Slay Ride

by Josh Lanyon

A wild and dangerous ride takes two lonely men into uncharted territory… 1943 Montana. Returning home to Montana after being wounded in the Pacific, Police Chief Robert Garrett was hoping for a little much needed Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward Man. Instead, he finds himself chasing after a cold-blooded killer on Christmas Day aided—whether he likes it or not—by eager young reporter Jamie Jameson. Jamie has idolized Police Chief Garrett most of his life. Despite a stolen birthday kiss seven years earlier, he knows his feelings are unreturned. Even if Rob felt the same, there’s no room in their world for such feelings between men. But while Jamie can accept Robert not sharing his feelings, he won’t put up with being treated like a troublesome kid brother. He too has a job to do and he intends on traveling this bloody and twisted road with Robert Garrett—no matter where it leads.

Genres: Historical, M M Romance, Mystery, Romance, LGBT, Holiday, Christmas

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2019

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Ms. Smartarse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Police Chief Robert Garret and journalist James Jameson have a history. First as childhood friends, and second as members of the secretly-pining-after-you club. Rob for his part is firmly in denial, while Jamie just mopes and feels guilty for not being more in denial himself.

When they're not busy secretly ogling each other, they also run around chasing murderous chicken thieves. All in the line of duty. Yes, for both of them...



I understand that novellas are, by definition, forced to cut corners in both story and character development, but this is just ridiculous. Not only does the high point of the chasing sequence happen off screen, but even the romance gets mostly cut in favor of mopey inner monologues.

This was just an exercise in boring storytelling and lots of teasing hints. A pity because the chase should've made for otherwise decent action-packed moments.

Score: 2/5 stars

As accidental shopping sprees go, insofar as buying one novella counts, this was quite a flop. I commend the stomach-butterflies for their well-timed entry, but I cannot in good conscience consider this book money well-spent.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A little disappointed that the final action that took down the killer was written off page. After all the excitements that happened to get the guy, I wanted the big bang.

[mwana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big climax happens off page. And we get the resolution on a fuck-you embedded newspaper clipping.

I remain unimpressed.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

Not one of Lanyon's best shorts, and she has written some outstanding ones over the years. Sadly, I'll forget all about this one in a few days.

[Annery · Rating 4 out of 5]

***4.5*** / Because I greedily wanted an epilogue.

Happy Early Christmas!

I'd read this story before but the audio, by Alexander Masters just came out, I couldn't resist, and I'm not sorry. No one does XX Century historical shorts quite like Josh Lanyon: nuanced and layered. Fully formed characters in a few deft strokes. She doesn't ignore the realities of time and place, but knows that people have always found a way to just be. Merry Christmas. xoxo

[Trio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very solid 3 star story. Decent romance, good historical, creative mystery/suspense. Nicely performed by Alexander Masters.

[Maygirl7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. JL is a wonderful balm in these times.

[Vanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: 4.5 stars
Audio: 4 stars

[C.S. Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely devour any historical that Josh Lanyon writes. They are such a sweet treat when she shares them with us, and I know they're a labor-intensive project like no other. Lanyon fully immersed the reader in another place and time, successfully painting a great backdrop of historical detail that we never felt confused or bogged down by--a particular challenge for authors when it comes to lingo and technology of a begone era.

I was really taken with the decision to write a suspenseful-romantic short set during World War II (yes, this is inspired by a true event, per the author's note, but still.) That is a hell of a difficult time period to work with. There are so many moving parts, so much history, so much sadness, and yet like every Lanyon story, she manages to give us hope and happiness in that subtle, gorgeous manner only Lanyon is known for.

Police Chief Robert Garrett is home from the Pacific after being wounded in action. He ends up on a wild car chase on Christmas Day through the untamed countryside of Montana with no one at his side by Jamie Jameson, Robert's kid brother's best friend. The only trouble besides a killer on the loose is the fact that Jamie has not once stopped loving Robert since he was a teenager, and Robert has no idea how to handle this reality in a society that does not welcome 'men like them.'

I really loved Jamie. His youth and passion can be summed up in a single line that I laughed out loud at: that was just a redhead's temper talking. He was an incredibly strong character, despite a physical limitation that kept him from serving his country. A bit reckless, yes, but Jamie was never willing to let go of his feelings for Robert, no matter the danger to his person or his heart, and I was so deeply touched by that.

We've waited a while for this story, but I'm so glad we finally got it.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't actively terrible or anything, just underwhelming.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

As always, author Josh Lanyon has done her homework and Slay Ride has all the right components to make it feel authentic. Despite this being a short story, the sexual tension between Jamie and Rob is realistic and intense and the chase to capture the killer is fascinating to read. I actually enjoyed this story despite the fact that we were dropped down into the middle of the action and an already established relationship that never really got going before Rob went off to war. I liked both characters and would love to see a longer novel featuring them and that time in history.

Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, it wasn't really 4 Stars but it was definitely better than just 3. For 2020, I'm thinking I may need to revisit last-year's resolution to NOT round up...

LOVED Alexander Marsters' narration for this; he's got the right tone and cadence for the story and era setting.

About the only thing I wasn't fond of was the scene where they "catch" the bad-guy. Portraying that solely through a news-wire/news announcement was an odd choice. But given that Jamie was a reporter while Rob was a policeman, I guess it was kind of apropos. Still not a fan, though.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Lanyon! And always will. But...

This quick read started out strong with clear, likable characters and action galore, but the ending disappointed me. Why were we left out of the big finish?

