Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Woman, Mother, Interpreter, Spy

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe

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I knew early on this was not going to be the book I expected and I mean that in a complimentary sense. I thought this would be a cozy-esque female housewife in the 50s using her wiles to navigate Manhattan cocktail parties and deduce who may or may not be a Soviet sympathizer. There’s nothing cozy about this, however. It’s a raw, intriguing look at the perils of motherhood for women in the 1950s, with a spy story tacked on in the background. The espionage […]

When Fiction Gets A Little Too Real

Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry

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Good Girls Don’t Die follows three characters—Celia, Allie, and Maggie—who find themselves in strange situations that seem to be the sort of scenarios you would find in novels that the characters happen to be fans of.  Some background around what the characters read is provided at the start of each chapter, via message board-looking posts where book genres are discussed.  The book is split into four parts, with the first three sections following one of the women as she tries to figure out what is […]

The Spy Zoo

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron

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I picked up this book because it wasn’t supposed to be connected to the Slow Horses series. But I’ve read in other places that it might be? I don’t know, use your own judgment if you want to avoid the most minute of spoilers. Some writers are like exercising: you just have to push through the initial strain in order to get the good stuff. I hate exercising but I can’t think of a better example. I’ve tried Slow Horses several times and I can’t focus on Herron’s style. […]

The Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

A Shadow Intelligence by Oliver Harris

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I was telling my wife this morning that the British write the best spy novels and it’s not even close. Le Carré. Deighton. Herron (I’ve never been able to connect with his but I’m trying desperately). And now, this guy Oliver Harris, who I had never even heard of until I read Max Read’s indispensable Substack. I was initially intrigued by a spy novel set in Kazakhstan. I like to read books where espionage takes place outside the glamor centers of Europe or the misunderstood […]

Sug y Saeson

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

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Mirror Lake is a picturesque place that lies on the border between Wales and England. Famed Welsh singer Rhys Lloyd – was there ever a more Welsh name? – has joined hands with investor Jonty to build a luxury development on the English side. Five tall, luxurious lodges rise up from the shore, irking the townspeople of Cwm Coed, which lies on the Welsh side. The development’s inhabitants are both implausibly wealthy as well as English; two good reasons to hate them. To try and […]

July-August 2024 Leftovers

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

Confucius for Christians: What and Ancient Chinese Worldview Can Teach Us about Life in Christ by Greg A. Ten Elshof

Lucky At Cards by Lawrence Block

A Dance at the Slaughterhouse by Lawrence Block

Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK by Gerald Posner

Doing the Devil's Work by Bill Loehfelm

The Kneeling Man: My Father's Life as a Black Spy Who Witnessed the Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Leta McCullough Seletzky

The Third Bullet by Stephen Hunter

Burning Angel by James Lee Burke

The Queen City Detective Agency by Snowden Wright

Poetic Justice by Andrea J. Johnson

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Because I’ve been posting most of my reviews due to Bingo, I haven’t kept up with the leftover ones until now. Hope everyone had  a good summer. It’s my least favorite time of year but this one wasn’t so bad. Heartsick***: I took this book too seriously when I tried to read it the first time. I relaxed and enjoyed the ride the second. Goofy fun, nothing more. Brief Answers to the Big Questions****: I do enjoy listening to Hawking’s desire to push the boundaries […]



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