The truth is out there. Way, way, way out there!
The XOXO Files, Book 1
Drew Lawson is racing against the clock. He’s got a twenty-four-hour window to authenticate the mummy of Princess Merneith. If he’s not at his boyfriend’s garden party when that window closes, it’ll be the final nail in their relationship coffin.
The last thing he needs traipsing on the final shred of his patience is … the final shred of his patience is brash, handsome reality show host Fraser Fortune, who’s scheduled to film a documentary about the mummy’s Halloween curse.
The opportunity to film a bona-fide professor examining the mummy is exactly the aura of authenticity Fraser needs. Except the grumpy PhD is a pompous ass on leave from his ivory tower. Yet something about Drew has Fraser using a word he doesn’t normally have to draw upon: please.
With no time to waste–and a spark of attraction he can’t deny–Drew reluctantly agrees to let Fraser follow his every move as he unwraps the mummy’s secrets. Soon they’re both making moves behind the scenes that even the dead can’t ignore…
Warning: Whoso shall ever open this tomb, er, book shall suffer the curse of the Pharaohs. Okay, maybe not. But set aside a chunk of time for marauding mummies, too many cosmopolitans, illicit sex in hotel rooms, and other non-academic shenanigans.
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This is an absolutely fantastic novella—a fully realized story, fleshed out characters, a sweet and hopeful romance, and Lanyon in top form for mystery, history, and humor. This is an older title, and one I haven’t read for many years, so when I needed a comfort re-read after a long day, I suddenly remembered how much I utterly adored this book, and dove in again.
And it was still wonderful.
Dr. Drew Lawson has arrived to a blip on the map, somewhere in Wyoming, to investigate and authenticate an Egyptian mummy princess at a dime museum. He’s a college professor up for tenure, and despite being dedicated and wildly popular with students, some of his colleagues believe he’s only being considered because of his relationship with the Chairman of the department. And so ready to prove his romance with Noah has nothing to do with it, Drew needs to produce more academic writing ASAP, and the potential princess is exactly within his realm of interests—ancient Egypt and potentially a woman erased from history due to her same-sex relationship.
The trouble is, Drew has a window of precisely 24 hours before he needs to return to California for a garden party with Noah’s mother, and missing it means their relationship is going to be over. And who else is in Wyoming to learn about the mummy, but Fraser Fortune, a TV personality investigating the supposed curse of the princess. To say the two men butt heads in the beginning is a bit of an understatement, but Drew’s need to study the princess, and Fraser’s desire to elevate his show’s seriousness by having a professor interviewed, is impossible to pass up.
But in true Lanyon fashion, after lulling the reader into a sense of calm, all hell breaks loose. Or is that all mummies break loose? Before Drew and Fraser know it, they’re on a wild chase through town after a mummy that just keeps popping up at the most inopportune times. Drew is ready to write an article about fraud, Fraser is ready to provide the nation proof of the curse, and the two of them may be a much better romance together than anything Drew ever had with Noah…
Josh Lanyon is an extremely talented author. This isn’t a secret. She is simply one of the best in the gay mystery/romance genre, and is so well versed in mystery as a whole, that I buy her books without even reading the blurb. I know I’m always going to get well researched, thoughtful, beautiful writing, and Mummy Dearest is no exception. Lanyon is particularly talented at crafting short stories and novellas that make you feel like you’ve read a multi-hundred page novel. I personally quite enjoy shorter reads in between big books, and I really love peppering Lanyon’s into my reading schedule.
This book is adorably funny, a smidgen sexy, fascinating, and so much fun. There’s never a Lanyon book I won’t recommend, but if you’re looking for laughs and a romp through the streets that’ll relax you, this is the read you need!