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a short story by Josh Lanyon, one of my favorite M/M authors. I found SLAY RIDE to be a fun short story but because of the length, I do think that there’s a lot to be desired. I know a lot of other people I talked to felt that it was too short also and I think that’s because readers just wanted more.

The romance builds fast but in a believable pace and I really like Lanyon’s tone in this story. But for me to truly give a 5-star rating, I would have liked to see more full-length books with this couple.

[Jordan Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title/Author: Slay Ride by Josh Lanyon
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Mystery/Thriller/MM Romance
Book Format: Ebook
Length: 90 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Gay
HEA/HFN: HFN
Abuse/Rape: I believe there was a brief mention of possible abuse, but not to/with either of the two main characters.
Violence: Yes.
Ratio of Sex/Plot: Heavy on the plot.
Well Written/Editor Needed: Well written, though mileage may vary with the ending.
Would I Re-Read?: Yes.
Personal Thoughts: This story drops the reader into a quiet town where nothing ever happens, just as the biggest, most terrifying event takes place over Christmas. Then the story refuses to let you go until the very last page! The romance was sweet and slow, the action was full of violence and packed in tight, and the characters were interesting and fun to read about.
Though not everyone will probably like how the ending plays out, with a newspaper clipping chronicling some of the events. My only issue was that my old Kindle couldn’t make the image readable without a magnifying glass.

[Lily Loves 📚 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading this and really enjoying it and I feel the book coming to its climax and......nothing. I was so confused that one little newspaper clipping told what went down at the most important part of the entire story!!!! The story is centered around catching a criminal and one of the MC’s is in peril and the other MC is going to save him and we got none of it! Add to that the paltry epilogue and my bubble was burst. This is not surprising because I feel like some books Josh Lanyon doesn’t fulfill my expectations but I feel like she called it in with this one. Half assed it describes it perfectly.

ARC received via Netgalley

[Daydreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars rounded up 💜

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not in the mood for heavy right now and this was perfect. A no-nonsense romance with action thrown in to add spice. Perfect, perfect, perfect. The narrator did a great job too!

I love how JL can come up with these unique short stories and make them feel like I've known these characters forever. It just didn't feel like a short story because the MCs histories were so expertly woven in.

4 stars only because I would have loved an epilogue to see them living together. 😊

[Mirjam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Josh Lanyon for quite some time and have enjoyed a lot of her books and characters. Sadly, this was a bit of a disappointment. The premises of a killer on the loose, being hunted by a war-hero cop and a journalist sounded like this would be a fab story.





The story is all over the place and has too many (side) characters who suffered war related injuries/deaths. But it is the abrupt ending that annoyed me most. One moment the police realizes that the journalist is with the killer and the next we get a newspaper article that I've not been able to read.

Just a couple more pages could have made a world of difference.

[Ina Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly quick read with a decent romance but a bit of a womp-womp mystery plot. It was an odd choice to have the climax take place off page and the whole ending seemed rushed as a result, including the romance. Those things aside, my biggest issue with this story was the casual use of ethnic slurs in reference to the Japanese — it added nothing to the story, even for the sake of “historical accuracy”. I liked Jamie quite a bit but had a hard time warming up to Rob after he used a slur in his internal thoughts to reference the Japanese... just, blech. Unnecessary and altogether unsavory in a hero.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a totally shocking and absolutely not-at-all-foreseeable turn of events, this was a great short story right up until the end. More surprising, it actually wasn't the emotional/relationship aspect that felt underdeveloped for me, but the plot. I think the author was trying to be clever here by having the climactic moment delivered in a news clipping, given one of the MCs was a journalist, but all it ended up being was lazy and unsatisfying. I thought the historical setting itself was great, and the relationship here was lovely, but the plot was thin even before the unsatisfying ending.

[S.C. Wynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my very favorite Josh Lanyon books. It has that slow burn with a subtle sex scene that makes Josh's books so special. There is heat, but not hit-you-over-the-head heat. The story is exciting, although not really a mystery. It's a love story with action and angst. But a HFN. I really, really enjoyed it based SOLEY on the story.

[k reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Fi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the time period in which this story takes place. I liked the characters. But I couldn't give this book more than 2 stars because, for such a short story there were too many editing errors. A few errors in a longer story can be excused, but more attention should be paid to the editing in a short story such as this. Also the ending was pretty abrupt. It feels like the author took a short cut when they put a newspaper article in there instead of actually writing in more detail about what happened to James and how he got hurt at the end. I would have liked more about Robert and James, but ended up being disappointed in this story.

[Dokun888 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm

Well it was kind of too short. Like some stories fit the small size and some don't: this is the latter. If I were to nitpick, I'd say the narrative was too sweet. I love Josh Lanyon's subtle humor and this story was lacking it (maybe because it was third person narrative I don't know). Anyways, I hold this author to a pretty high standard so this book didn't quite cut it for me.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing better than a Josh Lanyon story. I loved these two together but they did have lots of problems, not the least of which was the time they fell in love. To be together, they had to be creative and creative they were. Short and sweet but quite complete, this one is perfect for all of us who love MM ro mance.

[Milyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slay Ride reminded me a little bit of Snowball in Hell, as in the main characters were a journalist and a police officer. They both had some elements of war affecting the protagonists. I found the mystery to be all over the place though.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Recommended, because mediocre Josh Lanyon is still better than most other MM fiction.

This is really more of a novella than a novel, and it feels very claustrophobic. There aren't many characters, few settings and it all happens over an abbreviated period of time.