Encountered to Death

Jamie Brodie Mystery #5

by Meg Perry

It seems Jamie Brodie can't go anywhere any more without a body turning up. Jamie and his boyfriend Pete Ferguson are taking a week of vacation to visit Pete's brother Steve in Alamogordo, New Mexico. They arrive to find that Alamogordo has been invaded - by fans of a TV show called Alien Visitors. The host of the show, Dixon Gill, was found dead in the lobby of Steve's building. Gill's fans believe he was killed by the FBI because he was about to reveal the truth about the government's cover-up of alien visitations. Jamie and Pete know that's not true. But who did kill Gill? The director of his show? A competitor on the same network? An angry commenter on Gill's blog? A shadowy anti-government group? Or one of his ex-wives? The deeper Jamie probes into Gill's past, the more potential suspects he finds.
The truth is out there - but can Jamie uncover it?

Genres: Mystery, M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, M M Mystery, Mystery Thriller, LGBT

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2014

About the author

I started reading mysteries where a lot of us started - with Nancy Drew. I graduated to Agatha Christie, then P.D. James. My new favorite is Peter Lovesey.

I've had the characters of Jamie Brodie and Pete Ferguson in my head for a long time, but just recently figured out how to tell their stories. Jamie is an academic librarian because I'm an academic librarian and it's the world I know best.

Thanks for reading!

Reviews

[ttg · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Very low-key installment of the Jamie Brodie mysteries. This time, Jamie, boyfriend Pete, and Jamie’s nephew Colin visit Pete’s brother in New Mexico for a vacation, and get involved in a case about the death of a TV host for a show about aliens.

I’m already invested in this series so in this fifth volume, I once again enjoyed Jamie’s straightforward, simplistic style of narration. The characters are, as always, appealing and realistic, and this time included Jamie’s nephew, who at 12, is very gifted, but wasn’t cloying or annoying.

There was some slight movement in Jamie and Pete’s relationship as they continued to work through some of the few issues hampering them. Not as much progress as past books, but their relationship is still very strong, and they’re a fun pair to read.

The mystery itself is very low-key and almost anti-climactic. If I was coming in on this volume without reading the previous four books in the series, I probably would have been bored and may not have continued further. Being entrenched into the Jamie Brodie world by this time means that I enjoyed the book, although it felt like a snack and not a satisfying meal.

For those interested in checking out the series, don’t start here. You will get waaaaaay more out of thing if you start with part 1, Cited to Death.

Even though this installment felt a little lighter and less meaty (or tense), I really enjoy the series and love the characters, so am fully on board still and am very much looking forward to the next volume.

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Truth is Around Here Somewhere

TW: Abelism

First of all, the victim's name was Dixon Gill. Jamie is supposed to be a Trekkie, and a wannabe sleuth to boot, and yet not one mention of Dixon Hill in the entire book? Not one?! It's only one letter off. You disappoint me, Jamie. Shame on you. ;) Just needed to get that off my chest.

Anyway, there's something weirdly addicting about this series. It's not the most mind-blowing writing; pretty average actually. It's not the most gripping character development; the pacing is actually frustratingly realistically slow in that regard. But each new book presents a mystery of its own: How is Jamie going to get involved in yet another murder investigation? Why are the authorities going to require Jamie's research again because they can't seem to do their own jobs? (Really, Jamie should start charging for his time.) How does Jamie still have any friends willing to spend time with him when this many people keep showing up dead around him?

I do typically like the mysteries. They're usually set in the academic world, which sets this series apart from most others out there, and aside from the first book, the whodunits haven't been too glaringly obvious. Here, Jamie and Pete arrive in New Mexico to visit Pete's brother, Steve (who we don't really get to spend much time with) to discover that a dead man was found in Steve's office after falling from the sky. Oh, and the victim is a host of a popular UFO show. And UFO enthusiasts are coming from all over the country...for reasons.

I was getting close to skimming this one, right around the point where Jamie decides to do some research of his own, unsolicited of any authority figure, because the authorities (which include the state police, the FBI and the Air Force) are too busy trying to solve the mystery of Dixon Gill's death to, you know, solve his death by doing that silly little thing called research. And then he volunteers Pete and himself to go undercover with the UFO enthusiasts to get some leads that way and everyone's okay with this. Because apparently, between those three task forces, no one has anyone able to do that officially. And then a couple of the detectives on the case keep coming by Steve's house to chat about the case. But they're really good friends, so it's okay. Oh, and I did I mention that they have Jamie's 11-yr old nephew, Colin, with them while all this is going down? Great conversations to have around an 11-yr old, guys.

