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Night Watch

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Three years ago investigative reporter Parker Davidson barely survived a brutal attack by his psychopathic ex-boyfriend. It’s given him a dim view of romance.

When Parker’s ex escapes from a maximum security prison, LAPD Lieutenant Henry Stagge is tasked with making sure that Parker doesn’t end up a victim a second—and final—time.

Most cops believe Parker got what he deserved, but over the course of a few very tense hours, Henry begins to wonder if there’s more to Parker than he thought.

Second chances happen in the strangest places—and at the strangest times.

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2016

19 people are currently reading
299 people want to read

About the author

Josh Lanyon

248 books5,445 followers
Author of 100+ titles of Gay Mystery and M/M Romance, Josh Lanyon has built her literary legacy on twisty mystery, kickass adventure, and unapologetic man-on-man romance.

Her work has been translated into twelve languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first Male/Male title to be published by Italy’s Harlequin Mondadori and Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan’s annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list). The Adrien English series was awarded the All-Time Favorite Couple by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. In 2019, Fatal Shadows became the first LGBTQ mobile game created by Moments: Choose Your Story.

She’s an EPIC Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist (twice for Gay Mystery), an Edgar nominee, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads All Time Favorite M/M Author award.

Josh is married and lives in Southern California with her irascible husband, two adorable dogs, a small garden, and an ever-expanding library of vintage mystery destined to eventually crush them all beneath its weight.


Find other Josh Lanyon titles at www.joshlanyon.com
Follow Josh on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

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5 stars
161 (19%)
4 stars
330 (39%)
3 stars
266 (32%)
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67 (8%)
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5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
Profile Image for Baba  .
858 reviews4,006 followers
August 28, 2016
3.5 stars. Mini review posted August 28, 2016

 photo oie_Du2kYX6HOews_zpsnpmu6x6z.png

I sat down beside him on the sofa. “Henry, did anyone ever tell you you’re a really nice guy?”
“Sure.” He sounded amused. “I’ve heard that a few times. It’s code for dull.”
I shook my head. “Anyone who thinks decency and reliability and kindness and courage are dull is an idiot.”
“You sure woke up on the right side of the bed. Don’t worry. I know who and what I am. I’m okay with being dull.”

I whispered, “I hate myself for being afraid.”
“Everybody is afraid sometimes.”
I kept my eyes closed. “What are you afraid of, Henry?” He was silent. I realized I was going to hear the truth.
“I’m afraid that I had my turn at loving and being loved, and now it’s over and I won’t ever have it again.”



I believe that everyone should have a few stars of their own to chase away the darkness once in a while.
Once again a well-written and enjoyable short story delivered in Josh Lanyon's distinct voice. And yet I wasn't totally satisfied because I wanted more. It's always the same, isn't it? Novellas are some kind of appetizer but will leave you hungry for the main course. Another little quibble of mine was the anticlimactic resolution of the suspense. I was like, "That's it?" I actually felt myself making a long face. Anyway, it's a really nice and quick read for in between or if you want to catch up on your Goodreads Reading Challenge 2016, then pick up this one. It's still worth it.

Recommended read.
Profile Image for Natasha.
547 reviews248 followers
July 30, 2016
Hard to rate because of the length of it, but still kept me completely entertained for the entirety of the short story. So 4 stars it is.
Obviously I'd like more. When wouldn't I?
The story itself is so very Lanyon. Which I love. Amateur sleuth, hulking cop love interest. The whole nine yards. Except in this case it's more like 2 yards because of the length.
Still, wonderfully written and awesome. No such regrets spending the money on my favorite author.

----

Josh Lanyon: the only author I would give my 4 Canadian bucks to in exchange for 13,000 words.
864 reviews229 followers
November 5, 2016

Sometimes, I'll find myself reading book after book feeling like I'm missing...something. I can't pinpoint it. I can't describe it. And then I read a Josh Lanyon book, and all is back on track. It's like Lanyon is my laser beam to find my way back to enjoying books. I'm not quite sure what the magic is. It could be simply...the amazing writing. It could be that Lanyon's words just DO IT for me. It could be that I have confidence in what I'm gonna get and I am so rarely disappointed.

Night Watch was a "laser beam" book for me. I needed it. I needed a new Lanyon to remind me that reading is yummy. And though it ended too soon, as so many of Lanyon's novellas do, it still managed to satisfy.

Parker is a reporter and found himself in the "WTF" position of falling for a convicted murderer. He's convinced the man is innocent and goes about trying to prove it. And when the dust settles, the man who would become his boyfriend, turns around and tries to brutally kill him. It is...goosebump worthy.

