Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Lyndsay Faye is the best.

The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

by 12 Comments

I’ve read quite a bit of Sherlock Holmes pastiche, though by no means even close to all of it, and so far, I think Lyndsay Faye’s version of Holmes and Watson is my favorite. This collection, which was gifted to me by Bunnybean for Book Exchange in CBR9, is made up of fifteen stories published over a period of ten years, many of them in The Strand, the very same magazine that published Conan Doyle’s original stories. All of the stories mimic Conan Doyle’s style, […]

Jane Steele – a superhero of the 1800’s

by 1 Comment

After seeing Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye on Cannonball and on NPR’s Best Books of 2016, I was intrigued. I’ve read Jane Eyre, and liked it–even though it was as long time ago. But a retelling of Jane Eyre, with Jane as a serial killer? I just couldn’t guess how that would work. But it also got consistently good reviews, which was more than enough for me. I was most curious how Faye would make Jane Steele a sympathetic character as a “cold-blooded killer.” Jane Steele kills her cousin when she […]

Thank you, Bunnybean!!

by 4 Comments

Thank you so much to Bunnybean for these books. I’m very excited to read both of them! One I’ve been eyeing for months (I squealed when I saw The Whole Art of Detection–I’m really on a Sherlock Holmes kick right now, which is a bit of an understatement, actually), and one was a happy surprise. Who can say no to Pride & Prejudice plus dragons? Not me. This book exchange is the best tradition.

Hi. I’m Badkittyuno, and I’ve fallen behind again…

by 5 Comments

Hi. Sorry. I really thought I was like 10 reviews behind and it turned out to actually be 19. So then I started up this list of reviews…and didn’t post it…and now I’m 26 behind. I would blame my kids/divorce/life, but really — I’d much rather read than write! Also, I’ve been working from home a lot and doing laundry instead of writing reviews (which is what I do when I get bored at the office), so that’s not helping. Anyway, here’s 26 brief reviews […]

Just as good as everyone said it would be.

by 2 Comments

This book was slow to start for me. I found it interesting and enjoyed it while I was reading it, but I didn’t exactly need to pick it up or anything, and I kept getting distracted by cheesy romance novels I checked out from the library instead. I should have just been patient. At around 25% (the time she commits her second murder), I was hooked, and at about halfway through when new characters enter the picture, I was so into it I practically read […]

The Gods of Gotham

by 4 Comments

Lindsay Faye’s extraordinary The Gods of Gotham is the best novel of its kind since Caleb Carr’s The Alienist. This isn’t a unique observation, it’s emblazoned across the cover of the novel. However I agree with it. I love big city historical fiction so taking a serial killer thriller and setting it in New York City in 1845 is always going to draw my interest. Faye goes a step further by making the origin of the New York City Police Department, and beginning of the […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo