This was not a conventional mystery read but it was a fun book and unique compared to much of what I consume. I’m always down for books where folks get dragged unwittingly into being private eyes. But this one is different. Rather than focus solely on the perspective of the protagonist, each chapter has a different perspective from a different character. Some are more relevant to the plot than others, which can be frustrating but over time, I got used to it and even came […]
Forget It, Juniper, It’s Racism
Read for CBR 10 Bingo: Underrepresented. Steph Cha is a Korean-American mystery writer in a field dominated by white people (mostly men). I’m usually graceful when I review first time novelists, so while there was a lot that annoyed me about Steph Cha’s debut, I generally enjoyed it and am going to lean mostly on the positives. I love hard boiled/noir fiction. Apparently, so does Steph Cha and her main character (and author ancillary) Junipero Song. The book is littered with references to Chandler, Macdonald […]
Goodfellas meets The Social Network by way of Ayn Rand
Privilege is a helluva drug. Apparently, it was the only thing you couldn’t buy on the Silk Road. I listened to most of this book on audio. During one stretch of long driving, my wife was with me and only heard part of it. It was the part in which FBI agents who had just busted a Silk Road associate took his computer and transferred the associate’s bitcoins into private offshore accounts they could access. As my wife started laughing, I told her “Just about […]
Star Wars for Adults
Read as part of CBR 10 Bingo: Banned book. The Saga comics have been banned in several states and continue to be one of the most challenged books in public libraries across the nation. I’m not a science fiction guy. I read a little science fiction and a little fantasy but my bailiwick is mystery. I don’t really like graphic novels either. That would make me an unlikely fan of the Saga series. But any time these books come out, they’re absolute must reads for me. The “Star […]
The Detective Who Makes Black Lives Matter
I’ve read most of Walter Mosley’s underrated Easy Rawlins series and, while this is far from the best, this is probably his rawest work. It’s also perhaps an apology for how he has written for female characters in the past. Taking place in the shadow of the 1965 uprising in Watts led by black citizens after yet another act of police brutality, it lends a setting that is never far from the events of the story. Whereas, Mosley contextualizes in Easy’s dialogue about the circumstances […]
Flight of the Barflies
This was a tough call between 3 and 4 stars. Gonna lean on the side of 4 because I think this book has a lot going for it even if it is an exhausting read at times. I read George Pelecanos’ Nick Stefanos series last year. Had I read it in my 20s, I probably would have loved the notion of a bartender-cum-PI who lives a loner life. I still enjoy going out and having a good time even now I’m my 30s, though I […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- …
- 142
- Next Page »