The Undoing by Averil Dean begins with one drastic action and no explanation. Julian is alone and does something nearly unthinkable. The interesting thing, for the reader, is that it is entirely out of context – there is only the vaguest of hints about how we came to this point. Then we jump back a day, to see what brought… Read more
This is the perfect cookbook for all you geeks out there – and I know you’re out there. Have you ever wanted to make a nice mug of Romulan Ale while you kicked back and watched The Wrath of Khan? Maybe whip up some Butterbeer for the Harry Potter fans? Or even a bowl of Arya Stark’s favorite Bowl o’Brown, while… Read more
I am woefully behind on reading and reviews, but this is a great story to get me back on track. In Wilderness by Diane Thomas is a fascinating story told with a beautiful, poetic writing style. I was immediately drawn to the characters and the lyrical way the story is told made it a real pleasure to read. It’s 1966 and Katherine… Read more
This review is part of my New Year’s Clean Up My Review Pile project. I finished this book months ago, but somehow never quite got around to the review. Something always came up – something else to review, or my Kindle had a dead battery, or something. But I came across it on the finished list a couple of weeks ago… Read more
The Missing Piece by Kevin Egan is a different sort of courtroom drama. It revolves around the Salvus Treasure: a collection of silver pieces, bowls and plates and urns, dating back to ancient Rome. Together, the pieces are worth more than $70 million dollars, but their ownership is in dispute and the case will be tried in a Manhattan courtroom. Violence… Read more
Has anyone ever counted the books James Patterson has published? Holy cow! That is one prodigious imagination. And he is not only a prolific writer, he does good things for the cause – he gives away books, he promotes reading, he supports independent booksellers. All good things. I’ve enjoyed a number of his previous books, but The Murder House I did not love. My mother… Read more
This week, I’ve got reviews of two thrillers that I wanted to love — but didn’t. First up: Black Run by Antonio Manzini. I picked this one to go first because overall, I liked it the best of the two. Rocco Schiavone has been exiled form his beloved Rome to a tiny tourist town in the Italian Alps. He made enemies… Read more
If you like your recipes sprinkled with f-bombs, then Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook: Eat Like You Give a F*ck is the cookbook for you. (If you are offended by vulgar language, best to move on to Martha, or maybe the Food52). I am always amused by the folks from Thug Kitchen and their irreverent recipes; I’ve even got a couple of… Read more
It took me a while to get through The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman – not because of the story, but because my schedule has been insane the last few months. But it was worth it to carve out some time to finish this amazing story. The story really starts in Georgia, in 1864. In the lead-up to General Sherman’s march across… Read more
As soon as I heard the story behind My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair, I knew I wanted to read the book: When Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, happened to pluck a library book from the shelf, she had no idea that her life would be irrevocably… Read more