Publication date September 5, 2023 About a year and a half ago, I gave five (well deserved) stars to The Heron’s Cry, which was the second in a series featuring Detective Matthew Venn (following 2019’s The Long Call, where we first met Matthew). I was eager to read the next in this series (even though …
I’m not a HUGE Ruth Ware fan…in fact, she has been consistently inconsistent for me. In 2016, The Woman in Cabin 10 was a big hit, and I was among those who enjoyed it – a LOT. 2019’s Turn of the Key was a 3-star “meh” for me, then One By One and The It Girl, were both four …
About two weeks ago, I was looking for a good binge watch and came across The Night Agent on Netflix. I loved it, so when I was looking for something to read and saw Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk WHO ALSO WROTE THE NIGHT AGENT…sign me up! So the story is one of those political …
I love Jeannette Walls. The Glass Castle is one of my top five favorite books of ALL TIME, and I am still all tingly when I remember getting my courage to go up to her and talk a bit when she was guest speaking at a library conference in Oakland MANY years ago. But I …
My perception of the books written by Don Winslow has been that they are the kind of books my husband loves: full of action, violence, drugs, sex, and maybe even some rock ‘n roll, but I could be wrong about that…in any case, I hadn’t read any of them, although I had started both The …
Laura Lippman is a terrific writer, and I have enjoyed MOST of her books (although Dream Girl in 2021 was a surprise disappointment, but that may have been my own pandemic fatigue preventing my enjoyment of pretty much anything in 2021!). I loved 2019’s Lady In The Lake, and I was pleased to receive a …
Over the past four or five years, I have read and reviewed several Harlan Coben books, and with the exception of Win, all were four or five stars – although it may have been that the pandemic screwed up my ability to enjoy my usually reliable authors’ releases. Hmmm. In any case, I was happy …
“Neighborhood drama” – I’m a sucker for these when they are well done. And Jamie Day’s The Block Party is REALLY well done! It is a fast read, there are memorable characters, and the plotting is terrific. The story begins at last year’s block party and then the multiple residents/families who live on the block …
James Renner is a journalist and former reporter for the Cleveland Scene. I had heard of his work on the Maura Murray case (he wrote True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray,). His thorough research and investigation has resulted in a boatload of work on that puzzling mysterious …
I’m a big fan of: podcasts, including several focused on true crime; Emily Bazelon, one of the podcasters on Slate’s Political Gabfest; and mystery/thrillers set in academic environments (Think Donna Tartt’s Secret History). So I was ecstatic to get a copy of Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions For You from Penguin Group/Viking and NetGalley …
Thayer I’m not a big fan of “women’s fiction.” In fact, two years ago I began my review of Nancy Thayer’s Family Reunion by saying “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. “ I DID give that one three …
Over the years, Linwood Barclay has been more or less what I think of as a reliable author: I mean, if I am searching for something to take me away for awhile, his books are usually able to fill the bill. So when I was offered a copy of The Lie Maker from William Morrow …
In 2019, I stumbled across Adam Mitzner’s book A Matter of Will. It was one of those legal thrillers I love – the kind that keep you up reading until the book is DONE. I hadn’t realized that he had been publishing since 2011, and I looked forward to reading more of his work. I …
I was curious about Former FBI Director James Comey’s novel (Central Park West), and when I saw the blurb describing it as “…a masterful blend of legal thriller, police procedural and psychological drama,” I was intrigued because those are among my very favorite genres for escapist fiction. A couple of things Comey knows VERY well …
I was a tiny bit apprehensive as I began reading Congresswoman Katie Porter’s book I Swear (subtitled Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan) because I really like and admire her, and didn’t want to be disabused of my positive view. She represents the place where I grew up, which has been referred to as being …
In 2015, I read Michael Robotham’s The Night Ferry, then in 2016 I was KNOCKED OUT by Close Your Eyes! 2017’s The Secrets She Keeps was not quite as terrific (for me) as the other two, so maybe that is how I missed 2019’s Good Girl, Bad Girl, the first in a series featuring Cyrus …
A few weeks ago, I was watching the Rachel Maddow show, and she discussed the story of the cyber surveillance tool named Pegasus. Developed originally by a company called NSO (a private group based in Israel) as a way for the good guys to monitor the bad guys, it has apparently morphed into a tool …
I kept seeing the word noir used to describe Edgar Award winner Jordan Harper’s latest, Everybody Knows. After a few hmmms, I looked it up, thinking I was unclear as to what it really meant. I got this: “a genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity.” Thanks to Mulholland …
I was intrigued by the blurb and promo material for The House In The Pines by Ana Reyes. I mean, even Reese spoj=ke highly of it…but hmmm not all her choices resonate with me. But WTH, it is the dead of winter (at least what passes for winter on the central coast of California), and …
In spring of 2016 I read and reviewed Clare Mackintosh’s debut novel I Let You Go, and loved it. Then, somehow, in 2017 I completely missed her second novel I See You. Then, in 2018, I gave another top review to her latest psychological thriller, Let Me Lie, and I jumped at the chance to …