Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“It is a profound belief of mine that if you can induce a person to talk to you for long enough, on any subject whatever, sooner or later they will give themselves away.”

After the Funeral (Hercule Poirot, #26) by Agatha Christie

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I had a really good time with this one, and the mystery in this one was actually one of the most intriguing of hers to me, even though it isn’t one of her most popular. I’m not sure why it’s one of her more lowly-rated ones. Maybe because Poirot pulls a Marple and is barely in it? The plot in this one kicks off as family patriarch Richard Abernethie’s funeral. He was ill for a long time, but had been predicted to live at least […]

What an absolute waste of a great book cover.

Death on Gokumon Island (Detective Kosuke Kindaichi, #4) by Seishi Yokomizo

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I think I might be done with this series. It’s really lost its charm. I might give it one more go if they translate a fifth book, but it will be by hard copy not by audio. You expect a certain amount of clashing cultural mores when you read a book that was written over fifty years before, but when I read Agatha Christie, for instance, it’s usually just small stuff you can roll your eyes at and be like, ugh you dumb people in […]

“The first thing I hate is called a Russian doll. It holds a smaller version of itself inside it, and another inside that and so on. How awful. They are prisoners. I imagine them all screaming in the dark, unable to move or speak. The doll’s face is broad and blankly smiling. It looks so happy to be holding its children captive.”

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

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So after a night where this book sat in my subconscious probably doing things to me, I’m upping my rating to five stars. I can’t stop thinking about it, and the ending did what I want more horror endings to to do for me. There are quite a few people who experience a sort of literary catharsis with the presence of violence and gore, but I am not one of those people (and maybe they don’t even care about catharsis! who knows!). This book has […]

Probably the most creative werewolf book you’ll ever read.

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

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Oh, dang, I thought I had written a review of this one, but going through all my 2022 books to Review Amnesty, I see I have in fact, not done so. Real quick, if you’re looking for a starter horror/starter Stephen Graham Jones, this one might actually be a great book to read. And this book isn’t even all that horrific. It’s only really classified as horror because werewolves and because Stephen Graham Jones, but it’s really a coming of age story about a young […]

A Niche Interest, But it’s MY Interest

Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan

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Aw hell yes! I love a good oral history. And I especially love a good oral history about a subject based on popular culture, as pop culture inherently generates a lot of fodder for the telling. And as many people here are probably  aware, I adore a great action film. Mad Max: Fury Road has been one of my favourites from the last decade or so. It is not often that we see a sequel—let alone a long belated one!—see so much critical acclaim. But […]

Pretty Outdated But Still Interesting

Chatter: Dispatches from the Secret World of Global Eavesropping by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Best for: People interested in an historical perspective on data interception and ‘national security.’ In a nutshell: Keefe explores the US systems of eavesdropping on allies and enemies alike. Worth quoting: “In times of panic, we overreact, we over-legislate. We get it wrong.” Why I chose it: I thought I’d read all of Keefe’s books then this popped up. I have thoroughly enjoyed his last two full-length investigations, so figured why not read this? Review: Reading a book about national security and intelligence that was […]



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