Fake dating, faking coming out as gay...this feels like something from the Aughties being republished a bit after its best-before date.

The men are bisexual. There's a LOT of lying around this subject. I think the banter between the men as they fall in love is what saves the read for me. A lot of time has passed, a lot of progress has been made; the cutesy-coy marketing campaign for Deadpool's 2024 film featuring superheros "playing gay" for laffs hits worse than this book's sexuality shenanigans.

But not a lot.

I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I must apologise that it has taken me so long to supply my review. Severe chronic illnesses have affected my life in recent years (not COVID) and have left me unable to write reviews. I have still read the books, left myself notes, but can’t give the level of review I usually give. It is my hope to return to that level in the future, and will include posting detailed reviews here, to my blog, to Amazon Australia, and Goodreads.

Please accept my apologies, along with the following basic review:

A book stand alone book, would be better as the first book in a series though as I feel there were a first loose threads left that need finishing.

As a fan of Josh Lanyon books, I will admit I didn't find it an instant favourite. There was a lot of stuff in the Alton "red herring bucket" that either should have been answered, or left out. Many unanswered things there.

All the same, it was an enjoyable read, and something I'd have bought myself, if I'd not been lucky enough to snag a Netgalley copy.

For Josh Lanyon lovers, we're in a new location, a new couple to watch stumble into love, a good range of characters, and a HEA that we're all here for.

I loved this book. The mystery is well-paced and keeps the reader hooked till the end. The way the author portrays the characters and what they go through is compelling and interesting. I really love this author's writing.
Both characters have depth enough to seem real, the banter and snark between them is delicious.

Really sweet and cute story!
I'd love to read it once a year!
Definitely recommended!

Thanks NetGalley and the author for an ARC.

Josh Lanyon does it again in Puzzle for Two! 5 Stars from this Reader

PI Zack Davies knows he shouldn't take Alton Beacher's case. The case is weird, the client is strange and his commonsense is screaming “No!” But his family firm is about to go under if it doesn’t get a quick infusion of cash so all he can say is a reluctant yes.

Neighboring PI Flint Carey wants to buy the Davies firm. If Zach continues to refuse every offer, Flint may have to get more creative. In the meantime he’s willing to provide some backup to the stubborn, inexperienced, attractive accountant-turned-detective.

Zach needs more backup than his partner/younger sister can provide. Can he swallow his pride enough to hire Flint while he’s on the awkward fake date his client is insisting on?

Lots of plot twists and turns, engaging characters, and building heat make this another Josh Lanyon winner!

While this book stands on its own, I’d love to see sequels.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an electronic copy of this title to provide my feedback!

Puzzle for Two follows the story for Zachariah "Zack" Davies as he tries to keep his father's detective agency afloat. After the death of his father, Zach and his sister, Brooke, take over the family business try to keep it from ruin. Once Zach gets an offer he can't refuse, he's catapulted into a mystery that he isn't sure he's ready for. With the unlikely help and guidance from his father's rival, Flint, he digs deeper into the case and finds that he's bitten off more than he can chew. Will he be able to solve this mystery, save his father's business, and explore his connection with Flint? As a huge fan of Josh Lanyon, and her books, I was ecstatic to get my hand on this title. The premise is what originally drew me to the book, as I love high stakes and drama.

The characterizations of all the characters were phenomenal. The reader gets a sense of what each character is like without being spelled out for you. Zach, being an accountant, shows his analytical side throughout the investigation. The reader gets a sense of that through his questioning and conversations with other characters. When another character brings up the fact that he's an accountant, we aren't surprised by the outcome based on his interactions. The authors does a phenomenal job of showing the narrative and characterization of her characters. This is highlighted when Zach's lack of experience with private investigating is brought up by other characters. Instead of a characters telling Zach he's a terrible, the author frames their conversation to point out Zach's lack of deductive reasoning. Phrases like "You didn't think that..." or "Didn't you notice...", coupled with Zach's response, reminds the reader that Zach is still new to investigation. It's truly refreshing to see protagonist struggle to investigate, in the beginning of the novel, and slowly be able to get the footing and solve the case.

The plot is consistent and has a good balance between the romance and the mystery. There are some books that solely focus on either the romance or mystery, and neglect the other. For some stories, it works as the chosen secondary plot is given less urgency. In this novel, Lanyon gives importance to both the plot, the mystery, and the sub-plot, the romance with Flint, and beautifully alternates between the two. She establishes the connection between Flint and Zach, and provides the stakes that has both of them invested into this mystery.

Now let's discuss some of the things that didn't work for me in this book.

The enemies to lover's trope is difficult to establish and didn't pan out efficiently for this story. The start of the novel, Flint is a rival of Zach's PI firm and consistently offers to buy him out. Zach, resenting the implication that he isn't cut out for this work, refuses to sell and labels Flint, in his mind, enemy number one. This is a brilliant way to set-up the dynamic and the author does give the characters a back and forth. However, the transition between enemies to lovers is delicate and, if not given appropriate time to form a new dynamic, can be viewed as rushed. The quick pace of the novel, as it occurs over the course of a week, doesn't allow for an organic transition from "I hate Flint; he's the worst" to "Flint is my entire world". Having Zach and Flint work together and understand each other is the perfect formula of a enemies to lovers story. If the story had more scenes of them getting to know each other, and/or having the plot have a slower pace, would make the trope seem more organic.

Overall, this is another great book from Josh Lanyon and I look forward to our library getting a copy for our patrons!

So before I could totally finish the book, it got archived on NetGalley, and I couldn't read it any more because of them. I think this book was mid to be completely honest. I recommend you not read the Blurb available on any book cataloging app and just go in blind for a better experience. There were times I liked it, and there were times where I was hoping it would just pick up the pace. I started skimming at one point as well. I think that everyone should try to read this book instead of going off of what I say. Readers should come up with their own opinions. The main character was also annoying at times; he stated he was trained to do this type of work, but his actions at times were a bit immature considering his background.

A Puzzle For Two by Josh Lanyon is the story of Zach Davies, a struggling private investigator who has taken over his father’s not-so-successful firm. A wealthy businessman, Alton Beacher, hires Zach to investigate who is trying to kill him. Beacher is unlikeable and has made many enemies, some of whom are close relatives, including his wife whose family was the primary investor in his business Beacher’s claims of death threats seem to lack credibility and this is made worse by his insistence that Zach pose as Beacher’s boyfriend as an attempt to encourage his wife to divorce him. I like a story to be credible and this detail stretch that somewhat.

Zach’s inexperience and lack of resources prompts him to ask for help from another private investigator and ex-Marine, Flint Carey. Beacher is in fact killed in a car ‘accident’ and although the police investigate so too do Flint and Zach. When Zach is attacked in his garage Flint arrives to help and comfort him. To avoid spoilers, I’ll stop there.

I can’t say this was a great read. The gay agenda seemed too prominent. I mean, I wanted to read a detective/whodunnit story rather than a gay romance.

This was a solid written mystery with a side of romance. The main MC has inherited a private detective agency from his father and he's struggling to keep it afloat. As a result, he takes a case he knows he shouldn't because he desperately needs the money. He ends up hiring his PI nemesis to assist him on the case and adventure ensue.

I wish the story would have been a bit longer and more detailed in places. There were things that bugged me that are not answered and it effected my overall enjoyment. <spoiler> What happened to Ben? Did he just stop bugging? Why would Flint want to buy a failing PI business? Why did Flint have a crush on him when they've barely ever met before? </spoiler> I wasn't sure I bought the insta love of the romance but they were nice together and I thought the sex scenes were really well done. I don't usually mention those in my reviews because I don't really care one way or the other if they're fade to black or graphic etc. These were just really lovely. Just enough detail and lots of emotions. A good example of how a couple connecting or bonding can be done without all of the graphic bow chicka wow wow stuff.

*ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Puzzle for Two gives us an improbable case ("Possibly the whole pretend-t0-be-my boyfriend to decoy my maybe suicidal wife thing?") with Zach, a young PI resolved to keep his father's PI agency afloat while fending off creditors as well as his competitor ex-Marine Flint Carey who is determined to buy him out. Never mind that Zach might be a bit too inexperienced, the case stinks to high heaven, and his client is ... unsettling, the $12,000 fee alleviates a lot of Zach's qualms, for now.

In reading this PI murder mystery, I'm again struck by how beautifully Lanyon creates character. It's in the turn of a phrase, a succinct description, a pause. One really gets a sense of each of the characters here - untried but determined Zach, the unnerving client Alton Beacher, Zach's delightfully quirky sister Brooke with her mad researching skills, Zach's obsessive ex Ben. And Flint Carey is at first defined by Zach's (misguided) perception of him and the way that perception changes bit by bit is a delightfully slow burn.

I really liked the interplay of all these distinct characters and how the murder / mystery works so well as a classic detective story. And here's hoping that Lanyon decides to continue this series! 4 stars.

I really liked Josh Lanyon’s Art of Murder series and was excited to read this most recent release. I’m sorry to say I didn’t love it—the mystery was thin, the whole Haunted Hollow bit felt contrived and somewhat stale, and the romance was insufficient for me. I liked Flint and Zach separately and together, so I really felt the absence of intimate scenes in my lustful little heart. I’m disappointed but fully intend to read more books by this author!

I enjoy reading Josh Lanyon's mysteries and this was another good one. While I can't put it on the list of my favorites, it was very interesting and entertaining to read.

This was a very sweet, very enjoyable read. It's a relatively quick read with a fun twisty mystery and some romance thrown in.

Zach Davies has taken over his deceased father detective agency and is floundering until he receives an unreal offer: a wealthy toy maker receiving death threats. Against the animosity of rival PI Flint Carey, and his client who seems exceedingly eccentric, Zach tried to puzzle out a case where nothing is as it seems.

I really enjoyed the character building of Zach and Flint. They make for a very dynamic and engaging paid and kept me rapt throughout this book.

A great summer read from Lanyon!

This is more of cozy mystery than a suspenseful thriller.

