Back in 2016, I read and reviewed James Lee Burke’s The Jealous Kind, noting that the book was “… part of the Holland family saga. Back in 1835, Sam Holland escaped from prison, fighting in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Sam’s grandson, Hackberry Holland, was a Texas Ranger.” Hackberry’s grandson, Aaron Holland Broussard, …
Laura Dave has written several novels, but TBH I’d never heard of her before I got an advance copy of her latest, The Last Thing He Told Me, from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. The premise sounded like it had the potential to be either ho-hum or terrific: husband …
I love Laura Lippman, and was super excited to get a copy of Dream Girl from William Morrow / Custom House and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. It is compared to Stephen King’s Misery and Lippman herself has referred to it as her first horror novel. I’m a fan of psychological suspense/thrillers, but …
In the 1960s and 1970s, I lived in Southern California and was a huge fan of professional basketball in general and the LA Lakers in particular. I followed the team closely, every season, through the playoffs, with the too-frequent finale being a loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Championship Finals. Back in the …
Harleigh Collier, who goes by Leigh, is a hard-working professional woman, working her way up at a fancy high profile law firm. One Sunday evening, she is at her daughter’s school play and gets a call from one of the law firm’s senior partners, asking her to defend a wealthy client accused of multiple counts …
The story of this book’s publication is almost as much fun as the book. A young woman named T.J. Newman spent years working as a flight attendant for major airlines. During and outside of her long flights, she made good use of her time thinking and writing about a terrifying story set around an airline …
Back in 2018, when I read Jake Tapper’s novel The Hellfire Club, I said it was “four and a half stars, rounded down to four because it isn’t QUITE a five – but I would bet his next one will be.” Now here we are with a sequel, The Devil May Dance, bringing back New …
Reclaim Joy, by Emine Rushton, is just what the subtitle says: a guided journal to discover simple pleasures every day. The author is a holistic therapist (not exactly sure what that entails) who provides a years’ worth of prompts and rituals designed to help the reader who is trying to incorporate more mindfulness into their …
Recently, I read Nancy Thayer’s new book “Family Reunion,” which I said was like a warm blanket and a cup of tea. Comfort reading, perfect for the pandemic. Despite my shudder when I hear the phrase “women’s fiction,” I actually enjoyed it. So when I had the opportunity to receive a copy of Miranda Cowley …
I’m a fan of psychological thrillers, even those that require a fair amount of willing suspension of disbelief, so I was happy to receive a copy of Nicci French’s lates, What To Do When Someone Dies, from William Morrow/Custom House and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. TBH, the title was a bit off-putting …
Stacey Abrams, well-known for her political work in Georgia and an experienced tax attorney IRL, has written When Justice Sleeps, a legal thriller that is complex, clever, and revelatory of the high-stakes political maneuverings in Washington DC (particularly the Supreme Court). The protagonist of this fast-paced thriller is Avery Keene, a brilliant young law clerk …
Cassie Woodson is a hot mess…think Cassandra Bowden in The Flight Attendant — after a drama-filled breakup that led to her humiliating firing from her job as an attorney at a top-level law firm, she has been forced to take a job as a legal temp, working long hours on a mind-numbing project reviewing documents, …
Fire season was very real for us last year. And the year before, and before. Northern CA has endured more than its share of fire damage, and the worst of all might be the November 2018 “Camp Fire” that destroyed the beautiful town of Paradise. Lizzie Johnson, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, tells …
Robyn Harding has a string of successes: The Party, The Swap. The Arrangement…now she is back with The Perfect Family. Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for this honest review. The “perfect family” is the Adlers: Realtor Tom, his interior designer wife Viv, and their kids, Eli and Tarryn. …
Catherine Steadman is an accomplished actress (memorably played Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey) and author. I loved 2018’s Something In The Water, but 2020’s Mr. Nobody didn’t do it for me, so I was curious about the latest from this talented woman, and was happy to receive a copy of The Disappearing Act from …
True Crime – my guilty pleasure. Well-written true crime — too rare but oh so enjoyable. Frequently when reading true crime, the characters and outcome are familiar (think Laci, O.J., Menendez brothers). I admit I was not aware of At Any Cost, the story of Shele Danishefsky and her younger husband Rod Covlin, but the …
Jenny Lawson is brave, and funny, and smart, and willing to share her struggles with anxiety and depression in her blog posts, essays, and books. Why “brave?” I share some of her afflictions and, while I totally bought in to the concept that depression won’t lose its stigma until people are willing to talk openly …
I generally enjoy thrillers, with legal and financial being my favorite subgenres. There are several authors that are consistently ones whose latest books are always on my TBR shelf as soon as I can get them, and John Lescroart has been on that list since I first came across his work in the late 1980s. …
Maybe it’s pandemic fatigue. Or maybe it’s just me. My expectations may be a bit high? But when Mary Kubica is referred to repeatedly as the “queen of the domestic thriller,” and I am so ready for a grabber — you know, the kind where you just want people to leave you the bleep ALONE …
I admit it. The phrase “women’s fiction” generally makes me shudder. I don’t quite equate it with the phrase “bodice ripper,” but almost. Maybe it’s because I took over as manager of a nice suburban branch library from a woman who had done everything she could to run it into the ground (like getting rid …