When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
This is the ultimate 3 vs. 4 star test for me. In a rare instance of compromise, I decided to sleep on the review, rather than post right away as is my habit. I finished it late last night and didn’t want to stare at the computer before bed. When I went to bed, it was a 4. I woke up (heh), thinking it was a 3. And now, as I sit down, nearly 24 hours after finishing it…I’m giving it a 4. With major […]
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
I don’t know what it’s like to have Tourette’s Syndrome, nor do I know the specifics of how it manifests in human behavior. As far as I know, neither does Jonathan Lethem. There is a troubling history of able bodied people using illnesses and non-ableness to become magical healers and special problem solvers. So maybe this book is complete trash because Jonathan Lethem gets those aspects wrong. But from an ignorant perspective, I liked this one. And I liked it not because he had Tourette’s […]
Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
I won a free ARC from Goodreads in exchange for this review. Thanks Goodreads! Laura Lippman’s been on a bit of a roll with her standalone novels. Wilde Lake was really good and Sunburn is, in my estimation, the best thing she’s ever done. Most of what I loved about reading Lippman’s Tess Monaghan novels growing up was the Baltimore tourism. Being a native of the city, it’s fun to see a bestselling author talk about places I know like they’re real. But her standalone works show how she […]
The Fools In Town Are On Our Side by Ross Thomas
Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest is perhaps my favorite crime novel of all-time. It inspired one of my favorite movies of all time: Miller’s Crossing. It also inspired the Akira Kurosawa classic Yojimbo, which I have not seen, though I want to. Point being: I obviously have a thing for the specific genre where a political actor is caught in a corrupt city and plays both sides against each other for their own benefit. I don’t know Ross Thomas’ inspirations for Fools in Town but I’d be stunned if Red Harvest wasn’t one […]
Bloody January by Alan Parks
There’s so much to like about Alan Parks’ Bloody January that I’m almost willing to forgive its many faults. Almost. Not quite. 4-stars is my standard for what I consider a “good read.” 4-stars means the book met the minimum standard for entertainment (and/or education) and quality. I give out 4-stars like its candy. Bloody January should easily slot into a 4-star read. And yet, it pulls hard on every cliche. The drunk detective with a dark past. The hooker with a heart of gold who can’t shake the […]
The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
I really enjoy the Martin Beck series from Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. These are the police procedurals to end all. But what I loved about this one that I merely appreciated in the other four works in the series is how funny these are. Not in an overtly or even darkly comedic was but with the humor lightly baked in through the rage-filled observations of the detectives involved, most of whom have little idea how to interact with their fellow humans. It’s the subtleties in the […]
