August 2023

    City In Ruins by Don Winslow

    Publication Date April 4, 2024 Earlier this year, I read and reviewed Don Winslow’s City of Dreams. At that time, I said my perception of the books written by Don Winslow had been that they were the kind of books my husband loves: full of action, violence, drugs, sex, and maybe even some rock ‘n …

    When The Game Was War by Rich Cohen

    Publication Date September 5, 2023 One of my vivid memories from childhood is watching the NBA playoffs at my aunt’s house. My brother and I were the only 2 really interested in the games, but I loved it despite the fact that “our” team, the Lakers, seemed to be perennial runners-up to the Celtics. During …

    After That Night by Karin Slaughter (Will Trent #11)

    Publication Date October 17, 2023 In 2021, I wrote a five-star review for Karin Slaughter’s standalone novel False Witness, featuring Harleigh (“Leigh”) Collier. So I was excited to receive a copy of Slaughter’s After That Night, which is #11 in the Will Trent series. But then I remembered The Last Widow from 2019, which was #9 …

    Blowback by Miles Taylor

    Publication Date July 18, 2023 Miles Taylor worked in the Trump White House, and was so appalled that he published an earlier book as “Anonymous.” When he outed himself as the author, his life began … difficult, to say the least.  To write this book, Taylor interviewed dozens of former Trump aides and came away …

    Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich

    Publication Date November 14, 2023 True confession time: Portions of this are copied from reviews of recent  Evanovich/Stephanie Plum books.  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 …

    Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg

    Publication Date September 1, 2023 Last year, I read Movieland, my first novel by Lee Goldberg. In my review, I said “I tend to enjoy stories where the setting is a character on its own, if you know what I mean (think Jane Harper’s novels set in arid Western Australia. Oh, and BTW, if you …

    Calico by Lee Goldberg

    Publication Date November 7, 2023 Last year, I read Movieland, my first novel by Lee Goldberg. In my review, I said “I tend to enjoy stories where the setting is a character on its own, if you know what I mean (think Jane Harper’s novels set in arid Western Australia. Oh, and BTW, if you …

    Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

    Publication Date August 29, 2023 2019’s Miracle Creek introduced Angie Kim, an amazing talent. It also introduced me to HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen treatment), a somewhat controversial treatment for what a center near me claims are “dozens of medical conditions…and used to improve athletic treatment and …for anti-aging.”   Ms. Kim has personal experience with HBOT, which …

    None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

    Publication Date August 8, 2023 Over the past several years, I have generally read and enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s books including  I Found You (2017), Watching You (2018), The Family Upstairs (2019), and Invisible Girl (2020) o I was happy to receive a copy of sNone Of This Is True from Atria Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest …