Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

Review by: Lauren

Copy From: Netgalley

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Official Summary:

Los Angeles, 1943


Reporter Nathan Doyle had his reasons to want Phil Arlen dead, but when he sees the man's body pulled from the La Brea tar pit, he knows he'll be the prime suspect. He also knows that his life won't stand up to intense police scrutiny, so he sets out to crack the case himself.


Lieutenant Matthew Spain's official inquiries soon lead him to believe that Nathan knows more than he's saying. But that's not the only reason Matt takes notice of the handsome journalist. Matt's been drawn to men before, but he must hide his true feelings—or risk his entire career.


As Nathan digs deeper, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay one step ahead of Matt Spain—and to deny his intense attraction to him. Nathan's secrets may not include murder, but has his hunt put him right in the path of the real killer?

Review: I love that Snowball in Hell is not just an LGBT book. It's first, and foremost, a mystery novel. Somebody has been found dead and they figure he must have been murdered...after all, he was apparently kidnapped, though the family never told the police. I'm not the most savvy when it comes to mysteries, so feel free to take this with a "grain of salt" if you will...but I didn't know who the murderer was until the end. To be honest, I thinkt it would be a surprise for most people...and for those that do figure it out, I don't see how you would until close to the end anyway.

As for the LGBT content, it is there. Being gay in 1943 is much, much harder than being gay today so Nathan keeps it quiet and meets up with people in secret. It's not ideal, but he cannot stop it. He has to be with people he's actually attracted to. Matt, on the other hand, never really allowed himself to think about his attraction to the same sex...not until he meets Nathan. While Matt finds himself attracted to Nathan, he's also curious as to just how this guy who was recently out of town found himself amongst a murder case (besides being a reporter).

The relationship between Matt and Nathan was very interesting to read. I liked that they came from two different sides of things, and they really show that the care for the other (especially Matt, who finds himself wanting to make sure Nathan is taken care of and not hurt by anyone).

You know, whenever I review something here, I make sure to talk about anything in the book that might not be suitable for the YA set. Again, being a young adult varies in many years...or so I believe...so obviously, I think this book is appropriate for some YA but not all. The ones that might want to wait would be a much younger set...15 or 16 and under. The sexual content you would read about (and that's about everything that's 'adult') takes place near the end of the book and pretty much constitutes a chapter. The rest of it is much more focused on the "innocent" side of romance as well as the mystery.

I do recommend this book. I also heard it was the first in a new series, so I'm excited about that. I'd definitely enjoy reading more of Nathan and Matt's story.

On the level of YA...I'd give this a 7 out of 10! (this is not the book's rating. I don't really rate books. This number is what I talked about above...how appropriate for YA).