Skip to content

Littoral Librarian:

Book Reviews from the Left Coast

  • About

Calico by Lee Goldberg

Littoral Librarian August 2, 2023

Publication Date November 7, 2023 Last year, I read Movieland, my first novel by Lee Goldberg. In my review, I said “I tend to enjoy stories where the setting is a character on its own, if you know what I mean (think Jane Harper’s novels set in arid Western Australia. Oh, and BTW, if you …

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Littoral Librarian August 2, 2023

Publication Date August 29, 2023 2019’s Miracle Creek introduced Angie Kim, an amazing talent. It also introduced me to HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen treatment), a somewhat controversial treatment for what a center near me claims are “dozens of medical conditions…and used to improve athletic treatment and …for anti-aging.”   Ms. Kim has personal experience with HBOT, which …

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Littoral Librarian August 2, 2023

Publication Date August 8, 2023 Over the past several years, I have generally read and enjoyed Lisa Jewell’s books including  I Found You (2017), Watching You (2018), The Family Upstairs (2019), and Invisible Girl (2020) o I was happy to receive a copy of sNone Of This Is True from Atria Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest …

Tangled Vines by John Glatt

Littoral Librarian July 28, 2023

Publication Date August 8, 2023 I’m not sure how or when I first heard about the “Murdaugh mystery,” but my guilty pleasure in both reading and podcasts is true crime, so I fell into it and got deep into the various crimes, scandals, and trials, If you have been asleep for the past couple of …

Mobility by Lydia Kiesling

Littoral Librarian July 28, 2023

Publication Date August 1, 2023 I have not read Lydia Kiesling’s book Golden State, so that wasn’t what prompted me to want to read Mobility. And it wasn’t a desire to learn about Azerbaijan (doubt I could find it on a map), or interest in the oil and gas industry. Nope, TBH it was learning …

The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell

Littoral Librarian July 23, 2023

Publication Date July 11, 2023 The Water Will Come is a super scary book from 2018 by Jeff Goodell, discussing the increasingly frequent disasters caused by climate change around the world. You may know him from his writing on climate change for Rolling Stone or hearing/seeing him covering climate and energy issues on NPR, MSNBC, …

Rich Waters by Robert Bailey

Littoral Librarian July 20, 2023

Publication Date June 20, 2023 I’m a fan of legal thrillers: think Scott Turow, John  Grisham, Michael Connelly, William Landay. Somehow, I stumbled on Rich Bood by Robert Bailey. The protagonist, Jason Rich, is famous for his billboards from Alabama to Florida, featuring the slogan “In an accident? Get Rich!” Yes, he is THAT kind …

Break of Day by Colleen Coble

Littoral Librarian July 18, 2023

Publication Date July 4, 2023 Maybe it’s just me. I wanted to read Collen Coble’s “Break of Day,” because it sounded like JUST what I needed: suspense, strong female protagonist, not too violent. But then I saw it was #3 in a trilogy, which sort of clarified why I was having trouble getting into it. …

All The Demons Are Here by Jake Tapper

Littoral Librarian July 18, 2023

In 2018, I reviewed Jake Tapper’s book The Hellfire Club, and was introduced to Charlie Marder, a young Congressman (thanks to his father’s influence when a seat became vacant). He and his wife Margaret, a zoologist, have a ton of interesting experiences in and around Washington, D.C., and I loved the way the issues and …

The Armor of Light by Ken Follett

Littoral Librarian July 16, 2023

Publication Date September 26, 2023 Years ago, I was entranced by Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, the first in the”Knightsbridge trilogy,” but for some reason I didn’t read the entire series. TBH, I still haven’t completed it, but I was happy to receive a copy of The Armor of Light, the latest in the …

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabelle Allende

Littoral Librarian July 16, 2023

Publication Date June 6, 2023 I’m not big on fantasy or what I think of as magical realism, so I wasn’t sure about this one… but I had just finished reading Ms. Allende’s stunning memoir The Soul of a Woman, so I was eager to read her latest The Wind Knows My Name, and happy …

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

Littoral Librarian July 15, 2023

Publication Date June 6, 2023 I love Lisa See! Two of my faves are The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and The Island of Sea Women. I realized that part of my fondness for these two is the amount I learned about history, China, women, and so much more – while being entertained by a …

The Syndicate Spy by Brittany Butler

Littoral Librarian July 15, 2023

Publication Date March 21, 2023 True confessions time! I was so looking forward to this one, as the story sounded like something that would really grab the reader (or listener) and I have been trying since FOREVER to successfully complete an audiiobook. Alas, it was not to be. I may need to accept that this …

The Heaven & Earth Grocery store by James McBride

Littoral Librarian May 23, 2023

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 …

Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith

Littoral Librarian May 23, 2023

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, …

Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams

Littoral Librarian May 19, 2023

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, …

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves

Littoral Librarian May 12, 2023

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 …

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Littoral Librarian April 12, 2023

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 …

Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk

Littoral Librarian April 12, 2023

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 …

Hang The Moon by Jeannette Walls

Littoral Librarian March 21, 2023

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 …

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 8 9 10 … 40 Next

Net Galley Top Reviewer

Reviews Published
200 Book Reviews
Frequently Auto-Approved

Who Is the Littoral Librarian?

I am a librarian who is fortunate enough to live on the beautiful Central Coast of California. I have worked in public and academic libraries,  I teach Information Competency and Literacy online part-time, and spend huge amounts of time reading and enjoying the amazing place I live.

 

Contact me by email:   LL@littorallibrarian.org

Recent Reviews

  • TheRightTo Remain by James Grippando January 25, 2026
  • Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar January 25, 2026
  • The Keeper by Tana French January 2, 2026
  • A Killing in Cannabis by Scott Eden December 19, 2025
  • The Last Chance Lawyer by William Bernhardt December 18, 2025
  • Weightless by Rocio Salas-Whalen, M.D. December 18, 2025
  • The Hadacol Boogie by James Lee Burke (A Dave Robicheaux book) November 6, 2025
  • The Great Contradiction by Joseph J. Ellis November 6, 2025
  • False Witness by Philip Margolin November 1, 2025
  • Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker November 1, 2025

Archives

  • January 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015

Tags

1960s addiction Adoption Aging alcoholism alternating POV Australia British child abuse childhood abduction childhood secrets CIA cold case Corruption Depression Domestic terrorism Espionage family secrets female detective female protagonist Kidnapping legal thriller Los Angeles Lucas Davenport multiple POVs mysterious disappearance mystery NetGalley Non Fiction Nutrition Plucky Heroine politics psychological thriller PTSD racism Self-help serial killer Suicide thriller Tracy Crosswhite True Crime unreliable narrator Weight Loss woman in danger wrongful conviction

Recent Comments

  • Littoral Librarian on Hidden In Smoke by Lee Goldberg
  • Lee Goldberg on Hidden In Smoke by Lee Goldberg

Categories

  • Book Reviews 2017
  • Health
  • Reviews
  • Social Issues
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • About
  • Sample Page
  • The Wife You Know by Chad Zunker
  • What Happened to Ellen? by Nancy Grace
Copyright © 2026. Littoral Librarian:
Powered By WordPress and Ecclesiastical