As an avid mystery fan, I’m not sure why I had never read anything by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera series (neither of which I ever got into). But then I received a review copy of her 2021 book The Heron’s Cry from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for my …
When I first read T. Jefferson Parker’s Laguna Heat back in 1985, I had recently moved to Santa Cruz and was ecstatic to be living in a small beach town again — because I grew up in South Orange County (specifically in and around Laguna Beach) and graduated high school in 1965. So I know …
When asked the name of my favorite author, the name Elizabeth George is what first comes to mind. As I said in 2018, reviewing The Punishment She Deserves (5 stars), “I LOVE Elizabeth George, and have been reading the Inspector Lynley novels (or, as I prefer to call them, the Lynley-Havers novels) since the mid-1990s …
I have read close to a dozen books by Michael Robotham, and have enjoyed many of them (particularly the Joseph O’Loughlin series), so I was happy to receive a copy of When You Are Mine from Scribner and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The female protagonist in this psychological thriller is an officer …
If asked whether I was a fan of John Grisham, my best answer would be “sometimes.” I have loved some of his stuff (esp earlier books), but some have been “meh.” Last year’s A Time for Mercy, #3 in the Jake Brigance series, was a big disappointment for me (three stars — I’m an easy …
I’m fairly certain that my desire to read Matrix, Lauren Groff’s new novel, was primarily motivated by FOMO — I felt like I was the only person I know who hadn’t read and loved Fates and Furies. So, thanks to Penguin Group Riverhead and NetGalley, I was ready to go with a copy in exchange …
I have enjoyed many of Ken Follett’s books (admittedly. Some WAY more than others), so I was excited to dive into Never, his new novel set in the present (possibly future?) time. My husband seemed a bit disappointed that it isn’t historical fiction, so I am curious to get his reaction…but in any case I …
Jennifer Rubin is best known today as a columnist for the Washington Post and a political commentator on TV. In the past, she was a labor and employment attorney and well-known conservative essayist. Yes, conservative! She was solidly in the conservative camp right up until DJT became President — and she was NOT a fan! …
Lisa Unger has another solid thriller out, with Last Girl Ghosted following Confessions on the 7:45 onto the list of woman-in-danger thrillers. I’m not the intended demographic, being totally not interested in dating apps, quickie hookups, or advice bloggers, but I was quickly taken in by the story. (TBH I did find myself getting annoyed …
Liane Moriarity is sort of a hot commodity these days, following the success of several books and subsequent TV versions of Big Little Lies (a friend called it “real estate porn”) and Nine Perfect Strangers. So I couldn’t pass up the chance to read a copy of Apples Never Fall from Henry Holt and NetGalley …
I admit it, I’m somewhat fascinated by the weirdly dramatic episodes that have played out in “political marriages” over the past thirty years or so. When I was growing up, we had Presidents who were philanderers (the Kennedys) and criminals (Nixon). But there wasn’t a 24-hour news dump with details about the sex lives, scandals, …
In a master stroke of timing, Craig Whitlock (Washington Post reporter, winner of three Pulitzers) has a new book about the war released as the last U.S. troops depart Kabul. My view of the war was that it was a quagmire, and we should have left years ago…and OMG reading The Afghanistan Papers made me …
I’m a BIG Michael Connelly fan. Recently, I have enjoyed 2020’s Law of Innocence, (he latest “Lincoln Lawyer” novel featuring Mickey Haller) and Fair Warning (with Jack McEvoy from The Poet and Scarecrow books), but have been eagerly awaiting more of Detective Renee Ballard, introduced in 2017’s The Late Show. The strong female protagonist always …
Last year, I read and reviewed Snow by John Banville, and it was a solid five-star read for me. In fact, I said “I need to read more John Banville books!” So I was happy to receive April in Spain from Harlequin/Hanover Square Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. The protagonist, Quirke, …
Elin Hilderbrand is well-known for being the “queen of beach reads.” Titles like Summer of ‘69, 28 Summers, Trouble in Paradise…you get the idea. Every once in a while, I want something escapist, pretty much guaranteed to have a happy ending, and NOT focused on any of the current “issues” that are like a tsunami …
True friends?. They are the kind of people you can pick up the phone at 3 am, tell them you need help, and they will JUST SHOW UP. No questions, you know you can count on them. That’s part of the premise of Kimberly McKreight’s Friends Like These, in which 5 long-time friends from college …
I’ve been a member of WeightWatchers (now known as WW) off and on for longer than I want to realize, so I was looking forward to reading The Shift by Gary Foster, PhD. With any book about weight loss, I always want to know about the author — who they are and whether they have …
Paula Hawkins, best known for Girl On The Train and Into The Water, now gives us A Slow Fire Burning. Thanks to Penguin Group Riverhead and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for this honest review of a book I was REALLY looking forward to as an escape from the news of the day… The …
I consider myself a halfhearted fan of William Kent Krueger: I enjoyed both Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land (https://littorallibrarian.org/this-tender-land-by-william-kent-krueger/). But the only one in the beloved Cork O’Connor series I had read was Iron Lake, so when I received a copy of Lightning Strike from Atria Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest …
The Turnout sounded so good: the story of Dara and Marie Durant, dancers since they were tiny ballerina wannabes. Growing up, they were both homeschooled and trained as dancers by their mother, who founded the Durant School of Dance, along with Dara’s husband Charlie, a former star ballet student of their mother’s. Dara is the …