On the other end of this, but no less relevant, is his career; with him being so terrified of being found out, it was interesting to watch how he would act on this case that Adrien is involved in, and I found myself asking several times -- as did Adrien -- how far would Jake go to protect his secret?THYS is a longer book than the previous two, so there is more room for character and plot development. And develop it does. The mystery element is more in-depth, with a lot of attention paid to the occult aspect of the story. Although the dysfunctional relationship between Adrien and Jake has less on-screen time than in ADT, it is just as important and explosive. We get a better opportunity to get to know Lisa, Adrien's overprotective widowed mother, and the new family it looks Adrien is going to be saddled with. I found the three soon-to-be stepsisters humorous and charming in a Stepford-ish kind of way. This is not bad at all; I mentioned in my review of FS that Adrien needs more people in his corner and in his life. We rarely see friends in these books, and the ones that made any on-screen time are dead, it seems. The members of Adrien's mystery writers group, Partners in Crime, are more prominent here, too (Jean as a tail. Hee!). We also are introduced to Angus' sexy and dynamic UCLA professor and occult expert Guy Snowden, and if Jake's not a good boy, he just might lose Adrien to him. The attraction seems to be definitely there, and oh, he's not in the closet, nor hates himself for being gay. Imagine that...Lanyon originally and fairly successfully self published THYS via iUniverse. There is a fascinating five-part series by him entitled "A Hell of a Way to Make a Living" on his experiences with publishers and publishing from both sides on the Novelspot website in its series "Behind the Scenes blog." After THYS was released, he signed with MLR Press (for print) and LooseID (for ebooks). The reason I mention this is because I understand that THYS, along with FS and ADT, were reedited/revamped and some scenes (comments seem to lean toward sexual ones) added since the original publication -- someone called the revamp "erotically enhanced" -- and I believe I have that reedited version based on comments made in other reviews. But since I loves me some hawt sexx laced through my fabulous read, I'm certainly not complaining.There is also a really interesting peek at the two protags in "interviews" Lanyon has with each. Set after the end of THYS, these short snippets give a little further insight to the characters. To find them, search on the Alex Beecroft site "In Their Own Words," where authors "interview" their characters.Lastly, I bought the ebook first, but am in the process of purchasing the print versions as well if for no other reason than the cover art for this and DOAPK, which are really funkily good.In my opinion, this is the best book yet in the series. Lanyon is incredibly talented and his writing just gets better and better; it's so crisp, tight, and spare. It's a truly superb, wonderful effort.Now on to DOAPK with the hope that maybe, just maybe, things will work out for Adrien and Jake...

Adrien English fans, rejoice! He's back in "The Hell You Say," which is even better than the first two novels in this excellent "amateur sleuth" series by Josh Lanyon. It's tough to say which generates more suspense: the murderous satanic cult that's after Adrien, or his relationship with Jake Riordan. Don't wonder about it - go ahead and order the book if you haven't already. Trust me, you'll be glad you did, (and so will Josh).For those who haven't read the first two books, "Fatal Shadows" and "A Dangerous Thing," all three mystery novels are squarely in the California Noir tradition of Raymond Chandler and Michael Nava."The Hell You Say" is especially well written. The protagonist's first person narrative is just right: witty, but not brittle; ironic but not bitter. Despite the cool, lapidary surface of the narrative, it's not affectless. Far from it - there are scenes of real emotional impact. That's the magic of really good writing.One of the many pleasures of the book - all three books, actually - is the author's play with allusions. He's not showing off - he's having fun - and so will you. Except for the overt references to books and movies, the allusions are quite subtle: you'll be a full page past one of them, and your brain will go, "Oohh, he did it again." Fair warning: if you ever get into a trivia contest on the subjects of movies, detective novels or English Lit with Josh Lanyon, you're likely to lose your, um, pride.Some potential reviewers, editors and readers may be tempted to consign "The Hell You Say" to the "routine gay mystery" bin. But so what if the hero's gay? Now that almost everyone has read or at least heard about Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain," and Christopher Rice's novels are being marketed to a mainstream audience, "gay" shouldn't be an issue for reviewers or editors anymore. Especially when real literary skill is on display, as it is here.To the general reader who might shy away from this kind of material, don't. The relatively few "bedroom" scenes are a lot less explicit than many "frank" mainstream novels with heterosexual characters. Once you get past that, you'll see that Adrien is just like anyone else who yearns for a fulfilling relationship. And you'll be missing a very good story if you don't give it a try.And finally, you can bet that somewhere out there, Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammet are raising their glasses of Scotch to Adrien English and his creator, Josh Lanyon.

