One of my all-time favorite TV shows is The Wire, for which David Simon was the creator, show runner, executive producer and head writer. Between that show and the podcast Serial and subsequent book Adnan’s Story, I was fairly well convinced that Baltimore had just about the most corrupt law enforcement and city/county government around. …
I’m a true crime buff, and one of my recent favorites was Bad Blood, John Carreyrou’s exhaustive tale of Elizabeth Holmes and her scam company Theranos, so I expected to like Bad Medicine by Charlotte Bismuth. I received a copy from Atria/One Signal Books and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. Subtitled “Catching New …
I wasn’t sure I even wanted to read When The Stars Go Dark, having been underwhelmed by The Paris Wife (I thought Circling The Sun was OK — I know, I’m in the minority on both these titles). But when I read the blurb from Kristin Hannah that said it was “….guaranteed to keep the …
I’m not sure whether Gregg Olsen is inconsistent, or I am, but it sort of seems like I don’t know what to expect when I pick up one of his books. There have been some excellent ones in the true crime genre (If You Tell) but I have found the fiction titles (mostly in series) …
Imagine your life as an adult is filled with nightmares that include a man who was one of the adults who was actually kind to you and your sister when you were kids…he used to take you and your sister on adventures, including visits to his garden, and was someone you thought of as just …
The story of the death of Rebecca Zahau is so freaking bizarre! I first heard about it on a podcast and it was so off the wall, I was so curious…so I sought out other podcasts, resulting in total confusion. So I was happy when I read that Caitlin Rother, well-known author of true crime …
Wow, where to begin? Like many people, I was caught by the title of the debut novel by Cherie Jones: How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House. (The title comes from a parable told to a little girl by her grandmother.) I had heard great things about this book, and it is definitely well written, …
Thomas Threadgill is another of those thriller authors I’d never heard of until recently, but I was happy to receive a copy of Network of Deceit, the second in his series featuring San Antonio PD Detective Amara Alvarez. Threagill’s name is apparently found often on lists of authors “Christian fiction,” which would have honestly given …
I admit it: I have been a big fan of Chris Bohjalian, ever since I read Midwives several years ago. I have given positive reviews to The Guest Room, The Sleepwalker, The Flight Attendant, and The Red Lotus. I consider Mr. Bohjalian one of the most reliable authors I read regularly, and I always look …
A couple of years ago, I read and enjoyed If She Wakes by Michael Koryta, after also enjoying his earlier books How It Happened and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Once again, I very much appreciated the chance to read his latest offering, Never Far Away (thanks to Little, Brown & Company and NetGalley in …
I was a big fan of the early Spenser series by Robert B. Parker, and I read and enjoyed most of the books in the series, although there were some that felt formulaic and tired…but I’m not sure ANY series has a 100% rating. In general, I’ve NOT been a fan of the novels cranked …
I read a lot of books…possibly even more book reviews. Over the last decade or so, it has seemed like a new David Baldacci book appears every month or so…and I pretty much have avoided all of them. Not sure why, but I needed something to read as I watched the world going crazy, and …
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 Find You First from William Morrow and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. And I tried. More than once. I kept thinking maybe being home for more …
In Case You Get Hit By a Bus is described as a “step-by-step program for getting your life in order, so you’re prepared for the unexpected.” Written by the people responsible for Everplans, a company that specializes in “digital life planning,” it includes three general areas. The first is “urgent,” and is excellent at itemizing …
Presented as “an obsessive, addictive love story for fans of Lisa Jewell,” Too Good To Be True by Carola Lovering sounded like perfect escape-the-pandemic-shutdown reading. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. TBH, I read it a month or so ago and today, when I …
I had read John Hart’s Redemption Road awhile back, and although I remember I liked it, I couldn’t tell you more about it…but when I read the description of Hart’s new book, The Unwilling, I thought it would be a good one to read along with my husband and discuss in our mini book club …
It all sounded so promising: in Courtney Evan Tate’s new novel The Last To See Her, a woman disappears, there’s a cheating spouse, etc. And while this book really did hold my interest, I REALLY hated the ending, plus none of the characters felt real or really made me care what happened to them. Buti, …
I’m a fan of legal thrillers, particularly those with a bit of a social/political focus, a few surprises, realistic characters…Scott Turow, SOME Grisham, Connelly…and William Landay’s Defending Jacob is still one of my all-time faves (what happened to him, anyway?). So when I read about Take It Back by Kia Abdullah, I was eagerly anticipating …
I have been a fan of Phillip Margolin for a long time…and while I haven’t read every one of the books in either the Amanda Jaffe or the Dana Cutler series, I had read and enjoyed the first three Robin Lockwood books — so was happy to receive a copy of A Matter of Life …
Straight off, I’ll just admit my guilty pleasure is true crime. I’ve read a lot of less-than-wonderful true crime over the years, and some extremely good stuff (Columbine, Bad Blood, Catch & Kill, and I’ll Be Gone In The Dark come instantly to mind). I had read about Becky Cooper’s We Keep The Dead Close, …