A thought provoking read about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind. Jodi Picoult’s books cover a broad spectrum of moral and ethical issues, shattering the surface of a topic by digging into the heart and soul of the characters. She will wreck them and patch them back together and leave the reader with no regrets for going along for the ride.
Read MoreFor as long as most of us have been alive, we have looked up at the stars and dreamed of the remarkable. Visions of sprawling and distant worlds, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, unearthly creatures, and concepts we would be hard pressed to put a name to have tumbled through our minds. Recent offerings in the genre are limitless, bringing to the page the fantastical as well as the futuristic. Fans are ravenous and the last few years have offered up an unprecedented level of satiation for that hunger.
Read MoreBeing a spy isn’t what you think. It’s boring. Not boring as in dull, but mind-crushingly, ass- clenchingly, teeth-grindingly tedious. At least that’s what our unnamed narrator, rogue operative and world’s most feared assassin would have you believe. It’s more like John Wick meets Deadpool on the page! An absolute blast from start to finish!
Read MoreMy Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year en masse, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those seeking magic & make believe. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.
Read MoreMy Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year en masse, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those seeking wit & wisdom. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.
Read MoreMy Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year en masse, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those channeling their inner super sleuth. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.
Read MoreMy Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year en masse, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those that require sustenance for the soul. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.
Read MoreMy Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year en masse, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those that embrace weird genius. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.
Read MoreMy Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year en masse, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those that enjoy the art of storytelling. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.
Read MoreThe authors gathered for this special collection celebrating Miss Marple perfectly execute the hallmarks of a classic Christie mystery, which lets be honest, form the tenets of the genre. Capturing every bit of the essence that is Marple, sharp wit, droll ingenuity, deceptively demure countenance, and unique mannerisms. And delivering the denouement with all the flair we know and love!
Read MoreAgatha Christie is not just a famous mystery writer; she is the bestselling novelist of all time. Of all time! The Grande Dame of red herrings and mis-directions, she can always be counted on to provide unexpected twists and unforeseen denouements. All this in trim volumes that focus on plot, dialogue and setting in order to maximize intrigue. Although I would say all of Christie’s masterful mysteries are worth reading, I have collected just four of the best, each distinct from the other, to get you started!
Read MoreNo one is more surprised than Will that he snatched a priceless artifact while a heist was in progress at the museum where he worked. That’s not all he finds in his pocket when he gets home from giving his statement to the police. There’s a business card with an invitation, one he can’t resist. Note I have included an extended list of reading recommendations set in the art world with this review!
Read MoreThis is the story of Sonya, a young woman living her out days in a prison after the collapse of the oppressive dystopian regime into which she was born. She is given an offer, find a missing girl and earn your freedom. If you’ve read as many dystopian novels as I have you probably realize there is no such thing. While the world building in this novel is stellar, the character development falls a bit short.
Read MoreA creepy as hell and wildly inventive ghost story that delivers a read perfect for the heat of long summer days or the early chill of fall. Fresh out of rehab, Mallory takes a job as a nanny for five-year-old Teddy. A sweet boy with a vivid imagination and a love of drawing. As the drawings Teddy brings down after his daily quiet time grow steadily more sinister and unsettling, Mallory begins to wonder what she has gotten herself into!
Read MoreTake slasher movie adoration, wicked satire, flawed characters, full tilt plot twists and what do you get? A fiendishly good book that grabs you by the throat and won’t let go until it’s good and ready. And trust me when I tell you, you won’t want it to!
Read MoreCarrie can’t have nice things. Like a healthy relationship with a boyfriend, or the unconditional love of a dog. Or hopes and dreams. She’s spent her lifetime under the thumb of her wretched serial killer of a sister Becca who leaves evidence pointing to Carrie’s guilt at every one of her crime scenes. She thought she was done with the drama, turns out, not so much…
Read MoreNotwithstanding the references to magic and mystery in the synopsis, which delicately infuse the pages of this book, at its heart this is a love story. The love of soulmates, the love of friends, the love of home and the love of family. Some of it desperate, some of it healing and some of it destructive.
Read MoreCurious Incident Of The Dog & The Nighttime - Mark Haddon
Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem
Into The Drowning Deep - Mira Grant
Long Way To A Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
On The Edge Of Gone - Corinne Duvvis
Pretty As A Picture - Elizabeth Little
Tricky - Josh Stallings
Gallant - V.E. Schwab
Rebel Nation - Shaunta Grimes
Standard Deviation - Katherine Hieny
The Book Eaters - Sunyi Dean
Even If We Break - Marieke Nijkamp
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
The Maid - Nita Prose
Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Triggers - Robert J. Sawyer
Ginny Moon - Benjamin Ludwog
Convience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata
Portrait Of A Thief - Grace Lu
Attribution – Linda Moore
Woman On Fire – Lisa Barr
Fake – Erica Katz
The Burnt Orange Heresy – Charles Willeford
The Last Mona Lisa – Jonathan Santlofer
The Art Forger – B.A. Shapiro
Chasing Cezanne – Peter Mayle
False Impression – Jeffrey Archer
A Discerning Eye – Carol Orange
Loot – Aaron Elkins
The Flanders Panel – Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Sidewalk Artist – Gina Buonaguro
The Swan Thieves – Elizabeth Kostova
Saints of Swallow Hill – Donna Everhart
The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
The Heist – Daniel Silva
The Appraisal – Anna Porter
The Painter – Peter Heller
Horror fiction is having a moment. And it’s about damn time! When bookstores removed dedicated sections and publishers scraped the word “horror” off the book spines and replaced it with innocuous “thriller”, I was bereft. Where am I, in my rock t-shirt, jeans and cool kicks, to go to browse what had apparently been delegated by outside forces as my secret shame? How was I to follow my path to the dark Narnia? Thankfully, I just had to be patient!
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