So I was getting seriously close to skimming around the halfway point, but like I said, there's something strangely addictive about the ridiculous series, so I kept reading. The mystery remained kind of ludicrous (Colin even solves it), but this was the first time I didn't want to alternately slap Jamie and/or Pete, so that's a bonus. We get a nice drama-free week in their love life, and that's refreshing. Plus, the redundancy of plot that's hampered the previous books is gone since everyone is on the same page with the investigation throughout the book.

But seriously: Dixon Gill, Dixon Hill. How was it not mentioned? After all the obvious X-Files references... No. I'm going to let this go.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as much as the other ones. Part of it was that there was A LOT of recapitulation, and a lot of it wasn't necessary at all. Is when or how they met Jon is important in this story? No. So, why tell us that? This was a shorter book and a lot of it was wasted in the retelling of the previous ones. :/

And there wasn't a lot happening, either, except Jamie and Peter spending some free time with Colin in Arizona.

Oh, well, let's hope the next will be better.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Once again I will refer to ttg review because she said things I wanted to say.

Reading this book is like coming back to your friends -- the writing and the characters feel familiar, that it becomes easy to lose a couple of hours in it. This time, Jamie and Pete go to Alamogordo, New Mexico with Jamie's nephew, Colin, to visit Pete's older brother, Steve. Unlike the previous books, the dead body in the mystery element don't really related to any of them. So it stayed behind the scene. Neither Jamie nor Pete are questioned by the authorities (well, there is one scene with the FBI but only a glimpse). Most of the time, Jamie is listing his activities with Pete and Colin during this holiday. The answer to the mystery is also a bit anti-climatic (and I feel cheated a little bit).

I still really enjoy this -- it is a quick read and it is nice to read stories about them. There isn't much progress on Jamie and Pete's relationship -- since they're in holiday and it seems they are going to the couples therapy -- BUT Pete does raise a question that a part of his hetero-normative expectation. It DOES make me wonder if it's too much work for these two. Sure, Jamie and Pete say that they love each other and Jamie is determined not to give up this time ... but it seems that there are issues after issues between the two. I just hope somehow they find a common ground.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was throughly entertained by this story and expanded family

Rating: 4🌈

Encountered to Death is a good, in a way emotionally lighter story than the one that preceded it. Jamie and Pete are going to celebrate Pete’s older brother’s 40th birthday in Alamogordo, New Mexico and is taking Jamie’s highly intelligent, science minded nephew with them.

Steve, the brother, is a plasma physicist, and they intend to tour all the sites around the area, from caves to Roswell. Shades of Mulder and Scully! What could go wrong? Plenty it seems.

There’s aliens abduction tv show hosts, a dead body, so many investigations, as well as great characters in both Steve and the 11-year old nephew, Colin. Colin especially was well crafted. He’s realistically young in heart(emotionally the investigation caused an such a impact on him as it should) , but his imagination and personality also felt in line with someone who has high intelligence to understand a variety of science topics.

The discussions and issues between Jamie and Pete weren’t really dropped but moved slightly to the background to be a part of a larger conversation when they returned home. One car or two meaning a more solid frame for going forward together.

I was throughly entertained by this story and expanded family. Perry continues to keep the reader engaged in this realistic romantic relationship and their literary world where a murder or body can bring about a wealth of knowledge and enjoyment. Love Clinton’s word of the day!

Onto the next!

The Jamie Brodie Mysteries - 23 books
- [x] Cited to Death
- [x] Hoarded to Death
- [x] Burdened to Death
- [x] Researched to Death
- [x] Encountered to Death
- [ ] Psyched to Death
- [ ] Stacked to Death
- [ ] Stoned to Death
- [ ] Talked to Death
- [ ] Avenged to Death
- [ ] Played to Death
- [ ] Filmed to Death
- [ ] Trapped to Death
- [ ] Promoted to Death
- [ ] Published to Death
- [ ] Cloistered to Death
- [ ] Haunted to Death
- [ ] Obsessed to Death
- [ ] Deserted to Death
- [ ] Drugged to Death
- [ ] Resigned to Death
- [ ] Snowed to Death
- [ ] Enchanted to Death

Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)

Sequel series:
An Angeles Investigations Mystery
- [ ] Cheated to Death: Book 1
- [ ] Hunted to Death Book 2

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encountered to Death (Jamie Brodie 5)
By Meg Perry
Published by the author, 2014
Four stars

I liked Jamie Brodie in this one better than I’ve liked him in other books in this series so far. I think it’s because he was not spending time being judgmental about his boyfriend, Pete Ferguson; but focused on things that they both cared about.

