Review: Sweet read, whether for the holidays or not
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2011
Rating:  4.5A sweet and poignant M/M romance.  Well-written, as expected, with excellent editing - it's always a pleasure reading Mr. Lanyon's books from that perspective alone.  This short story/short novella takes place over Christmas, with flashbacks to ten years before.  I'm not a huge holiday book fan, but the story isn't your run of the mill Christmas tale.  Sweet yes, but not overly so.MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW:Noel Snow (lol, love the name!) is a retired jewel thief who had a one-night stand (romance? - it was more than just a sexual encounter) with Robert Cuffe, an FBI agent who was investigating Noel.  Ten years later, Noel is an author of crime novels that feature a detective more than vaguely reminiscent of Robert.  His last novel in the series penned, Noel heads back to his country home for the holidays.  There's a knock on the door and - voila - Robert is there, asking Noel questions about copycat burglaries.Both Noel and Robert have, for years, thought about each other.  Robert's life has been turned somewhat upside down with the publication of Noel's books - apparently the FBI isn't so thrilled with having one of its agents as the model for a fictional character.  It certainly couldn't help, either, that Noel decided to out his hero in the last installment!From the time Robert knocks on Noel's door, there is a long stream of visitors - neighbors mostly - seeking Noel's assistance with one thing or another.  And during these "side stories" as I call them, Robert becomes privy to Noel's secret and the reason for his retirement from the cat-burglar business.  The book ends with a sweet HEA, as expected.The best part of the book was the characters.  Noel bristles at Robert's accusations and Robert just, well, bristles!  Their interactions are sweet, but masculine.  No maudlin crying in sight, thank goodnesss (another reason I like Josh Lanyon's stories).  A sweet, easy read.Shira Anthony (a.k.a. Sarah Alexander)Author of "From the Depths"