I’ve been a huge fan of Elizabeth George’s Lynley-Havers series of mysteries, and frequently marveled at her ability to establish setting and characterization in ways that truly make them REAL to the reader. I received a copy of The Abandonment of Hannah Armstrong, #1 in the Saratoga Woods Series, in exchange for my honest review. …
Subtitle: The Fight Against Book Banning in America Publication Date: August 27, 2024 I’m a retired librarian, one of thousands. And also a STRONG opponent of book banning and censorship, among other current threats to liberty and democracy these days. As a librarian, I dealt with my share of challenges, complaints, etc, but I never …
Publication Date September 17, 2024 Back in 2020, I read and reviewed Rumaan Alam’s Leave The World Behind and it was a solid five-star read for me. If you missed that one, here’s a quick summary from my review: “Amanda and Clay take their teenage children on a week-long getaway from their home in NewYork …
Publication Date July 2, 2024 Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley, I recently received a copy of Michael Robotham’s latest psychological thriller, Storm Child (in exchange for this honest review). It includes familiar characters Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac, both of whom were in the earlier novels Good Girl, Bad Girl, When She Was Good, and …
Publication Date July 16, 2024 “Things Don’t Break On Their Own” by Sarah Easter Collins is one twisty, well-written, character-driven thriller! There are many characters and various timeframes, so it seemed like actual work for me to keep everyone straight at first. But trust me, this one is worth the effort! The three main characters …
Publication Date July 30, 2024 I loved “Something In The Water” by Catherine Steadman, but found her next two that I read, “Mr. Nobody” and “The Disappearing Act,” to be less than I had hoped. Nonetheless, I was happy to receive a copy of her latest, “Look In The Mirror” from Random Mouse/Ballantine and NetGalley …
Publication Date June 25, 2024 A few years ago, I read Chris Whitaker’s book We Begin At The End, and I liked it a LOT, so I was happy to receive a copy of his new book All The Colors of the Dark, which I received from NetGalley and Crown Publishing in exchange for my …
Publication Date March 24, 2024 Last year, I read and reviewed Chris Bohjalian’s The Lioness, and gave it four stars. In 2021, reviewing Hour of The Witch, I wrote “I admit it: I have been a big fan of Chris Bohjalian, ever since I read Midwives several years ago. I consider Mr. Bohjalian one of …
Publication Date April 23, 2024 Years ago, when I was fumbling my way through a divorce, a new marriage, family (siblings) issues, and moving to a new place, I stumbled onto a book by Nancy Thayer and found it somehow soothing. It had a happy ending, and it just felt like everyone in the story …
Publication Date May 21, 2024 Some time ago, I read James Comey’s novel Central Park West, I found it to be “a fast-paced plot including lots of juicy tales of corruption, and terrific legal storytelling. There are also a couple of unexpected twists, and an ending I didn’t see coming…Four stars, almost five.” The protagonist, …
Publication Date January 23, 2024 Over the past several years, I have enjoyed several books by Australian author Jane Harper, and she has become one of my favorite authors. The Dry, Force of Nature, and The Lost Man (all of which featured Federal Investigator Aaron Falk) were all five-star reads…and while I admit to being “an easy grader,” …
Publication Date February 6, 2024 I’ve been an off and on fan of Kristin Hannah’s books, but was particularly interested in The Women when I read that the story began in Southern California in the mid-1960’s, then moved to Vietnam. I graduated from San Clemente High School in 1965 and then got married in ’68, …
Publication Date October 17, 2023 In 2021, I wrote a five-star review for Karin Slaughter’s standalone novel False Witness, featuring Harleigh (“Leigh”) Collier. So I was excited to receive a copy of Slaughter’s After That Night, which is #11 in the Will Trent series. But then I remembered The Last Widow from 2019, which was #9 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …