karlakolumna

4.5 glorious stars

Hmmmm. This is a bit difficult to review without spoilers, at least in my case... But I'll try my best.^^

Well, the good - no, the delicious - first:
I've always liked Lanyon's way of storytelling, liked the way he develops his mysteries and have not yet been disappointed by his books. Understandably, this was a must-read for me.

First of all: I really, really adored both Griff and Pierce, individually and together. They really worked as a couple for me, even though the romance aspect in this mystery wasn't all that prominent, maybe a bit too little for some readers. Although it was exactly right imo, especially the antipathy and dislike versus some extent of attraction in the beginning -- I would not class this as "enemies-to-lovers trope" (which I am a sucker for) though -- really did it to me.

The mystery was... hm, well-developed. I very much liked how Griff had to metaphorically turn every stone to get to the bottom of the mystery about what exactly happened to little Brian all those years ago. I was captivated and drawn into the "whodunit" and "what happened"-part more or less immediately.
And while I totally have to doff my hat again to Lanyon in some ways, in others I'd have wished that some of the hints (regarding the mystery) offered would have been more subtle, at least in the beginning. Because I kind of felt cheated when the most crucial part of the mystery (at least the most crucial in my opinion) - and I'm not talking about the "whodunit"-part here - was revealed, or rather: hinted at quite obviously, so soon.
To have solved the aspect that could and should have made for a very intriguing turn of events and unforeseen development later on at just a little bit over 30% into the book.. yeah, that was a bit disappointing.

To be fair though, that did hardly dampen my eagerness to read on. Because even then the story and the mystery were compelling and captivating enough, wondering when and how the MCs would find out...

Hell, maybe it was even intended that the reader should find out that particular part early on while Griff and everybody else remain in the dark? I don't know... To me it was still somewhat disappointing either way, which is why I couldn't bring myself to give the full 5 stars.

Other than than: Another well-done mystery with interesting and unique characters and a lovely romance thrown in in well-known Lanyon fashion.
Recommended to all Lanyon-fans and mystery lovers.