Adrien English Mysteries
The Adrien English Mysteries Series is a saga of detective- m/m stories by Josh Lanyon (pen name for a female author) that a friend recommended to me once upon a time and which had been sitting inside my e-reader until a couple of months ago when, out of desperation before a long week and weekend away from home, I decided to give it a chance.
I couldn't put it down until I read the whole collection, 900+ pages. And then I went back and re-read Fatal Shadows, the first story, because I love to be reminded how the characters first met when I already know how it all ends.
Montgomery Cliff lookalike, weak-hearted, mystery bookshop owner Adrien has a very amusing way to take in all the shit that comes up his way. His mother and her sugar-coated extended family can be really annoying, but you get to warm up to them a bit after a while. Just a bit, though. I love it when he is considering asking his soon-to-be stepdad whether he is a satanist in The Hell you Say. Angus and Guy have won a special place in my heart as well.
On a random note, I hate bare-chested, muscled torso-ed covers for m/m novels. It puts me off big time. For pwp, "let's go to bed and to hell with the rest of the world" stories, I can understand it (even if I don't like it). But when there is something more to it, like it is the case in this series, I prefer the regular covers. I particularly like the Japanese, like the one above.