I love fiction that includes some political intrigue/espionage, and if it is a mystery/thriller that’s all the better! Cold War timeframe is great if done well (I loved Jake Tapper’s Hellfire Club, for example). Dan Fesperman’s Safe Houses seemed right up my alley, especially as it was praised by Lee Child as being “One of …
Many years ago, I read Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed and it knocked my socks off. When I saw Sarah Smarsh’s Heartland had been favorably compared to it and recommended to people who liked it, I jumped at the opportunity (provided by Scribner and NetGalley) to read it in exchange for my honest review. First …
How could you pass up a book subtitled “True Stories I Waited Until My Parents Died to Tell”?? I couldn’t. I wasn’t familiar with Roy Sekoff, although I’m a fan of The Huffington Post (he was the founding editor). Plus, there’s this promotional blurb: “If David Sedaris, Chelsea Handler, Larry David, and Caitlin Moran had the …
I truly enjoyed Camilla Way’s book Watching Edie, so I decided that I should just carve out a DAY to wallow in her latest, The Lies We Told, which I received from Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for writing this honest review. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, YOU HAVE …
I am a bit of a fan of Diane Chamberlain’s books, so I was really happy to receive a copy of The Dream Daughter (thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. TBH, I didn’t even read the promotional material, figuring if it was as enjoyable as Necessary Lies, …
I loved the Accused podcast that discussed the (subtitle) “unsolved murder of Elizabeth Andes.” This book is essentially a transcript of the nine episodes that make up season #1 of the podcast. If you have listened to the podcast, this is nothing new except a nice introduction by Amber, and some comments in the epilogue. …
Just two years ago, in my review of Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, I related that “when a friend and former library co-worker basically sniffed her disapproval when I told her I liked Jodi Picoult’s books, our friendship was changed forever.” I worked for several years in public libraries and tried not to be judgmental …
I was REALLY looking forward to reading Hannah Pittard”s new book Invisible Empire. Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for this honest review. The book is based on the real-life crash of an Air France flight seconds into takeoff from Orly airport in Paris in 1962. 130 people …
I received a copy of Lisa Patton’s new book RUSH from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in return for my honest review. I thought it sounded like it would be light entertainment – what some call a “beach read.” Sounded perfect—I mean, I LIVE at the beach and with the crap going on in our …
I was pleased to receive a copy of The China Study Cookbook from BenBella Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The author, LeAnne Campbell, PhD, is the daughter of a co-author of the original 2004 book The China Study (he wrote the foreword for this revised edition). Both the book and the …
(pub date October 2018) OK, here is what I expected to get (publisher’s blurb): “Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a …
I don’t recall reading much of Lisa Unger’s work, but I am somewhat of a sucker for the plucky heroine in danger genre, so I was happy to get a copy of Under My Skin from Harlequin-Hanover Square Press and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I did read this book pretty much …
Years ago, an author wrote a book called The Decoy…it was published but nothing really happened. Later, after that author published a best-seller (The Girl Before), they re-wrote The Decoy and thanks to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. So, we meet Claire, a young British woman …
With thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of Tara Isabella Burton’s Social Creature in exchange for honest review, I have to say I don’t get what the hype is about. Maybe I’m not the target demographic for this? But really, I found little to like, although I do think the look …
I’m still not sure what “women’s fiction” actually means…but I am a fan of psychological thrillers, so when I read that Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door (which I enjoyed), had a new book entitles An Unwanted Guest that was labeled under “women’s fiction” and mysteries/thrillers,” I was eager to accept a copy from Penguin …
The true crime genre is my guilty pleasure! I have read dozens of TC books, tend to gravitate to the 364.1523 shelf in the public library, and in my local used bookstore, I head straight for the back wall, lowest shelf. Thanks to Wild Blue Press and NetGalley, I got a copy of Murder in …
I first “met” Seattle Homicide Detective Tracy Crosswhite in Robert Dugoni’s My Sister’s Grave and 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, and Close to Home (all of which I …
When I started reading Alter Ego, Brian Freeman’s latest, I kept thinking “wait, I KNOW this Jonathan Stride, a cop from Duluth, I recognize his house…” But then I thought maybe I was getting him mixed up with a character in John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers series – or maybe it was in one of …
I really really really wanted to love this book but had some trepidation because of my aversion to Hemingway. (As an English major in college, I nearly delayed graduation because of the requirement to have a course focused on a major author and the only two choices that quarter were Hemingway and Henry James – …
With the incredible amount of hype surrounding Meg Wolitzer’s new book, The Female Persuasion, I was tempted to grab it…then remembered how I felt about the last book of hers that I read. That was the widely praised The Interestings, but in my opinion, they weren’t. But, FOMO took over and after reading things like …