The Gutter and the Grave by Ed McBain
Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Self care. I collect Hard Case Crime novels and read at least one a month. I’ve long wanted to finish at least one of the works of Ed McBain. I’ve tried, tried, and tried again with his 87th Precinct books but I just can’t get past the opening pages. I understand what he’s trying to do, and I really appreciate it. But they’ve just never clicked for me. He’s a good writer but I’ll be damned if I can engage […]
Corruption City by Horace McCoy
Blood on the Moon by James Ellroy
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
I don’t necessarily agree with the title, which comes from the famous exchange from season one of the TV show True Detective. But since it’s thematic of the three books I read recently, I decided to go with it. I hate coming up with titles. Corruption City ***** A fun crime tale that should have been better. McCoy lays out a good story but halfway through, it’s like an editor reminded him it’s a pulp novel so he has to take shortcuts. Still an entertaining tale. McCoy might […]
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
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 […]
Last year, I read the Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi, and struggled to put together reviews for the latter books. After awhile, there really isn’t much to say when every book in a series is as consistently good and enthralling as the ones that preceded it. So, with The Dresden Files (which I plan on reading in its entirety), I’m just going to throw a bunch of reviews into a few posts. Here are the first couple: Fool Moon (Book 2) – 4 […]
My sister has been pressuring me to read this book for a couple of years. I think I put it off on principle. It took me a couple years to convince her to read The Lord of the Rings (when we were much younger), but it was the release of the movies that finally did it. She also rejected my suggestions of A Game of Thrones (too political), Harry Potter (not interested), Brandon Sanderson (she keeps forgetting about it) and John Scalzi (ditto). So I […]
