I can’t recall the last book I read by Joyce Carol Oates, but in the interest of reading some well-written fiction, I was happy to receive a copy of her latest, Babysitter, in exchange for this review. (you know, like taking vitamins – it will be good for me to read something other than mystery/thrillers). …
I’m a big fan of thrillers. I’ll Never Tell, and You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie are in this vein, so when I had the chance to read her latest, Please Join Us (thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley) I was ready to read! As the story begins, the protagonist Nicole Mueller appears to …
Malcolm Nance, known to watchers of MSNBC as a knowledgeable reporter with years of experience in counterintelligence, is willing to SHOW UP for what he believes. Want proof? He joined the Foreign Fighters in Ukraine after the country was invaded by Russia. His latest book, They Want to Kill Americans, quite frankly scared the %^$#* …
I love twisty psychological thrillers (think Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl), so when I read that David Ellis’s latest, Look Closer, was “part Gone Girl, part Strangers On A Train, I was READY! Thank you to Penguin Group/G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for this honest review. There is a wealthy …
I admit it. I’m a sucker for true crime stories, and serial killers are part of that. I’d never heard of Tony Costa, but after reading a bit about Helltown, subtitle the untold story of a serial killer of Cape Cod, I was ready to read. Fortunately, Sourcebooks and NetGalley were willing to provide a …
I haven’t read ALL of the 21 books in Kathy Reichs’s series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance (“Tempe” Brennan, but I have most, and always enjoyed them. So I was happy to receive a copy of Cold, Cold Bones from Scribner and NetGalley. Tempe divides her time between North Carolina and Canada, and in this one, …
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 enjoy mysteries, you really should check her out — start with The Dry). In Lee Goldberg’s Movieland, while Malibu Creek State …
About four years ago, I read and reviewed Fiona Barton’s The Child (four stars). I enjoyed it, so I was pleased to receive a copy of Local Gone Missing from Berkley Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. This one features detective Elise King, who had to take a medical leave. Now, unsure …
Emily Giffin writes what i think of as sappy books (Lies That Bind, All We Ever Wanted), so I wasn’t sure how this one would go. Particularly after I read that Meant To Be followed a family portrayed as “American royalty,” featuring a son whose father is killed in a tragic accident and who feels …
James Lee Burke’s book Another Kind of Eden (reviewed in 2021) had just a bit too much of the supernatural in it for my taste…same for my husband who is the real Burke fan in this household. So I was a bit hesitant to dive into Every Cloak Rolled in Blood, described as “ his …
Although I wasn’t expecting to, I really enjoyed The Plot, so I was looking forward to her latest, The Latecomer. The story revolves around the Oppenheimer family of New York City, parents of triplets who don’t have much of a bond among themselves or with their parents. The triplets are about to go off to …
I’ve been a regular reader of Linwood Barclay’s books for several years, generally awarding 4 or 5 stars, so I was pleased to get a copy of Take Your Breath Away from William Morrow and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. But then I looked at the last book of his I reviewed, which …
I was so eager to read this book. Partly because I am such an avid reader of true crime, and Ashley Flowers is the primary host of the wildly successful Crime Junkies podcast. When I got my review copy (thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley) which I received in exchange for my honest review, I …
I really wanted to love this book. I kept trying not to let my negative feelings about the war get in the way…alas, it was not to be. The women who served as CSTs (Cultural Support Team members) in Afghanistan are amazing. I admire their courage, ability, and willingness to serve. But the whole idea …
I love true crime, especially when it reads like fiction. I wasn’t familiar with the event described in Dead In The Water by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel, but the subtitle grabbed me: A True Story pf Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy. I didn’t realize how totally ignorant I was about international shipping, …
When I got this book, I knew it was a police procedural/political thriller, but I didn’t realize it had been published in 1982, a full forty (gasp!) years ago. So I had a “hmmm” moment before I started to read. I wasn’t sure a story about a female police officer in Washington, D.C. in the …
TBH, I’d never hear of Chad Zunker before reading Family Money (which I received from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review). He has written a series featuring Sam Callahan and the David Adams legal thriller An Equal Justice, but somehow he was new to me. In Family Money, a man …
I’m positive I have read other books by Sara Paretsky that featured “plucky heroine” V.I. Warshawski, Chicago PI – but I couldn’t name one or recall a plot – just went into this one expecting a well-written story to take my mind off the pandemic, crime, corruption, etc. And Overboard is definitely well-written, as expected. …
I am fortunate to live in an area where we can grow food outdoors year-round…but for those in locations where there is actual winter, or those who just like the idea of growing food indoors,How to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round by Kim Roman is a great book. There are four …
In 2016, Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 was a big hit, and I was among those who enjoyed it – a LOT. 2019’s Turn of the Key was a 3-star “meh” for me, then 2020’s One By One was a solid 4 stars. So I was eager to see whether her latest, The …