Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Probably the weakest entry in the series so far

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn

by Leave a Comment

This is book 8 in the Veronica Speedwell series. It’s not a good place to start. You want the first book, A Curious Beginning. 15-word review: Veronica tries to discover who wants to murder Stoker’s brother. Stoker is sadly mostly absent. Official book summary: Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: […]

The Past Is Never Through

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Crosby

by Leave a Comment

Good better best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best. This was a popular sports chant when I was playing little league baseball. It’s also a great way to describe S.A. Crosby’s career. I have yet to read his first book My Darkest Prayer. I should remedy that soon. At any rate, his first big hit was his sophomore effort Blacktop Wasteland, which I thought was a fun, southern take on the first Fast and Furious movie. His second one Razorblade Tears was a […]

A run of the mill mystery

Or Else by Joe Hart

by Leave a Comment

I’ve read a few of Hart’s books and enjoyed them enough to see what else was at my library. Or Else came up, so I gave it a go. This mystery/thriller is about Andy, who is having an affair with his neighbor and childhood friend, Rachel. But then Andy receives a threatening note to stop the affair…Or Else. See how that works? Then Rachel’s husband is murdered and she and her kids disappear. Because there wouldn’t be much of a book otherwise, Andy decides he […]

The Lovely Bones Redux

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz

by Leave a Comment

The paths of two strangers, Alice and Ruby, cross when Ruby discovers Alice’s body by the Hudson River and gets sucked into the mystery of her life and death. I am an avid consumer of true crime content, especially podcasts, though what I enjoy them about them I am not quite sure I know. The shocking and sometimes absurd human drama? The reassuring fear that some people watch horror movies for? The emergence of heroes and the satisfaction of the perpetrators ultimately being put away? […]

“Sometimes a life is so entirely disrupted, on such a large and ungraspable scale, all one can do is face the ruined day.”

The Christie Affair by Nina De Gramont

by Leave a Comment

This is much more like what I wanted from 2021’s The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, a book which also speculates on what happened to Agatha Christie when she went missing for eleven days in 1926. At the same time, I could not have predicted what avenues this story would take. So really, it’s more like this gave me the feelings I was looking for, even if not in the way I expected. The other book gave me a plot more like I expected but was lacking […]

Titanium Noir

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway

by Leave a Comment

I was lured in by another beautiful cover on the library shelf. A reference to William Gibson mixed with Raymond Chandler on the back, and I obviously had to bring this one home. Now that I’ve finished, I can say I’m glad that bright green caught my eye, but I’m not sure I’ll be actively searching out more Nick Harkaway. I’ve said before I love a gritty detective novel with a twist, and that’s just what this is. This is set in a future with […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo