Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Knight Errant

Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas

November 25, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

There’s a reason why I don’t often revisit books I liked once upon a time: they’re probably not as good as I remember. When I reread stuff, it’s usually to either confirm or satisfy some sort of curiosity about the first dance I had with a book. Otherwise, I’d just as soon let it sit in my memory as I’d prefer. I’ll probably never revisit “Richard Aleas”‘ (Charles Ardai’s) Little Girl Lost. It was one of my favorite books from 2010. I remember it being a thrilling […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Charles Ardai, John Blake, mystery, New York City, Richard Aleas, Songs of Innocence

Jake's CBR11 Review No:123 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Charles Ardai, John Blake, mystery, New York City, Richard Aleas, Songs of Innocence ·
Rating:
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Your Enemies Closer

Known to Evil by Walter Mosley

November 18, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

Walter Mosley is such a versatile writer. While most famous for his Easy Rawlins mystery series, he’s worked in just about every genre one can think of: noir, hardboiled, scifi, fictional bio. The guy can do it all. The Leonid McGill series is the first series of his I’ve ventured from Easy Rawlins in his oeuvre. And it’s like they were written by two different people. Mosley got his writing start in the 80s. His books would get progressively better. As much as I enjoy Devil […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Known to Evil, Leonid McGill, mystery, New York City, walter mosley

Jake's CBR11 Review No:121 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Known to Evil, Leonid McGill, mystery, New York City, walter mosley ·
Rating:
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La Famiglia

Mafia Dynasty by John Davis

November 15, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

Since watching The Irishman, I’ve had a yen for Mafia crime stories. I’ve always wanted to know more about the Gambino family since they were the most powerful of the five families during the time the mob ran everything. So I picked this lauded work up. It gave me everything I need in the best way possible: being detailed without being tedious. It covers the families coming over from Italy and Sicily, how what we know to be the “mafia” came into existence and how the […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: Carlo Gambino, Gambino Family, John Davis, John Gotti, mafia, Mafia Dynasty, New York City, organized crime, Paul Castellano, true crime

Jake's CBR11 Review No:119 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: Carlo Gambino, Gambino Family, John Davis, John Gotti, mafia, Mafia Dynasty, New York City, organized crime, Paul Castellano, true crime ·
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Portrait of the Gangster as a Man

The Mad Ones: Crazy Joey Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld by Tom Folsm

November 7, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

As I get older, I try to take myself, and my reading tastes, less seriously. There was a time where I fancied myself a Very Important Book Reviewer that would choke the life out of anything I read in order to critique it with skill. It’s silly, at least from my perspective. I love reading and I love writing reviews but they’re just that: reviews. Chronicling the things I read, if I liked them or not, and if I would recommend them. No more, no […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, History Tagged With: Joey Gallo, mafia, New York City, The Mad Ones, Tom Folsom, true crime

Jake's CBR11 Review No:118 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, History · Tags: Joey Gallo, mafia, New York City, The Mad Ones, Tom Folsom, true crime ·
Rating:
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Tripping the Light Fantastique

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley

November 3, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’ve been going through Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series the last few years and mostly enjoying it. He’s a good writer with a solid sense of time (post-WWII Los Angeles), a compelling character, and a point-of-view that many readers don’t get from “mainstream” (re: dominantly white) mystery writers. I hadn’t thought much of reading his Leonid McGill series, which is basically Easy Rawlins set in New York in contemporary times. But as I’ve been on a big New York City reading kick lately, I figured […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Leonid McGill, mystery, New York City, The Long Fall, walter mosley

Jake's CBR11 Review No:116 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Leonid McGill, mystery, New York City, The Long Fall, walter mosley ·
Rating:
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All That Razz

Night of the Toads by Michael Collins/Dennis Lynds

October 28, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

Trying to pour through as much of the Dan Fortune series as I can before my Kindle Unlimited subscription finally expires (for real this time). I really enjoy these books. I’m a Ross Macdonald devotee and “Michael Collins” (Dennis Lynds) is one of the closest writers I’ve read who’s capable of aping Macdonald’s style. He is empathetic yet engaging. He also uses just enough of New York City without getting lost in it. This one is another good entry in the series, though the seams […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Dan Fortune, Dennis Lynds, Michael Collins, mystery, New York City, Night of the Toads

Jake's CBR11 Review No:114 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Dan Fortune, Dennis Lynds, Michael Collins, mystery, New York City, Night of the Toads ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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