Henry is a LAPD detective and a widower. He is...a man of honor, a man of steel. He is the the strong character that Lanyon loves to write and writes so well. And he's here to protect Parker.

Here's where the novella could have really benefited from some extra pages: there's instalove that is whip-lash worthy. The connection kinda happens in some extreme circumstances and nothing points to this relationship-to-be ending up working at all. BUT...I refuse to let my mind go there. I'll fill the blanks with some substance and BELIEVE in their HEA over the HFN (Happy For Now).

What's to Like:
Lanyon will leave you curious about both characters and hoping that there will be more of this story to be told. For some, this may be an itch that they cannot scratch. But for those of us that have grown accustomed to this style from this author, it's blissful anticipation. I want more of Parker and Henry and I'm going to believe I'll get it one day! :)

What's to Love:
The psycho ex-boyfriend angle? CREEPY AF!

Beware of:
Instalove. A feeling of being unfulfilled at the end. Screaming "that's IT?" by the time you're done. Ya know...the regular Lanyon emotions.

This Book is For:
Lanyon fans. Duh. But also those who want a small snippet of creepy. He want a read that is slightly unsettling, but so good!
Profile Image for Ami.
6,310 reviews488 followers
August 3, 2016
Despite the short length, and the story practically happened within one night (?) but this was one of those moments where it totally clicked with me, you know?

It felt very contemplative and personal. I was reading Parker and Henry's conversations like my life depended on it. When I read it, I felt like I was listening to an intimate midnight radio show, where I ended up thinking a lot about life choices, including the dark side of being human.

The ending was typical Lanyon, a spark of hopeful note despite not completely HEA. It felt like Lanyon at her best, especially when it comes to writing a story that lingers, long after the last sentence.
Profile Image for fleurette.
1,535 reviews163 followers
March 12, 2019
Josh Lanyon is pretty good with his short stories. And this one is a fine example. As always, I wish it was made into a full-length book, since I really like the characters. The plot is also good. But this is the ending that moved this story onto another level. I admit I haven't really expected it and I definitely liked it better this way.
Profile Image for Jennifer☠Pher☠.
2,970 reviews278 followers
September 7, 2016
Lanyon.

What do I say about this one that is any different than what I say about the others? Even the ones that aren't 42 pages?

It is torture. It is never enough. And they always freaking end like that.

But, I love it, I always come back for more even when I KNOW it is going to go down like this.

When I saw 42 pages I just knew I was screwed.

I was.

It was worth it.

Good stuff. I will just have to use my imagination to see what would maybe happen next.
Profile Image for Karen.
235 reviews12 followers
August 3, 2016
Before reading Josh Lanyon, I had a love-hate relationship with short stories. Some of them stuck with me, had a lasting impact (whether I wanted them to or not), but usually in an unpleasant way. It seemed that short stories, like literary fiction, had to end on a dark note, or a melancholy note, or a knowingly noir note. They reinforced the sadder and darker sides of life. There were times when I loved that, my more cynical times. And finally times when I avoided short stories almost altogether. Until Lanyon.

Lanyon manages something remarkable with this very short story, creating two distinct characters — one with a backstory that could easily lead to self-loathing, and has led to emotional withdrawal — and a set-up that could easily, almost inevitably, go in the direction of blood and gore. Instead we are gifted with a story of hope and promise. This is done with a quiet kind of craft that may make it all seem simple or routine, but is actually due to keen perception and years of practice. The details unwind organically, no small feat in such a small space. Would I have liked/still like to have more of these two? Yes, but they are fine as they are, perfectly set up for a holiday coda of course.
Profile Image for Viv.
299 reviews26 followers
February 7, 2017
Wow, I really liked this and as usual with a Josh Lanyon book, I was left wanting MORE! It wasn't anything like I expected though. This was just really a great, short little book. If there would have been a little bit of sexy times, it would have been perfect.

Off to search if there is a Christmas coda for Henry and Parker!

UPDATE: There is a coda. Yay! Although my heart almost didn't survive this update!http://joshlanyon.blogspot.com/2016/1...
Profile Image for Johanna.
92 reviews49 followers
July 30, 2016
An emotion-packed story with thought-provoking message. I can wholeheartedly recommend this.

To say it shortly—I wish we had more Parkers and Henrys in the world. People who have seen bad things happen but who still believe in empathy, compassion and kindness. People who still care and who still hope. People who believe that doing the right thing is worth all the effort. People who still believe in love.
Profile Image for Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew.
1,405 reviews154 followers
August 7, 2016
As chapter one of a longer book, yes. On its own - no.

Lanyon's ability to create an intriguing set-up is certainly in evidence, but the ideas and situations don't have space to go anywhere. So, a romance is shoe-horned into a day and a night; the suspense situation that's been built up in the first few pages is demolished harmlessly within a paragraph.

