The Herd by Andrea Bartz sounded like just the kind of escapist fluff to get me through another weekend of sheltering in place: a murder mystery featuring glitzy female New York thirty-something Harvard grads who are just starting to make their mark professionally. The title refers to a super-selective members-only womens’ community that features professional …
The Best of Friends, by Lucinda Berry, explores the dynamics between and among a group of teenage boys (who are best friends) as well as their three mothers (BFFs forEVER) when a terrible tragedy occurs. Written by a trauma psychologist (yikes), the story is told from various perspectives and (TBH) at first I had to …
David Parrish, a retired tech writer, was a part-time baseball coach many years ago. When he learned that one of his former players, Jon Bowie, had died, Parrish was stunned. As a friend, he talked to friends and family, trying to understand what police and the medical examiner had ruled a suicide. Jon had been …
I was in the mood for a character-driven novel, with strong women working to find out who they are, blah blah blah. Reading that Jeni McFarland’s book The House of Deep Water was reminiscent of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, and explored “… trauma, love, loss, and new beginnings found in a most unlikely place: …
A Private Cathedral is James Lee Burke’s fortieth book, and I am pretty sure my husband had read them all up til now. I had read one or two, and I can’t remember which ones, which tells you something. I had another chance thanks to Simon & Schuster providing me with a copy of A …
In 2019, writing about John Sandford’s Neon Prey, I wrote “There aren’t many authors whose latest book I eagerly await, and who maintain a consistently high level in terms of plot, character, and entertainment value. John Sandford has been one of those (along with Michael Connelly, Michael Robotham, Robert Crais, and Elizaeth George (OK, a …
I was curious to read A Tangled Web by Leslie Rule, the daughter of Ann Rule (widely regarded as the queen of true crime writing). Thanks to Kensington Books/Citadel and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for this honest review. First off, I have been a big true crime fan for years – my …
I’ve recommended Mary Morris’s Nothing To Declare: Memoirs of A Woman Traveling Alone over the years, was very happy to read that her latest book, All The Way To The Tigers, was another travelogue/family history/personal growth saga. Thanks to Doubleday Books/Nan Talese and NetGalley, I received an advance copy in return for this honest review. …
For many years, I was a hardcore NBA fan. My theory was that anyone who said they didn’t like watching pro basketball had never been to a live NBA game. Although my fandom died off when things changed so the games and teams were all about individual glory (rather than team effort), my appreciation came …
In Philip Margolin’s latest legal thriller, Robin Lockwood, a former MMA fighter and Yale Law graduate (who appeared in Margolin’s recent books The Third Victim and The perfect alibi) joined a hotshot law firm shortly before attorney Regina Barrister (a recurring character in Margolin books) started deteriorating mentally due to Alzheimer’s. One of Regina’s former …
I have tried and tried to read Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s blockbuster hit from 2014, but just haven’t been able to get into it – so I can’t say I am a fan of hers. But after reading the blurb for her latest, The Glass Hotel, I was happy to receive a copy …
A friend whose opinion I value HUGELY recommended Rhys Bowen to me, so I was happy to receive a copy of Above The Bay Of Angels from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Apparently, many of Ms. Bowen’s books move along crisply and bring the reader into another world (just …
In 2018, I read and reviewed An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, noting “…I may be burned out due to reading too MANY of these plucky-heroine-in-danger stories, but I also was not impressed with the writing. It seemed geared for a relatively low reading level, strong on plot but weak (IMHO) on …
I’ve read and reviewed two earlier books by Susie Steiner featuring Detective Manon Bradshaw (Missing, Presumed in 2016 and Persons Unknown in 2017) and really liked both of them (****), so I was happy to get a copy of Remain Silent, Ms. Steiner’s latest featuring Detective Bradshaw. In my earlier reviews, I expressed my fondness …
I love Erik Larson’s books Devil In the White City, Dead Wake, and In The Garden of Beasts. I always learn a LOT while enjoying the way his nonfiction reads like fiction. He’s one of my favorite authors, so I was particularly pleased to have a copy of The Splendid and the Vile from Crown …
Pacific Coasting is just amazing! It is informative, helpful, entertaining, and downright GORGEOUS. Subtitled “A Guide to the Ultimate Road Trip, from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest,” it covers the entire Pacific Coast of the Continental U.S., with clearly defined sections for the various regions in each of the three states. It includes interesting …
Katherine Pennavaria is a well-known expert on genealogy. In addition to being a professor a Western Kentucky University, she is a frequent presenter at both national and state conferences and the author of books on genealogy as well as a column published regularly in a library-specific journal. Her Genealogy for Beginners is a book that …
What incredible timing…the news today is full of the coronavirus (COVID-19) which allegedly originated with animals and came from Asia and everywhere I look, people are wearing masks, more or less freaking out, and are generally TENSE as we see the initial outbreak begin to expand, revealing how completely unprepared we are in this country …
The outline of the story of what happened to Shan’ann Watts of Colorado in August 2018 is fairly well known. She, along with her two daughters and the son who was due the following January, disappeared and her husband Chris was all over the media, pleading for their safe return. TBH I had no idea …
Saving Sara is an extremely detailed memoir of a woman’s struggle with food addiction. Born into an academic family, Sara Somers spent nearly fifty years battling her demons, whose names are sugar, grains, and simple carbs. Sara remembers incidents from as early as nine years old, going through her times as a camper (stealing food), …