This is definitely a vintage crime novel. It’s got an old-fashioned feel to it from the very first chapter. No cell phones, no computers, no fancy hardware, just guys with guns figuring out what other guys are gonna do. In general, I like those kinds of stories and there is a lot to like about Killing Them Softly by George V. Higgins (originally… Read more
I think I’m over the whole “novel told in stories” idea. I tried not to let that influence me when I read Triburbia by Karl Taro Greenfeld. It’s a decent novel. It meanders a bit, tells the stories of the lives of a group of Tribeca residents. The stories are identified by address, with a lot of overlap and some surprising… Read more
It’s always a good thing to discover a new series that you really enjoy. A while back, I reviewed the third Dirty Business Mystery, Dead Head by Rosemary Harris, I immediately picked up the first book, Pushing Up Daisies and made sure to keep my eyes open for new installments in the Dirty Business series. I devoured Slugfest on my recent vacation. Paula… Read more
Someone needs to option this for a movie! Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell is an engaging thriller that would make a terrific movie. It’s set in a not-too-distant future where global warming has radically changed the surface of the planet. Caribbean islands are completely underwater, the Arctic tundra has become prime real estate, and nation-states fight over dwindling natural resources. A… Read more
“After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn’s for an oyster supper.” Michael Cox pulls no punches with the beginning of The Meaning of Night: A Confession. You are immediately drawn into the story of Edward Glyver, and you have absolutely no reason to like him. After all, the man just committed a cold-blooded murder. In addition… Read more
One of the best reasons for joining a book club is that it encourages you to read books you wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. Several years ago, I read The Known World by Edward P. Jones for a book club and counted it as a gem that I would probably have never read otherwise, and I would put Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth… Read more
One thing I was reminded of while reading this book: I really need a new pair of classic black pumps. First of all, Women from the Ankle Down: The Story of Shoes and How They Define Us by Rachelle Bergstein is really a book about women’s shoes. There are mentions of men’s shoes, but not many — let’s face it, men’s… Read more
I found Blackmailed by Annmarie McKenna tucked away in a stack of books I got at a convention. I hadn’t really given it much thought (pretty blond girl on the cover didn’t do much for me), but I picked it up when I was looking for something mindless. I got exactly what I expected — a hot bit of fluff with… Read more
You know, these days I read travel books with a whole different eye. One, I’m usually reading them in an airport or a hotel. Two, the situations and places in the books seem very familiar to me now. That’s one of the reasons I was so interested in Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000… Read more
What a ride! The Professionals is the kind of book that you get about 75% through, then you set it down because you don’t want it to end…then you spend the next hour looking at it, sitting on the table, until you can’t take the suspense and you grab the book and finish another chapter or two. I cannot wait for… Read more