Even though this book is nominally about the mysterious and violent death of a celebrated alien watcher, it is really about family. Specifically, it’s about Jamie’s 11-year-old nephew Colin, and Pete’s brother Steve, who lives in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Jamie and Pete take the former to spend a week’s vacation visiting the latter. We get to see our heroes parenting, and generally being part of an extended family. Jamie is not interested in being a father, but he loves being an uncle. The way these two thirty-something highly-educated outdoorsy men treat Colin, a seriously bookish, unnaturally bright, expectedly vulnerable boy, is the central motif around which the marvelously weird story revolves.

Jamie is still feeling uncertain at times about his relationship with Pete – in spite of the very clear love they share for each other. This book seems to put the forces of family to work, encouraging and sometimes exasperating Jamie. We dig more into the men’s childhoods and their relationships with their siblings – and Jamie’s unique relationship with policemen in general, which plays nicely into the gruesome demise of the cultish internet celebrity.

Solving the mystery is, of course, a large part of the plot, but it is not the emotional core of the book. As in all of Meg Perry’s Jamie Brodie books (so far!), Jamie’s emotional bruising from the past and his anxiety about Pete are discreetly central to the impact of the book on the reader. In many gay-detective series, the personal life of the central character is secondary. Perry reverses that, without making the mysteries themselves any less intriguing. Obviously, with 22 books in total, whatever Perry did has succeeded. I am most interested in finding out how she does it. The best thing is that I don’t have to wait for each new book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mystery and a great NM travelogue

If anyone is interested in visiting NM and the sites to see this book does a great job of describing them while at the same time dealing with an alien visitor inspired mystery.

When Jamie and Pete take Jamie’s nephew Colin with them to visit Pete’s brother Steve in NM they arrive just after Steve has discovered a body that fell through the skylight in his office building. It turns out the body is that of a prominent alien hunting tv show host and all the conspiracy nuts show up. As Jamie helps the investigation by doing research and Colin gets lots of information for his journal homework at all the scientific sites they visit, we also get more family and personal revelations that tie into Jamie and Pete’s relationship.

It’s an interesting investigation that Colin ends up having some big contributions to and the travelogue portions gave me insight into an area I know nothing about which was fun. And no one was in any danger this time which was a nice change. My favorite mystery in this series is how our favorite former monk decides on his words of the day!

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would call this a consolidation story.
Jamie and Pete are off on holiday, with Jamie’s nephew. Jamie and Pete are building their relationship and the holiday certainly helps.
Pete’s brother has an exceptional incident at work which embroil the quartet in a mysterious death.
However, it is the travelling around the tourist sites and museums that entertain.
The mysterious death is a thread through and ultimately is resolved with terrestial reasons.
However, Colin does get a peculiar souvenir.

[Debbie McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the story again, but the overuse of pre-dialogue tags drove me crackers. I don't recall them being so intrusive in the previous instalments - almost enough to stop me going on to the next story. Almost.

[Finnegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth book in the series and I am officialy hooked on the series. Revisiting Jamie and Pete feels like dropping in on old friends to see how they are doing. And the mystery is also ok.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think these books just keep getting better. I am loving this series.

[Neet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Jamie Brodie finds our intrepid librarian on a vacation with his boyfriend Pete and his nephew Colin to drive to New Mexico to see the sites and visit with Peter's brother Steve.Of course, death doesn't take a holiday, and Jamie finds himself trying to find who done in a UFO host whose gruesome death and body is discovered by Steve and his colleagues in his office building.Won't say more,but this is another good read in this mystery series.

[clear skies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a quick one.

The case was again boring. It was rather steeped in facts about the places the characters visited. I could read that online myself as interesting as it was not.

Pete and Jamie take Jamie's nephew Colin with them on their adventure to visit Pete's brother. We can clearly state Jamie is the worse uncle ever. The hell would you ever talk about a potential murder case in front of your nephew and get him to research stuff on the dead man? No.

Disappointed.

[jules0623 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great series but getting to be same old same old. Think I'll take a break before reading the next one.