Now I know there are some short stories that work well as vignettes - heavy on atmosphere, and with unresolved endings - but Josh Lanyon doesn't write in that canon. Recent Lanyon short stories have felt like spare ideas jotted down and not worked through. This reader feels short-changed.
Profile Image for Mare SLiTsReaD Reviews.
1,224 reviews66 followers
October 5, 2018
Honestly. I love anything Lanyon writes.
But.
This one.
It was like getting into the first chapter and being super happy cause you found A BOOK and then it just.........................ENDED@!

GaH

Mare~Slitsread
Profile Image for CrabbyPatty.
1,715 reviews200 followers
June 30, 2017
Wow. Such a short story but it tells so much, beyond the elements of the crime, and into the mindset of these two lonely men. Loved decent honest Henry and his insight:
Here’s what I think. I think there’s a little bit of darkness inside all of us. I think there are times every one of us has to fight to keep that darkness at bay. And I think part of how we keep the dark at bay is by looking out for each other, taking care of each other. Loving each other.
Profile Image for Sara .
1,547 reviews154 followers
Read
August 11, 2016
This is what I love and made me fall in love with Lanyon... short stories that are too short and yet just long enough to make you feel fulfilled but leave you wanting more.

Lanyon's short stories are like that one dinner where everything from the food to the company to the atmosphere was perfect but you can never quite recreate it...

Man and Ugh.

I really REALLY hope this is just a taste to what we will get from Parker and Henry as this read like a wonderful beginning to long series that I desperately want. I mean, come on! This was a night, one single night in their lives and the chemistry was electric!

More. I tell you. I need more.

(P.S. I wrote this on my phone while waiting for lunch and I think you can tell I was hungry with all the food references. Oops.)
Profile Image for Izengabe.
288 reviews
November 11, 2022
Me gustó bastante pero creo que es demasiado corto, a la historia entre ellos le falta un poco más de desarrollo.
Profile Image for Carol March.
Author 27 books19 followers
August 5, 2016
I enjoyed this short story of a reporter under protective custody because his ex-lover, a serial killer, has escaped from prison. As Parker and his police lieutenant body guard drive through the desert to a deserted house where they hole up, hoping the killer will be captured, we learn Parker's back story and see the gradual unfolding of attraction between two decent men who have been grieving their pasts. Lanyon is an excellent writer who knows how to move a story forward and express the nuances of attraction. I am not a true crime reader, but I enjoy Lanyon's work and this story did not disappoint.
Profile Image for KC.
295 reviews7 followers
August 1, 2016
It's amazing how much emotion and insight Josh Lanyon can pack into a short story, the sharp focus on a character's life that makes that character feel so very real, and how every little detail is so well placed to mirror, at least to some extent, the character's inner feelings: bleakness, doubt, regret, but from that emerging hope and love and a new beginning.
Profile Image for Harshini.
310 reviews23 followers
August 3, 2016
My one complaint, it was too short, would have been great to have this as a full length novel with Parker working on the release, realising how he has been played, the breakup, the fallout, and then this.
Profile Image for Tess.
2,233 reviews26 followers
August 1, 2016
4 stars

I liked ... but a little too short!
Profile Image for C.S. Poe.
Author 40 books1,403 followers
April 6, 2020
I love a well-written short story. They should be stellar for the length the author chose and appreciated as such. There's no cutting corners simply because of page count either. In fact, every word is all the more impactful, because readers need a sense of character development, plot completion, and—as far as romance is concerned—at least a tickle in our hearts that love is on the horizon and everything will be okay.

That's why I read every short story that Josh Lanyon writes. Because, boy howdy, does she get it. Night Watch is one of her darker, more grisly, and bleaker stories, with a plot as serious as they come for something just over forty pages. Parker Davidson, an investigative reporter, is on his way to a safe house after news breaks that his psychopathic ex-boyfriend has escaped a maximum security prison and Parker is certain that Ricky is going to find him and finish the job he failed at three years ago: stabbing Parker to death. Except he's not alone. Lt. Henry Stagge with the LAPD is playing bodyguard until Ricky is apprehended.

And Parker just can't understand why. Why the LAPD would bother after he rubbed a few too many cops the wrong way with his articles. Why Henry would volunteer for babysitting someone who couldn't see from the beginning that Ricky was bad news. Why Parker deserves the protection and affection that Henry so easily offers. None of it makes sense to him, and he's certain he's going to die. Die or die trying to shoot Ricky himself.

