Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About Jake

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

Jake's Reviews:

Tripping the Light Fantastique

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley

November 3, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’ve been going through Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series the last few years and mostly enjoying it. He’s a good writer with a solid sense of time (post-WWII Los Angeles), a compelling character, and a point-of-view that many readers don’t get from “mainstream” (re: dominantly white) mystery writers. I hadn’t thought much of reading his Leonid McGill series, which is basically Easy Rawlins set in New York in contemporary times. But as I’ve been on a big New York City reading kick lately, I figured […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Leonid McGill, mystery, New York City, The Long Fall, walter mosley

Jake's CBR11 Review No:116 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Leonid McGill, mystery, New York City, The Long Fall, walter mosley ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Take It Easy

Heart of Darkness Club by Gary Reilly

October 30, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

I am a slacker at heart. Even though I work hard at my job and try to give a good effort in other endeavors in life, my goal is to just crawl somewhere and be left alone. I love my friends and I love my family, but I have no greater aspiration in this life than to have time to myself. Murph, the star of Gary Reilly’s Asphalt Warrior series, is a kindred spirit for me. He has a shabby apartment where he grills burgers, […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Cab Driving, Denver, Gary Reilly, Heart of Darkness Club, Murph, mystery, The Asphalt Warrior

Jake's CBR11 Review No:115 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Cab Driving, Denver, Gary Reilly, Heart of Darkness Club, Murph, mystery, The Asphalt Warrior ·
Rating:
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All That Razz

Night of the Toads by Michael Collins/Dennis Lynds

October 28, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

Trying to pour through as much of the Dan Fortune series as I can before my Kindle Unlimited subscription finally expires (for real this time). I really enjoy these books. I’m a Ross Macdonald devotee and “Michael Collins” (Dennis Lynds) is one of the closest writers I’ve read who’s capable of aping Macdonald’s style. He is empathetic yet engaging. He also uses just enough of New York City without getting lost in it. This one is another good entry in the series, though the seams […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Dan Fortune, Dennis Lynds, Michael Collins, mystery, New York City, Night of the Toads

Jake's CBR11 Review No:114 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Dan Fortune, Dennis Lynds, Michael Collins, mystery, New York City, Night of the Toads ·
Rating:
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Ya Drink Too Much

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

October 26, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

My tour through Matthew Scudder’s New York continues. This is another solid entry in the series. I was a little concerned when I saw Matthew drinking at Armstrong’s and other places on the west side. It seemed to negate the ending of Eight Million Ways to Die. Was Block going to retcon everything or just pretend it didn’t happen? However, the reader soon realizes the whole time this is a flashback novel of something Matthew did in 1975, while he was still binge drinking. And while there’s […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: lawrence block, Matthew Scudder, mystery, New York City, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes

Jake's CBR11 Review No:113 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: lawrence block, Matthew Scudder, mystery, New York City, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes ·
Rating:
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British Mysteries

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

October 24, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

As I’ve said several times in these parts, I’m a bigger fan of the “whydunnit” than the “whodunnit.” The big reveal of the killer has never appealed much to me. I like to know what makes one person want to take the life of another. Murder is dismissed as a regular crime in fiction because of the prevalence of mystery novels but being an empathetic person, I need to have some sort of understanding as to the motivations of the players. My love of the […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: #Jackson Brodie, case histories, Kate Atkinson, mystery

Jake's CBR11 Review No:112 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: #Jackson Brodie, case histories, Kate Atkinson, mystery ·
Rating:
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Offed at the Races

Gargantuan by Maggie Estep

October 21, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

Maggie Estep lived a fascinating life. Novelist, poet, MTV correspondent. I think it would have been quite something to have known her when she was alive. Sadly, she passed (seemingly unexpectedly) in 2014. Hex, her first book in the Ruby Murphy took me two tries to get into, not because it’s bad or complicated but because her style is so unique. Each chapter happens from the POV of a different character, and each character is infused with a lived-in personality. But the plotting happens at […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Coney Island, Gargantuan, horse racing, Maggie Estep, mystery, New York City, Ruby Murphy

Jake's CBR11 Review No:111 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Coney Island, Gargantuan, horse racing, Maggie Estep, mystery, New York City, Ruby Murphy ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
  • Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
  • Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
  • Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
  • Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.
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