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:

The Swedish Maigret? Hah!

Cop Killer by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

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I don’t know if Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö planned for there to only be ten books in the Martin Beck series but here, at book nine, things seem to be wrapping up. This book is the most self-referential of its predecessors by far, even going as far as bringing a former convict from one of the past crimes back as a minor but important character. It acknowledges the journey you go on with these people. At the heart of this one is Martin Beck. […]

The First Rule…

The Kill Club by Wendy Heard

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The internet giveth and taketh away. It’s hard to tell sometimes if it’s a net positive, (more often than not, I would lean on the side of “no”) but it also helps one learn and discover things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to find on their own. Take for example Wendy Heard. I wasn’t aware of her previous work, nor am I especially well-versed with the work of queer women in crime fiction. Fortunately for me, I found online a handy guide written by her […]

Do You Wanna Know?

The Silent Scream by Michael Collins (Dennis Lynds)

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Making my way through the Dan Fortune series and while I’m not sure “Dennis Lynds” (Michael Collins’ pen name for these books) is going to improve these like I initially hoped he would after greatly enjoying book one, he’s at least showing signs that he can grow. This is thematically similar to the other Dan Fortune novels I’ve read, and the Lew Archer ones the series inspired: the private eye gets involved in the nefarious deeds of a well-off family and has to untangle them. […]

Hustlers, Baby

Uptown Thief by Aya de León

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Aya de León is having kind of a mini-moment within mystery/crime circles. When the movie Hustlers came out back in September, influencers in the crime fiction world recommended de León’s work as it has thematic similarities to the popular film: underpaid women stuck at dead end sex worker jobs (with the resulting cultural stigma) who develop a side hustle in order to make ends meet. Both side hustles involve soaking rich white men and both the film and de León’s book portray the women as some sort […]

Mailing It In

Pick-Up by Charles Willeford

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I don’t know what really to make of Charles Willeford’s Pick-Up in 250 words. It’s a good book but having seen another book do the same trick the author does here, and more effectively in my opinion, it’s tough to really have sentiments about it. On the one hand, the tale itself is interesting on face value before the last two sentences. A familiar noir fable of two losers playing out the string. The art angle is interesting as Willeford’s art fascination is not something you see […]

Hard Livin’

No Human Involved by Barbara Seranella

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I don’t usually seek out drug addict fiction. I’m not an addict or a recovering one but like many, I have loved ones who are both and it’s not something I really try to engage with when reading for leisure. I did enjoy Sara Gran’s Dope earlier this year, but besides that, I can’t recall really engaging with a fictional work featuring a drug addict in the lead. I can’t remember where I originally read a recommendation for Barbara Seranella’s Munch Mancini series. Maybe Christa Faust, who […]



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