Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Everything Sucks

Nothing Personal by Jason Starr

by Leave a Comment

(Tw: Mention of rape) There was a time, maybe as recently as 3 years ago or so, that I really would have enjoyed Jason Starr’s work. Jim Thompson-esque crime fiction set in New York City featuring the worst human beings alive? Gimme some of that. I don’t know if getting older makes me soft or my tastes are more specific or what but Starr’s books, while well-written and thrilling, just don’t it for me. The male characters are ludicrously dumb and evil. The female characters […]

I’m just here for Lisbeth

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

by 1 Comment

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was my Mocha Girls Read book club pick for May with the theme of Scandanavian Mystery. When the original book came out, I was aware of the hype but opted for the film adaptations. I enjoy all incarnations, so I figured the novel would grip me. Instead, I found myself getting a bit impatient with the plot when it didn’t focus on the titular “The Girl”. The story follows a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist who has been hired by […]

Haunted house or horrible people?

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

by 2 Comments

Maggie Holt is shocked to learn she’s inherited Baneberry Hall, the Victorian mansion in Vermont that her family fled 25 years earlier. The 20 days they lived at Baneberry Hall were chronicled in a bestselling book, House of Horrors, written by Maggie’s father. Although Maggie has no memory of that time, she’s spent her life being asked by fans, critics, and journalists if the house really is haunted. Her parents have never given her a straight answer, so Maggie decides to go to Baneberry Hall […]

Thrills and Chills

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

by 2 Comments

This is one I was eager to get my hands on given the premise and the reviews. It didn’t disappoint, being one of the best books I read this year and, along with Long Bright River, one of the best new releases of 2020. This book is so many things but at the heart, it’s really a tale of suspense. A lot obviously depends on your perspective (I’m a cishet white guy) but Cole is excellent at blending the existential dread of the Black experience in […]

The Chain – Just the book I needed

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

by Leave a Comment

This year has been a difficult one for me, as it has been for most people. Often when I find myself troubled, I start diving into my books. For whatever reason, I have found it so tough to concentrate during this pandemic and economic meltdown that reading juts isn’t an option. I heard about The Chain on a website (possibly pajiba.com, but I cannot be sure) and thought it sounded interesting. The book arrived and I devoured it in a day. Was this the greatest […]

If you dive deep enough, physics borders on the supernatural

Interference by Brad Parks

by Leave a Comment

I picked up Interference as part of Kindle Unlimited Book Club. Matt Bronik, tenured physicist professor and researcher at Dartmouth, is sick and no one knows why. He is taken to the hospital twice for his fits and the doctors have no possible explanation for what might be causing his illness. On his third set of fits, Bronik is kidnapped. At the center of the manhunt for Professor Bronik are his wife Brigid, Detective Emmett Webster, and billionaire investor Sean Plottner. Author Brad Parks jumps around […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo