November 2022

    All He Has Left by Chad Zunker

    TBH, I’d never heard of Chad Zunker before reading Family Money (which I read and reviewed earlier this year). He wrote a series featuring Sam Callahan and the David Adams legal thriller An Equal Justice, but somehow he was new to me. I really enjoyed the plotting and pace of Family Money, so I was …

    The Personal Assistant by Kimberly Belle

    Seems like it is an actual THING to make a living as an “influencer,” and while I had read a couple of stories about the risks and rewards of this way of life (!), reading about Kimberly Belle’s female protagonist, a young woman named Alex, really made it all seem real/possible. Alex and her husband …

    The Forever Witness by Edward Humes

    My husband kind of rolls his eyes when I get involved in one of my true crime obsessions – I mean interests, whether it is a podcast, book, or movie/series. I have been reading true crime since In Cold Blood (1966), and while I’ve been known to appreciate a trashy, quick-read expose, I REALLY like …

    Murder Book by Thomas Perry

    Thomas Perry is becoming a favorite…and he has done it again, writing the kind of  fast-paced thriller for which he is known as a master. Perry’s protagonists are complex characters who sometimes stumble into things but (no matter how they get there) they always seem to figure out how to prevail, regardless of the obstacles.  …

    Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

    I’ve been a big fan of Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series, and am always happy to see he has a new book coming out. Then, seeing the story features an entirely new set of characters, I think “hmmm…we’ll see.” I received a copy of Her Deadly  Game , which was sent to me (in exchange …

    The Exiles by Jane Harper

    Several years ago, I read Jane Harper’s The Dry – and I was hooked. Could not WAIT for her next book! The Dry, Force of Nature, and The Lost Man (all of which featured Federal Investigator Aaron Falk) were all five-star reads…and while I admit to being “an easy grader,” they all really were terrific. …

    Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

    Promoted as an “Appalachian David Copperfield,” Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer. The boy has no assets other than his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair–although his helped immeasurably by his wit and drive to survive, whatever is thrown his …

    Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

    In the mid-1990s, Dennis Lehane published A Drink Before The War, the first in a series of mystery novels featuring Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. I was hooked. His writing includes both standalone novels as well as series – and in my opinion all can be read in any order (although as is often the …

    Flex Your Age by Joan Macdonald

    As someone with a lifelong commitment to exercise and fitness, it was hard for me to adapt to my new reality when I was diagnosed with a serious disease a few years back. Uncurable is a hard word to accept, but fortunately my “affliction” is treatable, so after having treatment, I was kind of a …

    Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich

    As I noted last year when I read and reviewed Janet Evanovich’s Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight, I have been reading and enjoying Stephanie Plum’s adventures as a bond enforcement agent (bounty hunter?) for twenty-five+ years (gasp!), ever since One For The Money. And everytime a new one comes out, it makes me happy to know …

    The Last Chairlift by John Irving

    Oh, how I wanted to love The Last Chairlift by John Irving. I’m one of those readers who was totally knocked out by The World According to Garp decades ago, and have been hoping for an echo of that greatness. Having been disappointed several times, I retained my optimism when I received a copy of …

    The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham

    If you are a mystery lover like I am, it’s sort of sacrilege to trash talk John Grisham…and I admit I still eagerly grab any new Grisham book available. But for me at least, lately there hasn’t been that certainty that “this is gonna be GOOD” that is always there with my most reliable authors …