The XOXO Files Books in Order

The XOXO Files sits on the lighter, more playful side of Josh Lanyon's mystery work. The tone mixes skepticism, showmanship, and just enough paranormal flavor to keep everyone off balance. If you like stories where one character rolls his eyes at the supernatural while another is happy to chase it with a camera crew, this is very much that kind of setup.

The best known title here is Mummy Dearest, which pairs Egyptologist Drew Lawson with reality-show host Fraser Fortune. Drew wants to do his job, authenticate an ancient mummy, and maybe salvage his personal life. Fraser wants footage, mystery, and something viewers will talk about. Put those two goals in the same room and peace becomes unlikely.

That friction is the point. The series likes believer versus skeptic energy, academic seriousness versus pop-occult enthusiasm, and the awkward reality that attraction does not care whether your worldview is compatible. Around that romantic push and pull, Lanyon builds mysteries that lean toward curses, legends, haunted reputations, and the possibility that people can make perfectly ordinary greed look supernatural when it suits them.

These are not sprawling, doom-heavy paranormal thrillers. They are brisk mysteries with wit, chemistry, and a dash of Halloween spirit. The fun comes partly from wondering whether the strange thing is real, and partly from watching smart adults argue about it while somebody nearby is probably planning murder.

If that sounds like a good evening's reading, The XOXO Files should suit you nicely.