Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

a manor on the edge of ruin, a mute little girl, a butler with a dangerous past, and a potentially magical drunken dandy…

The Maker of Swans by Paraic O'Donnell

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What looks like a recipe for potential nonsense is actually a truly surprising and unique thriller! Paraic O’Donnell follows up the Victorian spiritualism of The House on Vesper Sands with another historical mystery, but where I was expecting (and hoping for, honestly) a continuation of the former, The Maker of Swans jumps head-first into the 20th Century and dares the reader to catch up. A butler tries his damndest to keep his employer safe, sane, and sober- but the draws of the Jazz Age have the […]

Six Cases, Seven Deaths

The Ghosts That Haunt Me: Memories of a Homicide Detective by Steve Ryan

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Steve Ryan, a veteran of the Toronto homicide squad, tells the tales of six murder investigations among the many that have stuck with him from his time on the force. I enjoy true crime, and morbid as it is, I really enjoy true crime memoirs – there’s something very visceral about it, when the writer can bring their firsthand viewpoint to the table. And Steve Ryan does it well, with a sympathy and care toward the victims and their families that is badly missed in […]

Dark and Light and Lots of Greys

Spontaneous Human Combustion by Richard Thomas

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In this collection, Thomas presents fourteen short works of speculative fiction which blend science fiction, fantasy, and horror together in intriguing ways. It’s hard to write this review because of the diversity of the tales. The stories touch upon a plethora of genres and themes, including familial relationships, transformation, and atonement. A common device the author uses is cyclical time loops, which often lends a dream-like quality to the story that is enhanced by his deft prose. One thing I really liked about the collection […]

Faith and Deprivation on the Channel Islands

An Island At War by Deborah Carr

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Estelle has sent her younger sister Rosie away from their home just in time, for days later the Germans occupy the Channel Islands. Now both sisters must survive their respective environments as best as they can. I picked up this book despite the tiring similarity of many WW2 historicals because it had an unusual setting – the Channel Islands, which were occupied by Germans for much of the war. I had hoped that this unique experience would lend itself to a more memorable tale. Unfortunately, […]

Suspension of Disbelief

The Spy Switch by Karen Whiddon

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Jennifer Glass has led an ordinary life so far, but when she is taken for her federal agent long-lost twin sister by an arms dealer, she is swept into the world of undercover investigation. As you can tell from the blurb, there is rather a lot of suspension of disbelief needed in this work – that Jennifer can play the role of Lania, that she is even so vital to the operation that the hero Micah would bring her in on it – though the […]

Catharsis

The Castleton Massacre: Survivors’ Stories of the Killins Femicide by Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson

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In 1963, a former minister, long separated from his wife, went on a rampage and murdered four people, two of whom were pregnant. Now one of the survivors of the massacre and her cousin have put together the story of what happened. I have never heard of this case before, but picked up this book because of the identities of the authors – one is the niece of the murderer, and one the daughter of one of the victims, but they were raised together and […]



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