Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

And then there were…

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

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I’m not really into classic detective fiction. While I definitely enjoy a mystery and a puzzle (ooh, and a murder!) in whatever I read, I’ve not once had the urge to pick up a Sherlock Holmes novel, and only vaguely know about Agatha Christie’s famous stories. In fact, while The Decagon House Murders is loosely based on Christie’s And Then There Were None, I only knew about the latter’s infamously racist original title, nothing about the story itself. Decagon is, as I learned, a prime example […]

Surprised by an oldie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

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[Read as an audiobook from the public library] I hesitated to add this one because it’s just so old, but I honestly enjoyed it when I listened to it in January and it kicked off a good fit of audiobook consumption so I thought, might as well. My real introduction to Agatha Christie came with Phoebe Judge’s Phoebe Reads a Mystery podcast, when she read The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I have a collection of Christie mysteries knocking around the house somewhere, but I could […]

Blackwell, a town where all the girls are witches

Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea

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I have wanted to read Grimoire Noir from probably since I started reading graphic novels seriously. I wanted to open to page one and sink my eye-teeth right into Vera Greentea’s creation. The cover was a tasty looking treat and wanted to see what Yana Bogatch could come up with. And while I cannot say I was disappointed; I think I built it up a smidgen too much. I liked this fantasy mystery that is both modern and classic in its style. The feeling of something […]

monologuing at the mouth of madness

The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell

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A strong opening pulls us directly into the spooky fold; a seamstress with a secret hurls herself from a very important man’s very high attic window. The House on Vesper Sands has all of the hallmarks of a Victorian throw-back; mazes of manners, decrepit mansions, and gin-soaked police populate a scuzzy world of destitute working girls, complicated family histories, and genteel young men all-aflutter. The Spiritualist movement is in full-swing and a cloaked and creepy group of “Spiriters” may be responsible for a rash of […]

*Insert Always Sunny Duster Comments Here*

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

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Have you ever been approached by a grim-looking man, carrying a naked sword with a blade about ten miles long in his hand, in the middle of the night beneath the stars on the shores of Lake Michigan? Until very recently my answer was a “definitely not”. Now, thanks to crystalclear for sending this book my way during the 2020 Book Exchange, my answer has changed: YES! By proxy, at least. I have been acquainted with the big swordy fella and many other weirds that […]

Delightful, Jane Austen-esque mystery

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

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The Moonstone is essentially a Jane Austen novel crossed with a detective novel- the first ever detective novel!  This was an unexpected delight. The plot is very 19th century Britain: several years prior, an English military officer returned from his posting in India with dubious ownership over a very large diamond that had recently graced a Hindu temple.  When the diamond appeared to be cursed, the officer gifted it to his estranged niece, Rachel, in an act that might be malevolent or generous, depending on […]



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