I generally don’t like to write a review when I felt like I HAD to keep reading just to finish a book…which rarely happens, BTW. I’ve pretty much been willing to read ANYTHING my whole life! And I realize I have a less than stellar memory as I get older – but whoa, why didn’t …
The Boy From the Woods is Harlan Coben’s latest, and will likely be another very successful thriller. The story has several threads throughout…all related, and all done well. Naomi Pine is a miserable teenager who is mocked and bullied relentlessly by her classmates. She is a complete outcast who dreams of fitting in with the …
Hot topics in fiction these days: the opioid crisis in this country (horrific), police procedurals (always popular), and family dynamics (an endless source of material). Liz Moore, author of Heft (which I could not read because the premise freaked me out) and The Unseen World, has written a seriously good (and very serious) novel that …
About a year ago, I read and reviewed Judgment by Joseph Finder, a standalone novel featuring Judge Juliana Brody, a happily married up-and-coming judicial star who goes to a legal conference and does something out of character: she has a one-night stand. All kinds of legal (and other) wrangling went on as a result, and I …
As I have mentioned in earlier reviews of Robert Dugoni’s books, I first “met” Seattle Homicide Detective Tracy Crosswhite in My Sister’s Grave and I loved her, so I then eagerly read Her Final Breath. Following along in short order (he definitely can crank out books at a fast clip) were In the Clearing, The Trapped Girl, Close to Home …
Thomas Perry is one of my husband’s favorite authors, so I am relying heavily on his opinion as I rate A Small Town, which came to us thanks to Grove Atlantic / Mysterious Press and NetGalley in exchange for my (our?) honest review. The small town referenced in the title is recovering after being pretty …
I enjoyed both Bring Me Back and Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, so I am grateful to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of her latest book, The Dilemma, in return for my honest review. I read this one yesterday, and I keep thinking about it, which ought to be worth …
I REALLY liked Catherine Steadman’s Something In the Water from 2018, so I was happy to receive a copy of her latest, Mr. Nobody, from Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. The protagonist, Dr. Emma Lewis, is a psychiatrist who has been to examine a man who has apparently washed up …
Full disclosure: I am not a fan of the current President. Secondary disclosure: that is perhaps the understatement of the year…but I was intrigued by the premise of Diarrhea Diaries: Trump’s Tweets That Give Us the Runs, edited by Robert J. Emery, who also writes novels under the name R.J. Eastwood. Mr. Emery is a …
While I was reading Therese Anne Fowler’s contemporary novel A Good Neighborhood, it felt like a very simple story, but there is so much going on, it’s going to make a great book club selection! Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, I stayed up late into the night to find out WTH was going …
I’ve been a fan of espionage fiction FOREVER, but admit I haven’t read much espionage nonfiction—in fact, I sort of thought all the “good stuff” would never be approved for publication. So I was a bit ambivalent about Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox (which I received thanks to Knopf …
I’m one of the people who hasasked myself what I can possibly do to make sure the Trump Administration ENDS with the 2020 election. I’ve tried to find ideas for this goal in particular as well as general ideas for ways to improve my sadness and negativity – to give me hope! David Plouffe, most …
Having been diagnosed with IBS over 20 years ago, and having tried repeatedly to find out exactly what the best eating style was for me, I was very happy to receive a copy of Tara Rochford’s book The 14-Day Elimination Diet Plan from Callisto Media/Rockridge Press in exchange for my honest review. I can’t count …
The premise of Such a Fun Age attracted me: it sounded like it had a lot of potential to explore issues around white privilege, misogyny, racism, feminism, black fetishism, peer pressure…you get the idea. I figured it couldn’t do all that without turning into a polemic…surely the story would be lost? Seriously, it is Kiley …
It’s winter. It’s dark and cold (or at least as cold as it ever gets at the beach on the Central Coast of California). For a few weeks, I’ve been craving one of THOSE books: the kind that grab you early on and keep you reading until you finish. And, thanks to Harper Collins/William Morrow …
I have spent WAAAAY too many hours glued to the TV during the recent impeachment hearings, and one of my favorite commentators on this whole terrifying topic is Neal Katyal, a respected law professor with experience as Acting Solicitor of the United States, in addition to extensive experience at the Supreme Court. His insights are …
As a long-time fan of John Sandford’s books (all set in Minnesota, featuring Lucas Davenport, Virgil F*&^ing Flowers, and their related characters), I was happy to receive a copy of Bloody Genius (Virgil Flowers #12) from GP Putnam/NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. As was the case when I read Holy Ghost (#11 in the series), …
I’ve had a bit of news overload the past month or so, with hearings, debates, and lots of anxiety about the future of our country. So while I happily received an advance copy of Rachel Maddow’s latest book Blowout (from Crown Publishing and NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review, I admit I had a …
Teresa Driscoll spent years as a reporter writing about crime, and she brings that experience into her writing (The Promise, The Friend, I Am Watching You). Apparently, there are characters from her earlier books in her latest one, I Will Make You Pay, but I haven’t read those and didn’t feel like I was missing …
True confession: I haven’t yet read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, despite wanting to – just haven’t felt mentally or emotionally stable enough on any given day to get into it. And When I received it, I did not realize that Cilka’s Journey is a sequel, so my review is perhaps not fair…but here goes anyway. …