The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Michael Pauley

To live and draw in LA

Now living in Los Angeles with former Navy SEAL Nick Reno, artist Perry Foster comes to the rescue of elderly and eccentric Horace Daly, the legendary film star of such horror classics as Why Won’t You Die, My Darling?

Horace owns the famous but now run-down Hollywood hotel Angels Rest, rumored to be haunted. But as far as Perry can tell, the scariest thing about Angels Rest is the cast of crazy tenants - one of whom seems determined to bring down the final curtain on Horace and anyone else who gets in the way.

©2018 Josh Lanyon (P)2019 Josh Lanyon

Great Halloween story

It’s Halloween and Perry and (a very reluctant) Nick is spending it at the haunted Angels Rest hotel. The eccentric owner is convinced someone has tried to kill him every Halloween for the past few years and has convinced Perry to investigate. Perry and Nick are sceptic, but then things starts happening. Some that can be explained away by the old and run-down building, but some are more sinister. And maybe there is something to the old man’s claims after all.

This book was without a doubt entertaining and it was nice to see Nick and Perry again, to see how they fared. Not much have happened or changed since then, but it was still nice to re-visit. This book, just like the first, was mostly focused on the mystery, but I loved the sweet moments between the guys. And just like with the first book, I loved the sense of place Lanyon created. That haunted and creepy feeling was still there and it made it all a better listen.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the pet alligator. The very much alive alligator – intent on breaking into one of the apartments, and possibly have one of the tenants for a snack. Which unfailingly brings me to; who in their right mind want to live in the same house as an unfriendly alligator?? That being said it was entertaining (for me) and it for sure was different.

I’m a big fan of Michael Pauley’s, you probably know that by now. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of switching narrator in the middle of a series, especially a series following the same couple. Well, at least not when I enjoyed the first narrator, and I did enjoy Miller’s interpretation. So before even starting Pauley had a huge disadvantage. But ignoring that and focusing only on the narration of this book he did do a great job portraying the characters and the plot. Nick’s overprotectiveness rang so clear at every hint of even the slightest danger to Perry. But so did the love and connection between them.

The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out had the same feel as many of Lanyon’s mystery novels. So in that sense it doesn’t surprise or bring anything new. But you know what? I love a great murder mystery so please keep them coming.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Love these Ghost books!

These books, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, and The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out, are in my top 10 Audibles, for romance, for mystery and for narration! Since I have 230+ titles in my Library, plus the hundreds I read through Escape, that says something. I love Perry and Nick and how their relationship developed. If there were more Nick and Perry books, I’d read them without delay. These books are keepers, and will be regular re-reads.

Michael Pauley is terrible. The story is fun.

Michael Pauley’s characters sound the same between books. He’s mechanical also. Josh can do better.

love it

was worth the wait for sure. mystery, colorful characters and a spooky building.
narrator did a wonderful job

Interesting story but not the narration.

The story was intriguing and interesting but the narration was forced and distracting. I’ve returned previous books by the narrator but won’t this time because it’s a Lanyon. I couldn’t even tell you what the story was about because the reader was so breathy-and not in a good way. Very disappointed.

Another great mix of chemistry/humor/mayhem/heart

Original Review January 2019:
When Perry Foster set out to do some renderings of the run-down Hollywood Hotel, Angels Rest, he never expected to come to a stranger's rescue but when he heard the screams he went to investigate. When he returns home to find his boyfriend back early from his own investigation he talks Nick into going with him back to Angels Rest where a small cast of eccentric tenants make for an interesting weekend. Will Perry and Nick discover who or what is after Horace, the legendary horror actor before the final curtain falls for the last time?

It has been four years since I read The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks where Perry and Nick meet and I normally would have re-read book one before starting The Ghost had an Early Check-Out to "refresh my memory" but I didn't and you know what? I remember everything of the boys that I fell for ages ago. Now I don't want to say too much about the plot since this is a mystery and so many points can be important and telling but I will say I loved every eccentric and crazy moment of Early Check-Out.

The occupants of Angels Rest is definitely a cast of characters that made Perry and Nick's "case" intriguing. I wanted to laugh, scream, and even pull my hair out at times. You know what Perry ran into when he chased after Horace's screams and yet there is always that inkling of doubt to just what it all meant and who was really behind it. Its these moments where doubt and certainty war within the reader that make this mystery standout and kept me guessing.

So often in series, the second entry can be more about the couple finding their footing and keeping the relationship moving forward but with Early Check-Out that doesn't enter into it. Sure there are fleeting moments of internal "What have I got myself into?" for the pair but it really doesn't become a factor of the story and I very much appreciated that element. I hope there will be more of Perry and Nick in the future because they are a pair that is not getting old anytime soon.

The Ghost had an Early Check-Out is definitely a story with present day attitudes and yet its got just enough of a classic feel that I expected the likes of Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell to turn up asking questions with their own brand of sarcastic wit. Definitely a delightful blend of mayhem and fun to make this a winning read.

Overall Duology Review
Original Audiobook Review July 2023:
It's been 9 years since I originally read Yellow Socks and 4-1/2 since Early Check-Out, you'd think everything would be brand new after that long . . . it wasn't! Sometimes I wished my memory wasn't so good when it comes to reading and viewing as I miss that adrenaline rush you can only get from the first time but for me, knowing the work doesn't lessen the enjoyment, never has. Well this duology(though I do wish there were more than just the two) is just as entertaining in audio as it was in reading.

Not a lot I can say(or will say😉) about the plots that wasn't already covered in my original reviews so I'll just make a few comments on narration. I tend to enjoy audios of series more when it's the same narrator but different voice performers happen for a variety of reasons and life happens, certainly not something that ruins a series for me though I know it bothers some so that's why I mention it.

Who did Perry & Nick better, Max Miller or Michael Pauley? Hard to say. Miller might have a slight edge but for me that is much more likely to be the case simply because he brought the characters to life first, similar to the way I prefer an the first actor in a series who gets recast later on, neither is necessarily better than the other just who we meet first. As for this duology there was only a few days between listens but Miller was still first and therefore slightly more fitting. Pauley does the pair wonderfully and personally I chalk the difference in nuances to Perry and Nick growing, individually and as a pair, we all change over time and I look at different narrations in that way as well, making Pauley also very well suited when bringing life to the zany mayhem that the men find themselves facing.

As it was with the original discovering of the men and their mysteries, the blend of chemistry, humor, mayhem, and romance is spot on and never boring. Certainly won't be years before I visit this pair again.

Narrator ruined it for me.

I was so disappointed this book didn't have the same narrator as book one. The story was great but I was so distracted by the horrible voice of the narrator. He sounds like he's selling toothpaste and his Perry voice is AWFUL. Josh Lanyon usually has such great narrators I don't know what happened here.I was so looking forward to this audiobook but I'm tempted to return it strictly because the narration was just plain horrible. Story was wonderful but I think I'll just read the book so I don't have to listen to this guy.

Why this narrator???

I really liked the first book of the series, both the story and the performance. This audiobook, though , isn’t so enjoyable. The narrator has a nasty way of reading most of the sentences as questions-extremely annoying!!

Great story. Great narration.

This was one of those rare mysteries that I had no clue who was responsible till the very end. Well played Josh Lanyon. Well played....