The Mermaid Murders

Perfect Lanyon book!

I love Josh Lanyon. I have read a fair amount of Lanyon books. I didn't think it was possible with how much I fell in love with Adrien English after listening to the audiobooks, but The Mermaid Murders is now my favorite Josh Lanyon book.

I really enjoyed the narration of this one and felt that the voices were absolutely perfect (especially his Sam Kennedy voice!).

This book was just about perfect in my eyes and the only thing that would have made it better was to have Sam's POV. Do we really have to wait for 2017 for the next one? Waaaaahhhh!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fabulous!! Narration, characters, story. The best!

Josh Lanyon is one of the best there is at weaving mystery with romance. Her ability to capture the human condition, to paint all of her characters in a unique and compelling light, is second to none. Sam Kennedy and Jason West are prime examples, as they are each flawed, complicated, and compelling men. The mystery in this story is very tightly written, so intriguing. A definite "read till the end without putting it down" book. I read loads of mysteries and was still surprised at the reveal in this one. Lanyon also writes locations that are so vivid, they feel like actual characters. With this book, I felt as though I was actually there in the midst of the action - seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting. The Mermaid Murders has become one of my favorite Lanyon books and I eagerly await the next book in the series, early in 2017.

I am a huge fan of audio books and have several favorite narrators. Well, add Kale Williams to the top of that list. He took a story I already love and brought it to an entirely new level of awesome. He voices each of the many characters distinctly, capturing their personalities to a T. Nobody sounded like a caricature, no character's voice got confused with another. The character of Sam Kennedy is quite imposing, and Mr Williams absolutely nailed his voice, his mannerisms, his humanity. He conveyed Jason West's strength and sensibilites with sublime detail. To summarize, Mr Williams acted this story to perfection - smoothly capturing each character's emotions, state of mind, and actions His gripping performance had me starting the audio over again the moment I finished it.I am very happy to report that he has agreed with Josh Lanyon to narrate the next two books in this series. Lucky, lucky are we audiophiles!

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

A Wonderful Mystery...

A huge fan of Josh Lanyon and this story does not disappoint. Murder, mystery, and mayhem...plus a bit of romance. An excellent book. I was kept in suspense right until our protagonist figured it out...those are the best stories!!! As great as this audio book was, the narration of Kale Williams made this story come to life and added so much to the enjoyment. A great combination. An excellent listen!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Suspence mystery

This an excellent murder mystery but I guess I was just looking for some more build up chemistry between West and Kennedy which I didn’t feel. I think I was hoping for something similar with the sizzling chemistry of Ty and Zane another series. 😉

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly Great!

FYI: It's not about mermaids! I'm a huge paranormal science fiction fan and assumed this was about actual mermaids..... nope, total murder mystery haha! Once I let go of that and actually listened to the audiobook, I could t stop! It is terrific!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The Mermaid Murders

I loved this book! The only creepy part was I listened to it on my drive to South Hadley, MA. That was surprising to listen to a book with a serial killer near that area! This is a book I will definitely listen to again! The narrator did a fantastic job and really brought the story and characters to life!

I've actually listened to this series twice in one week and am considering a relisten once I finish my current series. That's how much I love this series. The writing and narration are just perfect!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed this audio!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mermaid Murders to be better than the print version?

Yes, I thought the audio made the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked both Sam and Jason. The character were different but compelling.

What about Kale Williams’s performance did you like?

He did a great job with the voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Sam finally showed some emotion at the end of the book.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed thus series and the spin off stories.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

TOAM is dull.Period.

Would you try another book from Josh Lanyon and/or Kale Williams?

Yes -- I like Josh Lanyon quite a lot. I just found the first book in the series dull,and I didn't like Jason - who's part of the MC. I found him obnoxious and pushy, and even a little on the whiny side. I liked Sam Kennedy much more.

This just made me wish she'd kept going with the All's Fair series, rather than moving on to this one. TOAM is setting up the arcs for what's coming, so I'm hoping we'll get some development in Jason and Sam's relationship. There's really no romance here at all. Explicit sex isn't a requirement for me to enjoy a story, but these two have absolutely zero chemistry in the two scenes that there were.

As for the writing, there's an annoying amount of adjectives. If you have to remind me in every sentence who's talking, your conversations aren't flowing as well as they could be.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending felt like it went on and on and on. It's as if she wasn't sure where to end it. In the last 90 seconds it abruptly switched course, which made it feel choppy. But again, it is a set up for a future relationship between Jason and Sam. It just seemed to be rushed, as if she cut quite a bit out.

What does Kale Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like Kale's performance. I hadn't heard him narrate before, and his use of accents and pitch made it easy for me to identify who was speaking.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. It's very talky, and there's not much in the way of action, humor, or romance. The mystery is only OK, and it is populated with too many unnecessary characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun book

Loved the story. Started off a little slow but then all of a sudden your there! Couldn't wait to finish this title. Love the back and forth between Jason and Kennedy. I have to admit I judged this book by its over at first but I love Josh Lanyon books

I'm intrigued

Remember Sam Kennedy from Winter Kill? Well, he’s back and the focus is all on him – or mostly. There is that pesky little detail of a suspected serial killer on the prowl to be dealt with.

Jason West is on loan and temporarily partnered with Sam Kennedy to solve a homicide that might be connected to a serial killer that Sam caught some years back. To say the match is a happy, welcome or a civil one is not what you’d call accurate. They barely tolerate each other and this thing called cooperation is not really working out all that well. Oil and water works smoother together than these two does. And that’s one of the things that made this such a great read. The push and pull, the friction between them was highly entertaining. Not to say that I didn’t want to smack their heads together and ask them to grow up and work together more than once, but hey, that’s par for the course.

I wouldn't really call this book a romance as Jason and Sam spends most of the book at each other’s throats. The animosity and mistrust runs deep and they barely tolerate each other. And that never really changes. Relationship wise, the books ends with a potential HFN, if that. It's more of a "let's not say goodbye, but keep in touch" kind of ending. But it all works. It’s the mystery that is the primary focus of the book. The who and why, and what ifs. It keeps you guessing and on your toes and sooner than you might like it you’ve reached the end. And if that’s not a sign for a good time, I don’t know what is.

Kale Williams was a good choice for this book. His voice fit the characters, the story and feel of the story. His voices for the characters were distinct and he made it easy to follow along the story. There's something about his voice that makes it easy to dream away for a while.

I think this is a book that shows a lot of potential for a really good mystery series to come. It’s not all smooth sailing and shiny rainbows. And I can’t really say that I liked, or even warmed up much to Sam in the end, but you know what? That doesn’t matter. I quite like it in fact. It’s refreshing to have to put my own issues aside, and being “forced” to work with someone I don’t particularly agree with and rubs me the wrong way. The Mermaid Murders is a great book to pick up when you want to sink your teeth into a good mystery and not focus so much on the romance. I’m really looking forward to what else this series has in store.

A copy of this book was generously provided in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes