Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR17
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Suggest a Review
    • 2025 Registration
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

Like so many things, this could’ve been better with Charlize Theron in it

1989 (Allie Burns #2) by Val McDermid

April 22, 2025 by Zirza Leave a Comment

The year is 1989, and journalist Allie Burns isn’t enjoying life. She’s moved from Scotland to Manchester with her girlfriend and fellow journalist Rona. The newspaper she works for has been bought by a media magnate named Ace Lockhart (named in the novel as Rupert Murdoch’s main competitor but for all intents and purposes, he is Rupert Murdoch), which means than rather than write the well-researched think pieces Allie used to do, she is now chasing juicy athlete divorce stories and covering disasters like the […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Mystery, Suspense Tagged With: 1980s in fiction, Allie Burns, Berlin, Val McDermid

Zirza's CBR17 Review No:21 · Genres: Fiction, History, Mystery, Suspense · Tags: 1980s in fiction, Allie Burns, Berlin, Val McDermid ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Love Isn’t Always On Time

Spy Line by Len Deighton

April 12, 2025 by Jake Leave a Comment

Similar to a lot of series that have an overarching plot, Len Deighton keeps having to invent new ways to rework the chessboard. Does it always work plot-wise? I’m not sure. Do I enjoy reading it? Hell yeah I do. I’m not sure why I land with the Samson series so closely. I concede that Le Carré writes circles around Deighton in terms of espionage tales. And yet, I just love the characters Deighton creates; the ones who have come back to these tales time-and-time […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: Berlin, Bernard Samson, espionage, Germany, Hook Line Sinker Trilogy, Len Deighton, Spy Line, United Kingdom, West Germany

Jake's CBR17 Review No:14 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: Berlin, Bernard Samson, espionage, Germany, Hook Line Sinker Trilogy, Len Deighton, Spy Line, United Kingdom, West Germany ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

For everyone who was born before us, your story matters.

Back Then: A queer journey back in time by Ralf König and Łukasz Majcher

November 5, 2024 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Read what the old gay uncles and lesbian aunts have to say in colorful picture stories. And let’s all continue to fight together so that this will never happen again. ― Ralf König, Back Then: A queer journey back in time CBR16 Bingo: Pride I picked this up a couple of months ago at a literary festival. Other than Heartstopper and other Alice Oseman books, I’ve never bought graphic novels or comic books. One of the illustrators was selling this book as well as her […]

Filed Under: Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Non-Fiction Tagged With: AIDS crisis, Berlin, cbr16bingo, East Germany, growing up/coming of age, LGBTQIA, Ralf König and Łukasz Majcher, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s

carmelpie's CBR16 Review No:85 · Genres: Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Non-Fiction · Tags: AIDS crisis, Berlin, cbr16bingo, East Germany, growing up/coming of age, LGBTQIA, Ralf König and Łukasz Majcher, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Early Fall Leftovers

To Start A War: How the Bush Administration Took Us Into Iraq by Robert Draper

The Travelers by Chris Pavone

A Walk Among the Tombstones by Lawrence Block

Dark Fire by CJ Sansom

The Menendez Murders: The Shocking Untold Story of the Menendez Family and the Killings that Stunned the Nation by Robert Rand

Stasi Child by David Young

The Cover Wife by Dan Fesperman

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

Geiger by Gustaf Skördeman

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

The Devil Knows You're Dead by Lawrence Block

October 14, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’ve read some interesting stuff lately and I wish I had made more time to document it but life gets in the way that life sometimes does. Not all bad, just life. To Start A War**** I had a long thing here about connecting this to the 2024 election but I don’t want to talk current electoral politics on here, at least the specifics of them. A good book if you want to know the intelligence (ha) perspective of how we wound up in a […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Horror, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Religion, Suspense Tagged With: #Henry VIII, #history, 9/11, A Walk Among the Tombstones, Afghanistan, Berlin, Chris Pavone, Christian mysticism, Christianity, CIA, CJ Sansom, Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, Dan Fesperman, Dark Fire, David Young, East Germany, espionage, Forever Wars, Geiger, George W. Bush, Germany, Ghost Wars, Gustaf Skördeman, Hamburg, historical fiction, horror, Julian of Norwich, Karin Muller, lawrence block, London, Matthew Scudder, Matthew Shardlake, medieval england, mick herron, mystery, New York City, Osama Bin Laden, Rachel Harrison, Religion, Revelations of Divine Love, Robert Draper, Robert Rand, Sara Nowak, Slow Horses, So Thirsty, Stasi, Stasi Child, Steve Coll, Sweden, The Cover Wife, The Devil Knows you're Dead, The Travelers, Thomas Cromwell, To Start a war, Tudor England, vampires, War in Iraq

Jake's CBR16 Review No:168 · Genres: Fiction, History, Horror, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Religion, Suspense · Tags: #Henry VIII, #history, 9/11, A Walk Among the Tombstones, Afghanistan, Berlin, Chris Pavone, Christian mysticism, Christianity, CIA, CJ Sansom, Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, Dan Fesperman, Dark Fire, David Young, East Germany, espionage, Forever Wars, Geiger, George W. Bush, Germany, Ghost Wars, Gustaf Skördeman, Hamburg, historical fiction, horror, Julian of Norwich, Karin Muller, lawrence block, London, Matthew Scudder, Matthew Shardlake, medieval england, mick herron, mystery, New York City, Osama Bin Laden, Rachel Harrison, Religion, Revelations of Divine Love, Robert Draper, Robert Rand, Sara Nowak, Slow Horses, So Thirsty, Stasi, Stasi Child, Steve Coll, Sweden, The Cover Wife, The Devil Knows you're Dead, The Travelers, Thomas Cromwell, To Start a war, Tudor England, vampires, War in Iraq ·
· 0 Comments

The End and the Beginning

London Match by Len Deighton

October 14, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’m glad I slept on this review. I confess to some disappointment when I finished it…that was the resolution? That was the best Deighton could do after an excellent two-book buildup? I expected a massive conflict and was sort of let down. But then I thought about the final conversation in the book, which I won’t use to spoil the plot but basically talks about the stagnancy of the spy game. You’re never really winning, per se, and you almost don’t know what constitutes winning. Occasionally, you […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: Berlin, Bernard Samson, Cold War, England, espionage, Game Set Match Trilogy, Len Deighton, London, London Match, West Germany

Jake's CBR16 Review No:154 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: Berlin, Bernard Samson, Cold War, England, espionage, Game Set Match Trilogy, Len Deighton, London, London Match, West Germany ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

The Spy Zoo

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron

September 25, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

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. […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: Berlin, espionage, Germany, historical fiction, London, mick herron, The Secret Hours, United Kingdom

Jake's CBR16 Review No:152 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: Berlin, espionage, Germany, historical fiction, London, mick herron, The Secret Hours, United Kingdom ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »


Recent Comments

  • 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.
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission: Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2025 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in