The Two Gentlemen of Altona Tour Stop!

Mischief, thou art afoot.

Special Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness is having a rough week. Not only is he on a new diet, but he’s also been tasked with keeping Henry Page—the world’s most irritating witness—alive. Which is tough when Mac’s a breath away from killing the Shakespeare-quoting, ethically-challenged, egg-obsessed Henry himself. Unless killing isn’t really what Mac wants to do to him.

Con man Henry Page prefers to keep his distance from the law . . . though he wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to uptight, handsome Agent McGuinness. As the sole witness to a mob hit, Henry’s a valuable asset to the FBI. But he’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t involve testifying.

When evidence surfaces of a mole in the FBI office, Mac and Henry are forced to go into hiding. Holed up in a fishing cabin, they’re surprised to discover that their feelings run more than skin deep. But as the mob closes in, Henry has to make his escape. And Mac has to decide how far he’s willing to go to keep Henry by his side.

Shakespeare and donuts, what more could you ask for in a book series?

Henry Page (if that’s his real name) is a con man with a knack for charming people out of their money. In his latest ruse he’s reinvented himself as a talented young college art student named Henry Page. His con is going great until he witnesses a murder. Seems Henry’s elderly female benefactor Gloria Maxfield isn’t just a fan of art and attractive young men.  She’s related to a well-known mob boss named Dean Maxfield who has a penchant for murdering people in her kitchen. Before Henry knows it he’s caught up in a major crime investigation and the FBI need him as a witness. Henry isn’t exactly a fan of cops, feds or anyone on the right side of the law. He’s also not one to stick around when things get complicated.

Special Agent Ryan McGuinness (also known as Mac) has been on the trail of the mob boss Dean Maxfield for some time now and finally he has a witness to help nail the mobster to the ground for murder. Mac is as about as straight-laced good guy FBI agent you could get but his life gets flipped upside down when conman Henry Page walks in or to be exact sneaks out of his crime scene. He’s already in a grumpy enough mood as it is because of his new diet. The poor guy has been forced into cutting caffeine and sugar out of his diet. NO DONUTS AND COFFEE! Now his witness, Henry Page, is giving him nothing but trouble. The guy knows how to push his buttons and all Mac can think about is how much he wants to kiss him.

I loved the interactions between Mac and Henry. They were hilarious and it reminded me a bit of a crime caper with Henry using his unusual cleverness to outsmart the staunchly serious Mac. The two are definitely attracted to one another but there is a slow build up toward either of them even going down that road mentally or physically.  I enjoyed the slow build because it allowed for the story to develop and focus on the adventurous and entertaining interactions between the two. You have two men with completely different personalities thrown together in an awkward and nail biting situation so the slow progression under the circumstances made the storytelling feel more realistic and natural. Hats off to Rock and Henry for creating wonderfully entertaining banter.


****Also I did buy a box of donuts while reading this book. I’m starting to think the authors maybe working for some underground donut lobbying industry. 

Amazon | Riptide

Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA. We’re touring the web taking about our influences, our processes, anything we can think about actually, and even giving you guys a sneak peak or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!

In the PLAYING THE FOOL series, con man Henry Page is a Shakespeare fan. It’s where he gets all his aliases. We’re Shakespeare fans too, and today we’re sharing our favourites with you.

Lisa’s top three:

Hamlet

Hamlet was the first play I loved, all on my own. I think I was about fourteen when I got really obsessed with it. Hamlet is a whiny, angsty, moody emo obsessed with death and revenge.  Of course I identified. Secret favourite character: Horatio, because he’s awesome.  

The Merchant of Venice

The first Shakespeare play I read in school. My love for this is all down to the fact that I had a brilliant English teacher who actually made it fun. Also, I can still recite most of Shylock’s speech to Antonio.

Julius Caesar

I fight with my sister all the time over whether or not this is better than Macbeth. For the record, yes it is, Kath. It gave us “let slip the dogs of war”. It gave us “lean and hungry look.” And it gave us one of the greatest examples of persuasive oratory you’ll ever find, Antony’s speech that whips the crowd into a riot: “For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men.”

JA’s top three:

Macbeth

I’m gonna blaspheme here and say that I don’t care that much for Hamlet. Macbeth’s way cooler. And by “cooler,” I mean, what a greedy fuck. But I love every minute of his trainwreck. I first saw the play when I was fourteen, and in the scene where Macduff’s family is murdered, one of the murderers pulled Lady McDuff’s baby out of her arms and threw it against a wall. That stuck with me, to say the least.

Also, two words: Scotland, PA.

Julius Caesar

High-five, Lisa. That lean and hungry look is the goddamn best. I ALMOST got to play Cassius in a gender bending production in college, and I am still sad to this day that the group ended up not doing it. WannaplayCassiussoooomuch.

Titus Andronicus

I swear, I do like Shakespeare’s comedies! Just...not as much as I like the really bloody plays. And Titus is certainly the bloodiest. Anything that involves the main character baking another human being in a pie and then serving it to his enemy is automatically going to be one of my favs. Also, this picture of Lavinia from The Ninagawa Company’s 2006 production? So, so disturbing. But wow.

Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away an awesome prize – an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from either of our back catalogs. We’re also giving away a $20 Riptide gift voucher, and the contents of Henry Page’s bag during his arrest in THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA: that’s some Shakespeare and a bunch of Henry’s favorite candy! 

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On January 9, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!