Jake – Page 51 – Cannonball Read 17

More Like the Book of Old Cases, Right?

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

June 6, 2022 by Jake 7 Comments

Le sigh. I hate tearing into the work of a writer I normally enjoy. I’m going to do a non-spoiler one and include a spoiler below. While the spoiler does indeed reveal a major plot point (though not an essential one to the mystery of the murders), I do encourage you to read it as it deals with a trope that is common and very painful for a large group of people. It’s one I see repeated time-and-time again and I’m just tired of it. […]

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba & Then Lost it to the Revolution by T.J. English

June 1, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

No doubt about it: T.J. English is one of our great gangster chroniclers. Here he takes on a crime story with an added degree of difficulty: the mob’s role in Cuba’s casinos just as Fidel Castro was ascending to power, changing the island (and, frankly, American politics) forever. I know next-to-nothing about the Cuban Revolution so take that for what it’s worth; my competency in fact checking English’s work here is not up to a high standard. Still, I felt like English did a great […]

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Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #history, Cuba, cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, Fulgencio Batista, Havana, Havana Nocturne, mafia, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, T.J. English, true crime

Jake's CBR14 Review No:96 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: #history, Cuba, cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, Fulgencio Batista, Havana, Havana Nocturne, mafia, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, T.J. English, true crime ·

May 2022 Leftovers

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob by Gianni Russo

Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Dead Soon Enough by Steph Cha

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

June 1, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Here are the books I read in May 2022 that I didn’t get to give a full review for whatever reason. I read a lot of authors of AAPI descent; their books were all wonderful in their own respective ways… Sea of Tranquility **** Unquestionably a metacommentary on the author’s Station Eleven success in the shadow of Covid-19, it’s a beautifully written reflection on finding peace and contentment in the uncertainties of life. I don’t know that I enjoyed it as much as others did given […]

Law and Law with some Order

The Gotti Wars: Taking Down America's Most Notorious Mobster by John Gleeson

May 25, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

There’s an overabundance of text written about John Gotti, which is kind of wild when one considers he reigned as the head of the Gambino Crime Family for barely five years. Hell, the man was even one of the last subjects of Andy Warhol’s legendary career. His bombastic, publicity-hunting personality made him the most compelling mobster in the public eye since Al Capone but if you subtract that context, he was an uninspiring thug in a bureaucrat’s job (albeit the bureaucracy of a criminal syndicate) […]

Mind Games

Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild

May 22, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

It’s well known that I’m not much of a fan of serial killer fiction. Everyone’s trying (and failing) to ripoff Hannibal Lecter, making their killers even more diabolical than their fictional predecessors. Serial killers are boring. I’m more interested in the “why” of people killing. What makes a human being take another human being’s life? Sascha Rothschild’s confidently written debut work attempts to answer that question through the eyes of a serial killer who swears she isn’t one. It’s difficult to create a legit complex main character […]

Way Down to Chinatown

This Is A Bust by Ed Lin

May 19, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

One of the joys of reading is discovering a new author that you like and want to explore more into their catalog. I found that with Ed Lin. Wow what a book. This is one I’ve had on my shelf for a while that I decided to finally tackle. And I loved it. Yes in some sense it is a mystery but the mystery is only part of the story. The real story is Robert Chow, Chinese-American, Chinatown product, Vietnam washout, tokenized NYPD patrolman. Through […]

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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