Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Jake

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I love reading! (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Jake's Quick Questions interview.)

Jake's Reviews:

Eastern Promises

The Blood-Red Dream by Michael Collins (Dennis Lynds)

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A reminder that lost classics are usually “lost” for a reason. When I read Act of Fear a few months ago, I was so excited to discover a new series. A character heavily inspired by Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer but set in New York City. I never expected these books to rise to the level of Macdonald’s work but I thought they would scratch the itch. They do not. Instead, I’m reminded of why I don’t often read a full series of books, especially mysteries. While Macdonald […]

Sis Boom Bah

Dare Me by Megan Abbott

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I wanted to read this one in advance of watching the new show, which I’ll now make every available effort to do because the book itself would make for a good translation to visual media. And it helped me understand why I like Megan Abbott so much. I’ve been going through Abbott’s catalogue for most of the last few years but it wasn’t until I read Dare Me that I realized why I like her so much. Abbott is a very sensual writer. She’s good at filling […]

Darren, Texas Ranger

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

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Black writers, like all black people, are not defined solely by being oppressed. The majority of black fiction writers will write about how they deal with racism because it is an every day reality in their lives but it is not the only reality. Attica Locke’s fiction exemplifies this. Darren Mathews, the star of what appears to be the first in a series from Locke, is a complicated man. You empathize for him to a degree because of what he has to endure as a […]

Home Videos

A Dance at the Slaughterhouse by Lawrence Block

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I’m a mystery book lover and I’ve read plenty of Edgar Award recipients. For the life of me, I don’t know why they pick some of the ones they do. Margaret Millar’s Beast in View is fine but it in no way should be considered better than Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Some of the other winners I’ve not been impressed with either, especially ones by Stephen King and Noah Hawley. Occasionally, they do get it right. The Laughing Policeman, Briarpatch and The Spy That Came In From the Cold are a […]

In The Spider’s Web

Wild Town by Jim Thompson

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The Year of Jim Thompson begins with what according to GoodReads is his most popular book that I have yet to read: Wild Town. While it had some bumps, it was good and reminded me of how much I love Thompson’s work, especially after the two I read last year were too vulgar (King Blood) and too dull (Now and On Earth). This is classic Thompson with a twist: a locked room mystery that hooks the prototypical Thompson sucker  in a bind with the prototypical Thompson […]

Wave After Wave, Slowly Drifting…

The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow

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A few days ago, I read Martin Scorsese’s interview reflecting on The Irishman and his career in general. A small tidbit in the interview was that he and frequent collaborator Robert De Niro had passed on adapting The Winter of Frankie Machine in the aughts. De Niro read it and liked it, almost as much as he did I Heard You Paint Houses, which was adapted into The Irishman.  The Irishman was one of the better movies I saw in 2019. I’m a big Martin Scorsese fan. When I read that […]



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