Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

City is a Pity; Half of Y’all Won’t Make It

Eight Million Ways to Die by Lawrence Block

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My tour of the Matthew Scudder series continues. Many think this is where Lawrence Block made the proverbial leap with these books in terms of quality. That’s probably true; this is far and away the best written book of the series so far. It’s concise and tight. I was engaged the whole time. However, I still think this one falls short of greatness, mostly because of the ending but we’ll get there. Anyway, alcoholic ex-cop and amateur PI Matthew Scudder maneuvers through the bleak landscape […]

Where the Gin is Cold

Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins

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Read this one with my wife. This is our co-review. I liked it well enough for a first book in the series, though I’m not sure I’ll continue. Susanna Calkins gets the era well enough without having to resort to too many cliches. I like the world she builds and the mystery is interesting enough, if not overly complex. After a rocky start, it really catches itself and I was engaged to the end. The problem I had with the story, and the reason why […]

Shoulda Beena Contenda

Button Man by Andrew Gross

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Button Man is my first Andrew Gross novel and it may be my last. Not because it’s bad; at three stars, it’s definitely not. But because it’s bland, predictable, uninspiring. And with a set up that’s right in my wheelhouse: gangsters, Prohibition, New York, etc., I should’ve liked it a lot more than I did. Positives: Gross does get the era of 30s New York right. Supposedly, this story was inspired by tales of his family, some of whom were Jewish immigrants from Russia. I don’t […]

I’m pretty sure it’s not you, book, it’s me

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

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3.5 stars Official description: The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father […]

Knives Out

A Stab in the Dark by Lawrence Block

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Made a recent commitment to make my way through Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder series. I found the first three enjoyable enough for passing the time but mostly unmemorable. This was the first one that really moved me. And that’s surprising because the crime itself is based on a mystery trope I hate: slashed women/murdered women/serial killer. When I saw the plot for A Stab in the Dark, I audibly groaned. I can’t stand books like that and I rarely read them. Had I not already been […]

Cult Fandom

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg

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I knew going in this wouldn’t be a conventional mystery novel but I was still impressed at how well William Hjortsberg followed the traditional tenets of what constitute a hard boiled novel. For about 90% of the book, this reads like a decent PI tale. And though I found the cult aspects to be boring and the reveal to be predictable, I still enjoyed the writing. This is a book that wastes no space. There are 48 chapters and each one exists to move the […]



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