I think that Josh Lanyon can write any type of novel and this is the first noir I read she wrote and loved it. Well plotted, gripping and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Have I mentioned before that I’m really enjoying these back log offerings from Josh Lanyon? Not that I don’t also enjoy her newer books/series, but when I stumble upon these older stories on NetGalley, I just can’t resist. 😉

Snowball in Hell was short, but not lacking in action, suspense or romance. The fact that they lived in a time where being open about their attraction to each other added another layer to the mystery and suspense.

I’m not sure what’s next for Doyle and Spain, but since it’s marked as the first book in a series, I’m hoping readers haven’t seen the last of this duo.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of Snowball In Hell by Josh Lanyon. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC to review.

Snowball in Hell is a solid mystery. Set in 1940s Los Angeles, we have a detective and reporter coming together to solve a murder and fall in love. While the mystery was great, the romance was a bit rushed for my taste. Nathan and Matthew came together from a lack of options rather than complete insta love. But I could ignore most of that since it was well written. All in all, Snowball in Hell was a solid book. I give it 3/5 stars

The mystery piece to the story was fun to follow, but the romance was lacking. It was just enough to keep me invested, but I wanted so much more.

With that said, Matt and Nathan were two characters you want to find a way to each other. You root for them, even though their love is absolutely not the main focus of the story. The murder mystery is, and I didn't solve it before it was revealed. Josh Lanyon had my brain trying to solve the mystery while also waiting impatiently for Matt and Nathan to figure themselves out.

I liked the story, but again it felt like this could have easily been a 300 page book with in-depth character development and a larger romance plot. But it isn't. So let's just say it's good, but not what I wished it was, and leave it at that.

This book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley!

Oh yes I liked this. It appeals so perfectly to my silly old film sensibilities, really reads like the brief was "golden age hollywood but gay" and that alone is enough to hook me lol. Detective/reporter, wacky families, implausible murders, it's all here and I love it all. I do wish there had been a little more introspection, it felt like most of the character work took a backseat to making sure the mystery got solved, but this is still fine for what it is, more plot- than character-focused. Ultimately it's a novella and I read most of it in one afternoon and liked it plenty! It's a nice smooth quick read. I'll be on the lookout for more historical stuff from Lanyon, this makes 2/2 that I've liked from them so far I think. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the first book in the Doyle and Spain historic mystery. This was an excellent book; I really enjoyed the characters and the mystery. To me what makes a great mystery, is not knowing who did it, until it is revealed by the author, and that is exactly what happened in this book. I did not see the murderer coming. I can’t wait for the next installment.

June 2022 -Newly revised ebook edition. Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.

I’ve listened to the audiobook several times now and was interested to see how much of the story had been revised by the author. As far as I could tell, only the odd word here or there was replaced or removed. The story remained the same.

I enjoyed the 1940’s setting, the murder mystery and the simmering secret romance that developed between Nathan (reporter and murder suspect) and Matt (cop investigating the murder). As always, an intriguing storyline and well-developed characters, plus skilful writing.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’ve seen people recommend Josh Lanyon before & a 1940s, atmospheric read with a murder mystery seemed like a good place to start.

It feels difficult to sum up my feelings on Snowball in Hell but basically: on one hand, the book’s portrayal of how dangerous it was for queer men in the 1940s feels authentic to real life but on the other, from a romance-reading perspective the book is darker than I expected it would be. And while I think this is book 1 in a series, I didn’t totally appreciate how I felt hopeful but not necessarily settled about where the leads are together or separately at the end of this one.

In Snowball in Hell Lieutenant Matt Spain is tasked with finding who murdered the son of a wealthy man & left his body in a tar pit. Also helping him investigate, but on an unofficial level, is reporter Nathan Doyle.

Bringing in some lingering trauma from their respective war experiences, their various perspectives on their sexuality & the shame & in Matt’s case, denial, about some aspects of it, & the homophobia of the time period in general, Snowball in Hell is not a light read.

The murder mystery aspect is fun, & seeing Matt & Nathan connect, particularly while they’re basically cut off from the world on Christmas Eve & Christmas, is touching. I hope that the next books will allow both men to come to some peace in how they view themselves & their sexuality & carve out a space for their relationship that feels safe.

3 ⭐️. Out now!

Additional CWs: “sissy” reference. Wartime injuries. Grief. Violence toward Nathan on page. Fatphobia. Reference to manageress having “goosestepped.” Matt doesn’t see himself as a queer person but as a “regular guy.” Matt slept with men during war while married. Wife died of cancer. Nathan almost had himself voluntarily committed so his homosexuality could be “cured” (I’m using quotation marks there, not the book.) Nathan makes remarks about having wishing he hadn’t “opened his eyes again” & being “unlucky” to have survived war.

