Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Greatest? City in the World

Manhattan Noir by ed. Lawrence Block

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: ring. One of the suggestions for this category was “reaching for the brass ring.” Many move to Manhattan to reach for the brass ring. Most of these stories are about how they failed.  Sorry to those who actually read all my reviews because I know I repeat myself constantly. But man, I just love the Akhasic Noir series. I already love cities, those I’ve been to, lived in, can only dream of. And there’s just nothing better than Manhattan. […]

December 2023 Leftovers

Mandarin Plaid by SJ Rozan

Lady Killer, Volume 1 by Joëlle Jones

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden

Batman, Vol. 6: Graveyard Shift by Scott Snyder

The Confession by Domenic Stansberry

A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself by William Boyle

Joe Dogs: The Life and Crimes of a Mobster by Joseph Iannuzzi

Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow

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Merry Christmas. We may need to dispense with the cold/snow songs. They’re about as realistic as Santa at this point. Mandarin Plaid **** SJ Rozan continues to improve with each book in this series. This one has layers and moves well to its conclusion. I’m not gonna be totally sold on a white person writing from the perspective of an AAPI one but I think Rozan does a better job with it than she did in the first one. May have to go long with […]

There Goes The Block

St. Marks Is Dead: The Many Lives of America's Hippest Street by Ada Calhoun

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I had already known I was going to like Ada Calhoun’s tapestry of St. Marks stories and lore by the time I got halfway through it. But it’s what she said when inserting herself that took it to another level for me. Calhoun was raised on the block through childhood and when talking about how chaotic and troublesome things were off St Marks in the 70s and 80s, she mentioned the resentment of some locals…including herself. That despite the great arts and music scene and […]

A magical love letter to NYC

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

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New York City has been born as a great city of the world and she has chosen her avatar. This happens from time to time as enough people and ideas coalesce in one spot. It happened to Rio de Janerio, to Hong Kong, to London, and many more. And now it’s happening to New York. Except this time, one single person is not embodying the entire city like has always been the case. Instead there is an additional avatar for each of the five boroughs […]

Mary Dixie Carter’s The Photographer

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter

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Another scary, psychological thriller with an unwell woman at the center (and a person on the cover #cbr13bingo). Delta Dawn is a photographer in New York City, and she spends most of her time taking photos of children’s birthday parties having discovered her knack for making children look happy and healthy and like their parents’ dreams.  She routinely photoshops images that are less than perfect to fulfill the fantasy these wealthy families pay her to portray. When she meets the Straub family, Delta feels she […]

Reading Days

In the Cut by Susanna Moore

The Papers of Tony Veitch by William McIlvanney

Angel's Tip by Alafair Burke

The Devil in Her Way by Bill Loehfelm

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In sleep debt and haven’t had time to write reviews like I’ve wanted to the last few weeks so here are a few things I’ve read lately… In the Cut **** It’s tough to talk about this one. The writing is superb, bordering brilliant. The scenes are rich. The ending…good but not good? I don’t know. I liked it a lot but I can’t really say why except to say it’s well-written and thrilling. Erotic in a messy way. It addresses the way physical attraction […]



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