Viveca Sten — Still Waters (Sandhamm Murders #1) (Book Review)
Viveca Sten starts a new mystery series in Still Waters. Sten is Swedish and thus her story is too. First published there in 2008 and then translated to English in 2015, the Sandhamm Murders series is a sensation. Nine books are available in English, and there’s even...Richard Engel — And Then All Hell Broke Loose (Book Review)
Richard Engel breaks down decades of newsworthy events in his 2016 book, And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East. As a veteran foreign correspondent for various new organizations, he should know. Yes, it’s fascinating. But I also found it...Tanya Talaga: Seven Fallen Feathers (Book Review)
Canadian journalist Tanya Talaga investigates a series of tragic deaths among First Nations youth in Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City. She walks a fine line between emotion and distance, based on her own connections as a member...Richelle Mead: Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid #1)—Book Review
Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead was a straight-up palate cleanser choice for me. You know, those books that don’t require much thought. I sped through the audiobook, partly because it’s shorter and partly because I enjoyed the story. Fantasy books often work like this...Ukmina Manoori — I am a Bacha Posh (Book Review)
Afghani author and warrior Ukmina Manoori tells their unique story in I am a Bacha Posh: My Life as a Woman Living as a Man in Afghanistan. When they were a child, Manoori’s parents decided they needed another son. But whether due to genetics or medical situations,...Mudlark by Lara Maiklem — Visit London Throughout the Ages (Book Review)
Lara Maiklem introduced me to a whole new world in Mudlark: In Search of London’s Past Along the River Thames. Not that I haven’t been to London. I have. She takes readers specifically to the foreshore of Britain’s iconic Thames, with all of its quirks and...The Red Lotus: A Prescient Mystery for 2020 from Chris Bohjalian (Book Review)
The Red Lotus is another strong entry in the mystery / thriller genre from Chris Bohjalian. And this time, he chose an oddly prescient topic for a 2020 release. The story centers around Alexis Remnick, a New York City ER doctor. She’s on a bicycling trip to Vietnam...C.J. Sansom: Dissolution—A Chilly Tudor Era Mystery (Book Review)
C.J. Sansom creates an unlikely hero in his character Matthew Shardlake. In Dissolution, the time is Tudor England, and Shardlake is a lawyer working in the service of Thomas Cromwell. He’s just two degrees from King Henry VIII. But he’s still just a lowly guy charged...Taffy Brodesser-Akner Explores NYC Life in Fleishman Is in Trouble (Book Review)
Taffy Brodesser-Akner shines a light into the darkness of dysfunctional marriage and divorce in Fleishman Is in Trouble. Set in the world of Manhattan’s social climbing thirtysomethings, we meet Toby Fleishman first. He’s experiencing the unstable world of newly...The Lottery and Other Stories: Classic Horror from Shirley Jackson (Book Review)
The Lottery and Other Stories proves that Shirley Jackson was a master storyteller. Everyone knows this, so I’m not saying anything new. I’m behind on reading Jackson’s work, having only read We Have Always Lived in a Castle previously. But I figured October was a...Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang, MD and Nate Pedersen (Book Review)
Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen is two parts gasping at astounding purported medical cures. It’s also one part rubbernecker can’t look away no matter how yucky the example might be. I thoroughly enjoyed...Following Trump in 2016: Unbelievable by Katy Tur (Book Review)
What does it say about my reading habits that when I needed something easy, I picked up the 2017 book Unbelievable: My Front Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur? And that subtitle? It’s not holding up over time, if the state of the 2020...Life on Other Planets? The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin Book Review (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)
The Three-Body Problem is science fiction based in China and written by Chinese author Liu Cixin. Despite being set in a completely different culture, the science focus offers plenty of commonalities. Plus, of course, the fascination with life on other planets. That...Coming Soon from Jodi Picoult: The Book of Two Ways (Book Review)
Jodi Picoult combines Egyptology and the work of a death doula in her new book, The Book of Two Ways. She even throws in a side helping of quantum physics and multiverses. The story is emotional, wise, and engaging but also sometimes a bit dry and hard to follow. Main...Alma Katsu Dives into Chilling Waters with The Deep (Book Review)
The Deep from author Alma Katsu is the perfect example of a genre I like to call Historical Fiction with a Twist. To qualify, that twist needs an element of fantasy or supernatural. In this case, Katsu imagines the lives of Titanic passengers and crew. With the hint...Bookshop.Org Affiliate
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