Magic For Liars - Sarah Gailey

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Magic For Liars - Sarah Gailey

Crime/Fantasy

Rating: 8/10

What if you’re not magic. You are not a chosen one with powers you could never even dream of. You don’t get to leave your humdrum life behind and go to a mysterious school where they teach magic. And what if all the things you are not, your twin sister is. When Ivy is hired to solve a murder at her twins magical school, she will be reminded again that she has no magic. Heads up, this is NOT like that other magical school. You know the one i’m talking about.

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The Verifiers - Jane Pek

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The Verifiers - Jane Pek

Mystery/Suspense

Rating: 8.5/10

An amateur sleuth plunged into the world of big tech, internet connectivity and social media rabbit holes.  In our current landscape could there be a more fertile ground for humans to deceive, defraud and maybe, possibly, murder one another? I think not. Our main character is irresistible, ping ponging around accosting suspects and gleefully disobeying her boss. Try not to love her, I dare you!

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Angel Maker - Alex North

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Angel Maker - Alex North

Thriller

Rating: 7.5/10

Katie was living the normal life of a teenager in the throes of first love and safe in the knowledge that she was adored by her family. When her brother Chris is attacked by a deranged stranger, everything changes. F lash forward seventeen years an our characters are faced with an entirely new set of challenges to overcome. This author has a knack for skirting the edge of multiple genres, an extra special gift to a reader!

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Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson

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Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson

Mystery

Rating: 9/10

The book teases out the backstory of an ensemble of potential reprobates, locks them in an inaccessible location, and then presents a body that can be linked to each and every one of them. Our writer is toying with us in the most delicious way, and this is without question, a metafiction lover’s dream! Includes the 10 Rules Of Detective Fiction as written by the author!

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If Books Could Kill - Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri

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If Books Could Kill - Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri

Podcast

Rating: 9/10

I haven’t reviewed a podcast in a while, but this one, self-described as a new podcast unpacking “airport bestsellers that enraptured our hearts and ruined our minds” was irresistible to this reader! A smart talking, wise cracking podcast that sets out to debunk the pseudoscience books that seemed to run amok on the bestseller lists as they captured our collective imaginations.

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Mastering The Art Of French Murder - Colleen Cambridge

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Mastering The Art Of French Murder - Colleen Cambridge

Mystery

Rating: 8/10

I once spent a lovely afternoon with Julia Child.  True story.  During my beloved bookstore years, I was delegated the welcome task of being her assistant over the course of a book signing and cooking segment.  Not to worry, I only touched the books! If this seems a non sequitur, rest assured I have a point.  In this utterly charming cozy mystery, Julia Child is a character.

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The Kind Worth Saving - Peter Swanson

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The Kind Worth Saving - Peter Swanson

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

Henry Kimball, former teacher turned private investigator is suspicious when an old student, Joan, shows up at his office out of the blue. She is intent on engaging his services in following her husband to confirm he is in fact a cheat and a liar.  But Henry needs a little convincing. You see, he always sensed there was something off about her, and years later he still can’t shake that feeling.

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Literary Compositions...

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Works Of Art From The Canvas To The Page…

One of the many delights of the reading life is finding an unexpected niche subgenre centered around a topic you didn’t realize you were fascinated by. Fine arts fiction is one such category for me. Populated by provocative thrillers as well as in-depth character studies that delve into the genius of artists. I have curated for you a collection of books that illustrate in vivid detail magnetic artists and art, both loosely tied to real life events and wholly fabricated.

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The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff

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The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff

Fiction

Rating: 8.5/10

Everyone thinks Geeta is a diabolical killer, often referred to as a self-made widow. That she did away with her abusive husband in some vicious and bloody fashion.  And they all secretly applaud her for it. And they want to thrust her into some murderer/mentor role she is woefully unprepared for. Full of strong women and acerbic dialogue, a gem that is not to be missed!

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The Nothing Man - Catherine Ryan Howard

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The Nothing Man - Catherine Ryan Howard

Thriller

Rating: 8.5/10

Eve was the girl who survived the Nothing Man.  Now she’s the woman who is going to catch the unknown killer who destroyed her family and bring him to justice. Whose idea of justice remains blurry for much of the novel. This novel unravels an astute juxtaposition of predator and prey unlike any I have read before. A page turner in every sense of the word!

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What Remains Of Elsie Jane - Chelsea Wakelyn

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What Remains Of Elsie Jane - Chelsea Wakelyn

Fiction

Rating: 7.5/10

After the death of her partner from drug poisoning, Elsie, shattered by pain and grief, is barely functional.  She may in fact be unravelling.  She is feeding her young children snack food for dinner, making poor decisions in her desperate search for a sequel soulmate, and frankly is beginning to smell. A weird, wonderful and heartbreaking novel!

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Take Your Breath Away - Linwood Barclay

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Take Your Breath Away - Linwood Barclay

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

Everybody lies.  An adage I’m sure we’ve all heard countless times.  Every single character in this book embraces it with unabashed glee. A missing woman. A suspicious husband.  A trope you’ve come across dozens of times before, right? Not like this you haven’t. A thriller that lives up to all the adjectives; fast-paced, page turner; unputdownable…

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Silver Under Nightfall - Rin Chupeco

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Silver Under Nightfall - Rin Chupeco

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Rating: 8/10

If you’ve followed me on this site for a while, you know I love books with vampire lore, notably those that conceptualize fresh mythology, essentially ousting the endless existing tropes.  This one does so in spades, creating a hierarchy of eight vampiric courts, each with its own set of powers and position. Couple of things that stay the same…the gory action and the steamy love scenes. As they should!

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Red Queen - Juan Gomez-Jurado

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Red Queen - Juan Gomez-Jurado

Crime/Thriller

Rating: 9/10

Our characters find themselves pulled into the Red Queen project, a division of professionals in the field of crime solving that have skills that allow them to continually adapt in order to catch the bad guys. A division that has no hierarchy, no internal rivalries, no bureaucracy.  And no need to follow the letter of the law. Comparison will be drawn to Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, appropriately so!

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Outta This World...

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Sci-Fi Exploration…

Station Eternity – Mur Lafferty

Dead Silence – S.A. Barnes

The Stars Undying – Emery Robin

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

Salvaged – Madeleine Roux

Some Desperate Glory – Emily Tesh

The Circus Infinite – Khan Wond

The Paradox Hotel – Rob Hart

Tell Me An Ending – Jo Harkin

Night Shift – Natalka Burian

Zero Sum Game – S.L. Huang

Full Immersion – Gemma Amor

A History Of What Comes Next – Sylvain Neuvel

A Memory Called Empire – Arkady Martine

Robopocalypse – Daniel Wilson

Mindwalker – Kate Dylan

Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum

The Spare Man – Mary Robinette Kowal

Winter’s Orbit – Everina Maxwell

Light From Uncommon Stars – Ryka Aoki

Mother Code – Carole Stivers

The Impossible Us – Sarah Lotz

The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu