So I’m back to my “British women in peril” theme, apparently, and this entry is . . . not good. It’s gripping; I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen. And (a) there’s a denouement, and (b) some really key information was missing that would make me feel the level of dread I was supposed to. The heroine of B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors is given a backstory that is emotionally traumatic, but she doesn’t seem to recognize it as trauma, and seems […]
Down the Rabbit Hole with Ira Levin
My latest writing project is of a spooky nature, so I thought I might get a little inspiration from one of my favorite horror movies, Rosemary’s Baby. It didn’t disappoint and holds up after many viewings. Mia Farrow is having a tough trimester in Rosemary’s Baby After the umpteenth time of watching poor Mia Farrow find out what was really behind her linen closet, I got to wondering about the source material. A trip to the library resulted in a bag full of Ira Levin thrillers: Rosemary’s […]
More things should be full of win
I was expecting something more in the fantasy realm from Tigerman, given Nick Harkaway’s first two novels, and although there is the titular superhero, this book stays much more grounded, more of an existential thriller with military and cloak-and-dagger elements, and for that, it’s a lot of thought-provoking fun. The story takes place on a mythical island in the Arabian Sea, an island previously controlled by the British and French, among others, but which has become an environmental disaster due to chemical companies pumping toxic […]
The Collector
First this book is due in August 2018, but please go to your Independent bookstore and preorder! Second, this book has a lot of holes in it for the adult reader such as stereotypical characters, too many coincidences and characters maybe not as contemporary as one is used to. However, this might explain why it reminded me of books I loved as a kid (about age 8 to 10). It has a classic feel. Third, despite all that, I do recommend this book to the […]
A book worth re-reading
Another contender for favorite book of the year right here. She Rides Shotgun is kind of like an urban crime thriller mashed up with an old school western. Think of True Grit meets Veronica Mars and you’ll come close to the feeling of this book. As a superfan of badass literary girls, it will surprise no one that I enjoyed this immensely. Polly, eleven years old and a bit sheltered, gets picked up from school by her ex-con father unexpectedly one day. Turns out her […]
A wheel-spinning waste of time
I’ve been on a ‘thriller’ kick recently, because I’ve been needing to keep my brain engaged while I’m nursing my three-month-old. These “next Gone Girl”s seem to be sitting well, because they’re mostly interesting enough that I want to keep reading them even when I’m tired and brain-dead. (When I’m all the way tired, though, I’m doing a Dorothy Sayers reread. That’s a lot of fun, and I know the stories well enough that my brain can gloss over bits and I don’t lose out!) The Widow is one […]
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