I love this book. I've read it three or four times. It's a gentle incline, never over-the-top, and a completely believable plot from start to finish. Parker's attitude and shift overnight is so well done—that emotional break he hits with Henry there, offering support, was beautiful. And Henry. My God. That's how you write a love interest. Charming, compelling, a bit of a hardass, with absolutely fantastic dialogue. My heart is certain that these two kept in touch, dated, and have gotten their second chances at love and life.

This is a book you need to read. Whether in between longer titles are as a quick indulgence before bed. Enjoy.
Profile Image for Erin (PT).
577 reviews104 followers
February 4, 2017
I have a hard time giving shorts more than 3 unless they're extraordinary or really hit my specific likes, but this is definitely one of Lanyon's better shorts. Parker is an investigative reporter who moved heaven and earth to free the man who became his lover...only to find out that Ricky really was the killer everyone thought he was. So at the time the story opens, when Ricky has escaped, he's naturally gunshy about the idea of love. Enter his police protector Henry.

There's only really the three characters in the story; there's no doubt about how the romance angle is going to turn out, but I liked that Lanyon still did the work to bring them together and create the chemistry between them, aided by their close proximity and the tension of the situation.

Profile Image for Aeren.
510 reviews29 followers
July 31, 2016
Una pequeña genialidad que sabe a poco.
Profile Image for Trix.
1,358 reviews114 followers
May 8, 2017
This was too short. 2.5 stars rounded to 3

I liked the characters but didn't have enough space to really appreciate them. The premise was quite interesting. I would have loved a more detailed account of how Ricky and Parker met, how the psychopath managed to deceive Parker, how and if he had killed all the alleged missing persons and victims. I wanted to wallow a bit more in Parker's anguish and self loathing and fear of his ex-boyfriend. I wanted to breathe in the misery of not feeling safe and having your life altered so brutally. I wanted to learn each tiny detail that made Henry him, each molecule bonded to give him his resilience, his strength of character, his honor, his sense of justice... I really wanted to get to know Henry better. I wanted to see Parker and Henry take the first tentative steps into a relationship, then see it blossom. I didn't want just the one night where Police lieutenant protects the witness, I wanted so much more.

A bit disappointed that it wasn't as exciting as I had expected and that Ricky never tried to go after Parker. And that we barely got a kiss between Parker and Henry. But some things have a greater impact when left unsaid.

P.S.: There is a short coda for Parker and Henry. Read it here: http://joshlanyon.blogspot.ro/2016/12...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Anita Bianchi.
581 reviews7 followers
February 24, 2017
http://bianchianita1971.blogspot.it/2...

Credo davvero che questa sia la prima volta che un romanzo di Josh Lanyon mi lascia non del tutto soddisfatta. Vi spiego: la storia parte in maniera molto intrigante con un giornalista investigativo che viene posto sotto la protezione di un poliziotto taciturno, dopo che il suo ex (uno psicopatico omicida che ha tentato già di eliminarlo) evade di prigione. I due trascorrono un giorno e una notte in un bungalow nel più assoluto deserto, imparano a conoscersi, a fidarsi e capiscono che forse potrebbe nascere qualcosa di importante. Fin qui tutto bene ma poi il finale avviene in maniera solutamente anti-climatica: non posso raccontarvi cosa succede ma non è sicuramente la mancanza di pagine che mi ha lasciato "freddina". Ciò che ho apprezzato è lo stile particolare, con frequenti flash-back per raccontarci la storia di Parker e del suo ex, e soprattutto l'approfondimento psicolgico dei protagonisti.
Una lettura tutto sommato piacevole e veloce ma mi sarei aspettata di più
Voto: 7
Profile Image for Pete W.
521 reviews33 followers
August 21, 2016
This book is very introspective, by choice I believed, the result was the classic Josh Lanyon story with a slightly different flavour.

The book began in the middle of the story, interspersed with back stories every now and then. The tone, for me, felt slightly distanced and not very personal. But it also felt very real and uncompromising.

It was tense to read due to the anticipation but

Even though the book spanned over just a day and a night (not counting the flashbacks), we got the big discussions about philosophy of whether the end justified the means and the entailed consequences afterward.

All in all, this book felt like a prologue of how the MCs get together. I wouldn't oppose seeing these MCs again.
Profile Image for Jax.
1,155 reviews38 followers
August 1, 2016
I never know if a short story has left me wanting more because it was so good or because it was actually lacking something. I’m splitting the difference with my rating here. There’s Lanyon’s writing, which I love and eat right up, but this is also just the very beginning of what might become a relationship. We actually learn more about Parker’s previous relationship (which has landed them in the current situation). I wanted to feel a little more of a spark between Parker & Henry. I do appreciate that a sex scene wasn’t shoehorned in just for the sake of it when it really didn’t fit the story. You don’t often get that kind of restraint in m/m.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews