Book reviews of new and old, local, national and international books. Anything goes.
Washington Black is a book of many things, except for the expected. Its outward appearance is that of a great adventure and a few quests, following the footsteps of a tenderly young escaped slave. But Esi Edugyan weaves a tale that goes much deeper to depict the basic underlying egotism and human desires that drive…
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on a true story, a story told from the Tattooist to the author. While much is real and true and even corroborated, fiction has been mingled. Therefore, while your heart is set on pure and perfect truth, you must, as a reader, be aware that this is still historical…
Dolores Claiborne is a haunting novel, but not in the way you might expect given the author is the great King. Aside from a brief ghostly encounter, the story doesn’t revolve around supernatural phenomena or evil beings. This is the story of a hardened island woman off the coast of Maine and what she had…
The Charley Davidson series is now in regular rotation of my book reading schedule, and there they will stay until I’ve read them all. This series is so much fun. The romance aspect is a little too hot and heavy for me, but the story lines, the plot twists, the mysteries, the multiple plot points,…
A Fire Upon the Deep is the first book in the Zones of Thought series, a triumphant science-fiction masterpiece that forever marked Vernor Vinger as a leader in space operas. It’s an older book that was pushed upon me by several fellow lovers of science fiction and now that I’ve read it, I feel like…
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a debut breakout novel from Stuart Turton. I first encountered the book at my local B&N and was pulled toward the 1920’s Art Deco styling on the cover. The blurb from the cover fold captured my attention. I had to know more. Hook. Line. Sinker. Evelyn Hardcastle will…
Kingdom of Ash is the final book in the epic Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Mass, a masterful high fantasy beset with powerful fae warriors, magic, dark magic from another realm, little people, witches, humans, and monsters of every kind. The first book began as almost a typical (but truly addictive) young adult…
Multiple award nominee and New York Times bestseller, A Gentleman in Moscow is a literary feast for hearty appetites. There is something about the winter months that makes us want to curl up with the thickest tomes under a pile of blankets, tucked away in the recliner beside a roaring fire. (Isn’t this something Count Rostov contemplated?)…
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet is the fourth book in the Charley Davidson series, an urban paranormal fantasy featuring a hilariously cheeky private investigator who also happens to be the Grim Reaper. Always fast paced, these books have Charley rushing against the clock to untangle several problems and mysteries – some in the human realm,…
A Clockwork Orange was first published in 1962 by Anthony Burgess in England and, despite the “ultraviolence”, it became a worldwide sensation. It could have been forgotten while fading away into obscurity with new generations of books to take its place in shock value, but that seems impossible for the time being because of Stanley…