3.5 stars rounded up

Snowball in Hell was originally published by Josh Lanyon, but has been newly revised by the author.

This is a historical murder mystery that brings together a reporter and a Lieutenant. Both veterans of war and both trying to find a murderer. Lieutenant Matthew to close his case and reporter Nathan to prove his innocence. They discover they have a shared secret, that during this time, could risk everything.

As with all the Josh Lanyon books I've read, I enjoyed Snowball in Hell. The mystery wasn't hard to follow, and the plot was filled with a more than one life or death situation for one of the leading men. I liked our two main character, but wanted a bit more from Matthew. Nathan hurt my heart a little. He craved physical connection so much that he didn't care where it came from. Even after he connects with Matthew, he goes right back to nameless encounters because he doesn't think anything else could ever be a possibility. Matthew was likeable, but I wanted more from him. He didn't have much of the angst and turmoil that usually comes with a widow moving on for the first time. I also thought they dropped the L word way way way too prematurely. I didn't believe it when they said it. Yes, I believed they had a connection, but it didn't feel like love yet. The intimacy is much steamier than the previous books I've read by the author, but that's not a complaint. The way their physical connection soothed Nathans soul was beautiful.

In the end , Snowball in Hell left me wanting more, and I'm hoping that this means a sequel is in the near future because I definitely want more of these two characters.

I don't read a lot of mysteries in general, but I really enjoyed this one. It was interesting seeing the case from two angles and watching clues come to light. Before the reveal, I figured it out, but only barely. In all honesty, I would have liked to see Doyle and Matt's relationship unfold a little differently, but it wasn't unsatisfying. The jump from attraction to declarations of love was maybe swift but their vulnerability together was so sweet that I was willing to overlook almost anything. I think I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series.

This noir-ish murder mystery is satisfying, with a touch of adventure along the way. Lanyon does Los Angeles settings so adeptly, which serves this novel and its atmosphere well. The romance is deeply imbued with the psychological and legal challenges of being gay in the 1940s, and so the whole novel is tinged with melancholy as well as moments of optimism.

This novel is theoretically the first in a series … but there’s been no second novel in the 15 years since the first was published. But I just read this re-released version (apparently mildly revised), thanks to NetGalley, so might that mean that Landon is returning to this series? Fingers crossed!

Not a romance, not that I needed or wanted one, but a classy - as expected - tale.

As expected from Josh Lanyon, this is a very well-written tale. One that had me nosing from page 1, because of the mention of the 'snarling cement saber-toothed tigers', and so commenced yet another read from this author in which I got educated about - stuff.

In some of the more recent JL tales I've read, such as the 5* Bedknobs and Broomsticks ones, there's a romance that's right at the heart of the tale and that I couldn't do without, and with some of her older ones, there's a hint of something romantic-like, but without it fully playing out on page. The latter is what I got here, and it was appropriate to the tale and the time in which it was set. There's no mush and no romance and no schmaltz here, because these guys weren't modern men in touch with their feelings, and, what they'd both gone through, and the era of the tale, made them the closed-up guys they were, though I certainly don't mean that to knock them; it just added to the feels-real aspect of the tale.

I didn't feel that I got to know Nathan or Matt very well, but tbh, that also kept the tale real. I think if JL had waxed on too much about them, it'd have distracted from the murder-mystery and though I confess that at the start, I had a brief 'hmm...I wonder' moment re the identity of the killer/orchestrator, the presence of the latter was kept low level enough that I forgot about them as more and more characters got revealed, as did motives and weapons. There were a few rambly bits that distracted from the tale in parts, but not to the detriment of the storyline, but it ends very abruptly, even though I was semi expecting it. I suppose, though, given the time period in which the tale was set, how could there have been any hint of a plan for the leads to be together? I couldn't fathom the lengths they'd have to go to to even snatch a few minutes together, so the romantic aspect of the tale, realistic as it was, didn't feel believable, but again, it's not a complaint. I didn't need or want a romance going into this, and perhaps Nathan and his flaws didn't make him romance or lead material, but it was good to read something that felt appropriate to the time in which it was set, even though it made me a little sad - it was like watching a sepia-tinted police procedural for the small screen.

ARC courtesy of Netgalley and JustJoshin Publishing, Inc and Carina Press.

This is another great mystery. I loved the 1940s aspect of things. It felt like a very real protrayal as to how not only police investigations may have been handled but the views of sexuality as well.