Chicken Hill is a dilapidated residential area in Pottstown, Pennsylvania where immigrant Jews and African-Americans lived. In the early 1970s, workers were excavating in advance of building a new development, and were startled to find a skeleton. No one seems to know who it is or how it got there. A couple named Moshe and …
Like many mystery lovers, I first encountered Arkady Renko 30+ years ago, when Gorky Park came out. I think I may have actually seen the film first, then sought out the book, and been impressed with the author’s style. Here we are, all a few years older and many of us still love reading mysteries, …
Publication Date May 23, 2023 Almost exactly two years ago, I read and reviewed Stacy Abrams’ novel While Justice Sleeps, in which we were introduced to Avery Keene, “…a brilliant young law clerk working for Justice Howard Wynn, a curmudgeon who is in failing health. Avery is doing her best to hold her life together, …
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 …