Littoral Librarian

    Unshrunk by Laura Delano

    Publication Date March 18, 2025 I will admit right up front that I have had my share of interactions with mental health care, and that I honestly feel I’m here thanks in part to the wonders of pharmacology and skilled therapy. I also admit that I have close friends and family members who have a …

    Murder The Truth by David Enrich

    Publication Date March 11, 2025 Recently, it seems like so many things we in the U.S. have taken for granted are in danger of being eliminated: free speech/expression, right to vote, right of bodily autonomy, etc. It also seems like there are some very brave journalists who are working to alert us to the dangers …

    Lethal Prey by John Sandford

    Publication Date March 25, 2025 There are a few reliable authors whose books barely hit my Kindle before I dive into them. (Elizabeth George, Scott Turow, Robert Crais, Jane Harper, and Michael Robotham come to mind). For years, John Sandford’s books were on that list, but there have been a few recent hiccups along the …

    Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

    Publication Date March 25, 2025 Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben Over the past several years, I have read and reviewed several Harlan Coben books, and with the exception of Win, all were four or five stars (although it may have been that Covid screwed up my ability to enjoy my usually reliable authors’ releases). Hmmm. …

    Human Scale by Lawrence Wright

    Publication Date March 11, 2025 As one of the many people who is confused, saddened, and frequently overwhelmed by the situation in the Middle East, I thought The Human Scale by Lawrence Wright might help me out. I am not up to reading a vast litany of historic facts, and I didn’t want a totally …

    The Folly of Realism by Alexander Vindman

    Publication Date February 25, 2025 The Folly of Realism is a difficult book to read, let alone review. I have such admiration for Alexander Vindman and am so deeply saddened by the recent exposure of the new U.S. administration’s seemingly abrupt turnaround from stalwart defender of Ukraine against the Russian invasion to now being a …

    Pro Bono by Thomas Perry

    Publication Date January 14, 2025 Over the past several years, I have read and reviewed several of Thomas Perry’s books, and although my husband is the REAL Perry fan in our household, I have enjoyed most of them a LOT – with only 2019’s A Small Town getting a 3-star “meh” from me – but, …

    Murder Town by Shelley Burr

    Publication Date November 5, 2024 I have a niece who moved to Australia several years ago, and her father (my brother) and his wife have followed them…so I tend to be inclined to read books set in Australia, especially in the mystery genre (Jane Harper being top of my list). So although I had not …

    The Gut-Brain Paradox by Dr. Stephen R. Gundry, M.D.

    Publication Date April 15, 2025 I’ve known a number of people (indluding my daughter and my best friend) who swear by Dr. Gundry (as well as a few who swear AT him). I admit to being a sucker for self-help books that focus on nutrition as the way to improve health. And TBH he has …

    How To Be Enough by Ellen Hendriksen, Ph.D.

    Publication Date January 7, 2025 How To Be Enough by Ellen Hendriksen is one of those rare books that makes me feel like the author can read my mind…and provide some insight into my thoughts/behavior/whatever. It is definitely a book I WISH I could have read thirty (or more?) years ago, as it might have …

    Nine Minutes Eleven Seconds by L.V. Pederson

    Publication Date January 28, 2025 Nine Minutes Eleven Seconds. (9/11 — hmmm). Sounded good. Like my kind of thriller…started slow, and I never really got buried in it like I wanted to. Kept being conscious of how much was left to read — in the end, I confess I skimmed the last third or so …

    Whistle by Linwood Barclay

    Publication Date May 20, 2025 What did I just read? Oh wait, I didn’t actually read it — it turned out to be something I have generally thought of as impossible: this one was a DNF. I have read and reviewed many Linwood Barclay books over the years, and he has consistently been on my …

    I Will Blossom Anyway by Disha Bose

    Publication Date May 6, 2025 I’m not generally a fan of cozy novels, things that are touching and that explore family dynamics…except if there is some murder or mayhem involved. For some reason, I found myself with Disha Bose’s new book I Will Blossom Anyways (thanks to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley in exchange for my …

    The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens

    Publication Date February 18, 2025 Back in 2014, I read The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens, at that time an author I’d never heard of. I loved it! But for some reason, I didn’t read anything else by Eskens until 2023, when I read and enjoyed Saving Emma. I also didn’t know that The …

    Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker

    Publication Date February 11, 2025 For me, Chad Zunker is one of those reliable authors – in 2022, I read Family Money – four stars. In 2023, All He Has Left was another solid four star read. Then, last year? The Wife You Know – yep, once again, four stars. So this year, when I …

    Scout Camp by James Renner

    Publication Date February 25, 2025 James Renner is a journalist  and former reporter for the Cleveland Scene. Known for his work on the Maura Murray case (he wrote True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray). His thorough research and investigation has resulted in a boatload of work on …

    The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

    Publication Date May 6, 2025 Years ago, I read two Wally Lamb books that knocked me out: I Know This Much Is True and She’s Come Undone. Both were, for different reasons, deeply affecting and emotionally intense. When I had the opportunity to read Lamb’s new book, The River Is Waiting (thanks to Simon Element/ …

    The Oligarch’s Daughter by Joseph Finder

    Publication Date January 28, 2025 Next month, it will have been five years since I read and reviewed a book by Joseph Finder…that one was 5-star House On Fire, #4 in the Nick Heller series (note to self: go back and read 1-4!!) During the pandemic, I read a ton of books, including lots of …

    The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha

    Publication Date January 21, 2024 I didn’t know what to expect from The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha – hadn’t read anything about it, never recall hearing or reading about the author. But it sounded intriguing, and I was happy to receive a copy from Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, …

    Murder In The Dollhouse by Rich Cohen

    Publication Date May 20, 2025 Here I go again, with my secret pleasure reading: true crime. Rich Cohen, a well-known author and journalist (columnist for The Wall Street Journal, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone) has written the amazing story of Jennifer Dulos, a wealthy Connecticut woman who dropped her kids off at …