Publication Date February 6, 2024 I enjoy psychological thrillers, but had not previously read anything by Freida McFadden (One By One, The Co-Worker, The Housemaid) , so I had no expectations when I received a copy of The Teacher from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The story has two …
Publication Date May 7, 2024 When I read and reviewed Rich Waters by Robert Bailey, I wrote “I’m a fan of legal thrillers: think Scott Turow, John Grisham, Michael Connelly, William Landay. Somehow, I stumbled on Rich Bood by Robert Bailey. The protagonist, Jason Rich, is famous for his billboards from Alabama to Florida, featuring …
Publication Date January 23, 2024 This book has multiple points of view, told by three sisters. One of them, Emma, has discovered she is pregnant around the same time her husband loses his job, so they need a place to live. Emma’s family home is available, owned by her and her two sisters, It’s been …
Publication Date May 9, 2024 This book is a great idea! True crime fans will love it, and at our group meeting, I found that even those who are not aficionados of true crime books had fun with it. There are hundreds of questions, in a variety of formats (multiple choice, etc) so it will …
Publication Date January 16, 2024 I have been incredibly eager to read Lee Goldberg’s Dream Town (#5 in the Eve Ronin series). I have read and enjoyed 1-4 (Lost Hills, Bone Canyon, Gated Prey, and Movieland), and after seeing and hearing Lee at Bouchercon in San Diego, I am solidly a fan! Regarding the series, …
Publication Date June 11, 2024 A few years back, I reviewed another of James Lee Burke’s Robicheaux novels, and got the opinion of one of the biggest Robicheaux fans on the planet – my husband. I gave it four stars, and noted that “My husband found it well-written, as expected. He also enjoyed the repetition …
California’s best nature walks! But how can they narrow it down to just 32? I grew up on the Southern California coast, and have been fortunate to live in the far Northern part of the State (Humboldt County), the Bay Area, and now the Central Coast (Santa Cruz). Along the way, I’ve hiked for years …
A young woman named Lucca Marino works for a mysterious boss known only as Mr. Smith. Her job responsibilities are a bit murky at first, but clearly she is a con artist who is given a phony identity and the name of a mark…so now she is Evie Porter. Her mark is Ryan Sumner. As …
I am definitely losing it. I received a copy of Joe Hart’s latest, Never Come Back, from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved it, so I looked for more by him. Turns out Never Come Back is book #2 in the “Nora McTavish series” so I went back …
I haven’t eaten beef, chicken, turkey, veal or any other “meat” for many, many years. (I do eat salmon and halibut so I don’t call myself vegetarian but I work to eat healthy and focus on plants). I have looked at tons of recipes and tried many over the years, and am always happy to …
When I read and reviewed Tana French’s standalone novel The Witch Elm in 2018, I noted that I would have enjoyed seeing more of the Dublin Murder Squad characters (Antoinette Conway, Stephen Moran, and others), but that I had enjoyed getting to know a “whole new cast of characters.” When I reviewed her next book, The …
As someone who has spent a LOT of time and energy dealing with anxiety and depression, I am always looking for helpful tips and techniques to help. The Aging Well Workbook is FILLED with useful information and practical ideas for managing my own “issues,” and would also be a wonderful resource for anyone caring for …
NOTE: the first paragraph is copied from an earlier (2020) review. “I have a history with Val McDermid, and her wonderful protagonist Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of Police Scotland. Back in 2016, I read and reviewed Out of Bounds by Val McDermid, #4 in the series with this feisty female protagonist. At that time, I said, …
Liza Mundy is a NYT author, as well as having written Code Girls, about the women who were successful code breakers in WWII. In her latest book, The Sisterhood, she goes deep into the history of the CIA, and tells amazing stories of the many (mostly unknown) women whose work often kept us safe and …
I’m generally a big Michael Connelly fan, with the newer series featuring Renee Ballard (sometimes partnered with Harry Bosch) probably being my favorite, but I’m also a Lincoln Lawyer/Mickey Haller fan (which I originally read with an image of Matthew McConaghey etched in my brain…now replaced by an image of Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, thanks to Netflix). …
When I get a new book from one of my favorite authors, I tend to just dive in and start reading without spending much time thinking about the series it may be part of, or whether I liked the last released title, etc. And John Sandford is definitely one of my favorite authors, BUT. I …
Recently, after Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction on seven charges of fraud related to his role in crypto craziness, there has been a ton of publicity around Michael Lewis’s book about SBF. I’ve been generally astonished, fascinated, and horrified by the gullibility of investors, and was curious enough to be happy to receive a copy of Number …
This is the story of my six-year breakup with Nelson DeMille, an author I used to LOVE. It all started in 2017, when I read and reviewed The Cuban Affair, and wrote “Seventeen years ago, someone whose opinions on books NEVER matched mine recommended Lion’s Game by Nelson DeMille, and I LOVED it. Since then, I’ve grabbed …
Mandy Matney became well known because of her podcast Murdaugh Murders, and I have listened to her for many hours, as I became fascinated of the story of the wretched Murdaugh family of South Carolina. Briefly, the Murdaugh family ruled the legal wrangling in the Lowcountry area for generations, with one patriarch after another being …
I am a huge fan of Jeannette Walls, with The Glass Castle being one of my top five all-time favorite books. So when Jeannette says “Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways is a story of survival that left me choked up and cheering.” My reaction? “SIGN ME UP!” Brittany spent her very traumatic childhood …