Did you know Roald Dahl wrote non-kids stuff? I did not! I feel like I’ve been missing out. There are apparently several books of his short stories out in the world. I feel like this review is going to turn out sounding like I was disappointed, so I want to start off with this tremendously great line from the second story in the book: “Apart from the fact that he was at this moment disguised in the uniform of a clergyman, there was nothing very […]
I get weirder things than this free with my breakfast cereal
Billy Ridgeway is a loser who doesn’t seem to realize he’s a loser, and he’s waiting for the world to deliver everything he thinks he deserves. It just may be his lucky day when Lucifer shows up at his house, promising to have his novel published if Billy does one little task for him. Billy initially says no, thinking grand thoughts that saying no to the Devil means he’s actually a good and noble person. Then he gets drawn into a weird world of warlocks […]
Funny, clever, quick – Christopher Moore at his best
Christopher Moore is a little uneven; I’m never quite sure what I’m going to get when I pick up one of his books. This one is easily one of my favorites. I usually put little scraps of paper in to mark the pages with quotes I want to share in my reviews, but I had to stop with this one ‘cause every page has something delightful. In a small town with a Christmas tourist population, the natives are bonkers. Lena and her ex-husband Dale get […]
The path to post-prison redemption leads to…crimefighting?
Max Holman is a reformed bank robber, fresh out of jail and intending to live a normal, rehabilitated life. He’s had no contact with his estranged girlfriend and son in the 10 years he’s been in jail, but he’s proud knowing that his son is a police offer (“not bad like me”) and hoping to mend fences when he’s released. Unfortunately for Holman, the day he’s released from prison, his son and three other cops are gunned down, all four killed instantly. The cops quickly […]
Solving Camelot Crimes Pompously and Pretentiously
This one optimistically says on the cover: “First in a Brand New Series.” Alas, I don’t think I’ll be following along for any more of them. The concept is cool: Merlin solves crime with his newfangled ways of reason and analysis, while the rest of Camelot drinks heavily and talks of sorcery. Unfortunately, the writing does not live up to the idea’s promise. The first several chapters are all one big lump of exposition, and it only gets marginally better from there. King Arthur’s knights […]
If you like monstrously dumb protagonists, this is the book for you
This is what happens when the library in your new town won’t give you a library card because you don’t have any official mail with your new address on it, and you end up in a used bookstore with 15 minutes to spare before you have to be somewhere. You end up with a sad Lifetime movie of a book that you actually paid for, so you don’t even get the satisfaction of returning it to the library in disgust. Sarah Spooner is milquetoast mother […]
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