The MC is Zach, an accountant trying to keep his father's detective agency afloat while his sister works the front office and goes to college. It's only been a few months and it's not going so well. Meanwhile, Zach's PI competition is Alton, a gruff former marine who's been running his own PI business but keeps trying to buy Zach's business. Because Zach's dad was a former cop, the PI business is too precious to sell.

Then a client comes in and throws some big bucks around to help find who's threatening him and pose as his boyfriend in the meantime. But the client has a lot shady secrets that keep coming to light. Finally, Zach decides to hire Alton for a few hours of work as backup. The situation devolves and ends in murder. There's a bit of suspense and action while trying to figure out who the murderer is.

I enjoyed this book but it didn't have the intensity of the author's other mystery books. The characters were pleasant but a little thinly developed. The dialog was fun. While it was good, it's a bit similar to the Secrets and Scrabble series, only taking place in a different location.

I became of fan of Lanyon with the Secrets and Scramble series, and have become more of a fan with each book I read. One commonality I have found with each standalone I have read from Lanyon is how likable the characters are. They're so likable that it's easy to invest in the story for more than the mystery. You're always left wanting more. You go into the story with Zach and Flint already feeling like well-rounded characters and are enjoyable enough to read that they could easily become a series. There are two significant tropes within the story - rivals (to lovers) and pretending to date. The tropes are delightful and have a nice originality to how they're executed. Zach and Flint are rival detectives with Zach a little more out of his element but both are dedicated to making these businesses succeed. The mystery revolves around Alton Beacher - a wealthy man that insists that someone wants to harm him - who concocts a plan for Zach to 'pretend' to be his boyfriend in order to investigate these threats. He's an eccentric larger-than-life character that potentially poses more problems than solutions for Zach. I cannot recommend this book enough. The characters are charming and you instantly form a connection with them. The romance strikes a nice balance to the mystery with neither element outshining the other or feeling as if one is taking over from the other. Puzzle for Two is hard to put down and addicting from the first scene.

Rating 4.5
This was a wonderful MM mystery/romance. The characters were spot on and the pace really kept my interest. Trying to determine who done it was so much fun as the author didn’t give it away too early in the story. The romance is definitely low key and of so enjoyable. Such a fun book.

I am rating this book for what it is. It is the greatest mystery novel ever? No, but it was fun and intriguing and I read it in one sitting.

I haven't read from this author before, but I would read more books involving these characters, which I think were the strongest aspect of this book. Zach and Flint are well-developed characters, and I loved their dynamic. The romance develops naturally and was adorable. Zach's sister is also great.

The mystery itself was intriguing, there is at least one twist that truly caught me off guard, and I like how Zach uses different skills to solve the whole thing. The ending might seem a bit rushed, with some loose ends, but ultimately not that important.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

private-investigators, family-dynamics, investigation, false-information, falsely-accused, family-business, threats, extortion, unputdownable, California, rivalry, m/m romantic-suspense, local-law-enforcement, suspense, suspicion, friction, friends, frustration, relationship-issues, relationships, secrets, lies, inheritance****

Talk about a messy and embarrassing break-up!
Zach, his mother and sister have inherited his dad's PI firm but are in financial trouble. Zach wants to hang on a while longer but the others aren't sure that they shouldn't just sell it to the one who has offered to merge it with his own struggling business. Then comes a really odd but wealthy client who plunks down a wad of money with some bizarre expectations. Lots of craziness, suspense, weird characters, and the ex from the pit, plus wild plot twists and unexpected red herrings. Fun!
I requested and received and EARC from JustJoshin Publishing, Inc. via NetGalley. Thank you!

Josh Lanyon's PUZZLE FOR TWO is yet another delightful standalone (although I can hope for more!) from an author who never fails to deliver! Although the premise takes a little while to get the story moving, the interactions between Flint and Zach are charming, and I devoured the book in one sitting!

All in all, I thought this book was an entertaining read - the premise about an undercover private investigator being hired to be the fake boyfriend of a client is interesting, and I have to say that I liked the rival-to-lovers drama as it developed between Flint and Zach. However--and I know that it's part of Zach's character--Zach felt much too clueless for me to sympathize with him. I know that he's attempting to prove himself as a PI when everyone feels that he should be an accountant, and is even belittling him for it, but I felt that some of the decisions he made urged me to distance myself from his perspective more than bring me closer to him. I actually found myself siding with Flint a lot of the time, and I feel like the novel may have been stronger if it were from his perspective rather than Zach's, especially since some of the mysteries occurring throughout it may have more gravity through his eyes--as someone who both questioned Zach's capabilities as a detective and did not have as much interaction with Alton. I also feel like just a little more attention could have been given to resolving some of the confusion around Alton's behavior in the novel. Finally, I feel that Ben should have reappeared in a much more important light later on in the novel. I was genuinely a little spooked when Ben showed up at the dinner date out of nowhere, and I think that if he were given more time on the page and more relevance, he would have been a fantastic addition to the plot. However, as-is, I was just wondering why he was there to begin with. Overall, though, I enjoyed my experience reading the book. The world needs more LGBT+ noir novels.