Perry Foster returns to his apartment he rents in an old mansion bummed because his internet boyfriend, who he had high hopes of a happily ever after with, has just dumped him. To make matters worse, when he opens his bathroom door there is a dead body in the bathtub. Freaking out, Perry runs downstairs to call for help. His newest neighbor, ex Navy SEAL Nick Reno runs up to Perry’s apartment to investigate, but the body is missing! When the police arrive, the bathroom is spotless and there is not a clue to be found. His quirky neighbors and the police pretty much think Perry is nuts. Nick suspects something is fishy, but he wants nothing to do with anyone in the house. He is leaving soon for a job interview and is recovering from a divorce. However he looks at shy, young Perry, somewhat helpless with his sever asthma attacks and threatened by the fact someone broke into his house and left a body and feels a sense of duty to protect him. Not only does he become Perry’s ally in the investigation, but a romantic tension between the two of them develops.

The setting for this book was perfect – a creepy old boarding house full of secret passages and dark corners. The neighbors are a riot, and as Perry investigates, he starts to become suspicious of each one (I did too!). It is a really fun mystery to try to figure out. At the beginning I wasn’t sure how the romance was going to play out between Nick and Perry. Nick comes off as such tough, no-nonsense guy and Perry is a shy, struggling artist, who has lost a lot of confidence after being dumped. However, they do have common ground – Nick is now out on his own after divorcing his wife and being thrown out of the Navy, and Perry is out on his own after his parents threw him out for being gay. Although Perry seems timid and unsure of himself at the beginning, he gets some guts and proves to be a good match for Nick.

This book is so good, both as a murder mystery and a romance. I would say this book is a bit more of a mystery, than a romance, but I feel the romance scenes that are included fit the pace of the book well. Josh Lanyon writes his characters with a smart and wonderful sense of humor. It is not necessarily laugh out loud funny, but there are so many times where I found myself smiling – and that is the best way to read a book.

Rating: 4 stars