I've been acquainted with Josh Lanyon's work for several years. I'm currently re-reading every single one of his novels and short stories. As usual, I'm deriving great plesaure out of it! Such a great balance of well paced plot, environment and in depth characters. Not to mention high quality prose. I am especially partial to the Adrien English series featuring ... Jake and Adrien. As a "mature" gay man ( 64 years old) I feel deeply moved by these two men and their attempt at achieving some kind of reliationship.Heartfelt thanks to you, Josh Lanyon!

I reached the end of this and immediately bought books 4 and 5 of the series, trying desperately not to read the blurb, because I really didn't want to spoil anything. There are some pretty devastating moments in this story, but I'm still rooting for a HEA.Until now I really hated Adrien's mother (started to like her in this book, but currently I'm 75% of the way through book 4 and I hate her again). I love Adrien English still - his dry, witty humour, emotional distance and vulnerability make his a wonderful, deep character with whom to sympathise.I'm motoring through Lanyon's books now, and find his style easy to digest, but there are some wonderful sparkles of literary genius in here. He's a very clever, talented author.

In The Hell You Say, Adrien finds himself again involved in a mystery. This time, Angus, Adrien’s bizarre though somehow cute assistant, has to leave the shop because he is being threatened by some king of satanic cult. Thinking it is just an innocent game from his college fellows, Adrien gives him some money (as a bonus) and recommends him to take a holiday with his girlfriend. What Adrien doesn’t expect is to become the target of the menaces when Angus disappears without any trace. The thing gets really dangerous when dead bodies begin to turn up. With the reluctant help of his lover Jake, Adrien decides to get to the bottom of this dark business.Again, I have really enjoyed this book. There are really sad moments, and very funny ones as well:As for the sad moments, I have suffered along with Adrien in the book. His relationship with Jake was bound to hurt him, and pain arrives suddenly: After a period of nearly happiness, seeing his lover twice a week (sometimes even more), Adrien is struck by the news that Jake’s girlfriend is pregnant, and that they are going to get married. The confrontation; Jake’s aggressiveness; Adrien’s pain. That has been a very difficult moment in the book. I love the way Josh Lanyon makes you feel what Adrien is feeling. His pain is so real and so touching. It was very intense. Adrien is broken and Jake… Well, I cannot bring myself to hate Jake. Although I know he’s not good for Adrien, and I hate the way he despises himself, I am sure he loves Adrien even if he doesn’t know it, and that leaving Adrien is going to hurt Jake himself more than Adrien.But there are funny moments in the book as well: Lisa, Adrien’s mother, decides to get married after years of being a lonely widow. This way, Adrien finds himself surrounded by a new family, with three stepsisters who do everything they can to involve him in the wedding arrangements. I am sure they are going to be a source of headaches for Adrien in the future. I can’t wait to find out more about this newly acquired family.All in all, this is another utterly enjoyable instalment of this series. Despite the fact that Jake leaves and a new romance seems to appear in Adrien’s life (sexy professor Guy Snowden), I still want to see a HEA for Adrien and Jake. I am really looking forward to it.

I like all the books in this series, but this particular one is my favourite. I couldn't decide if I wanted to hug or throttle the main character.

Adrien tangles with witches, satanises, and his mother’s new fiancé and family. Not sure who is more scary! Relationship ups and downs aren’t helping. Still enjoying this series!