Dave Gurney has never taken retirement very seriously, despite repeated vows to family to slow down. Always up for puzzling out whatever mystery someone brings to him. Even when he commits to only giving it a cursory look, he will immerse himself in no time. However, his latest foray into crime solving might put him on the other side of the law.
Read MoreDani needs a distraction. Being a wife and mother is not as fulfilling as she expected it to be. Then she discovers the Temple. Ostensibly a yoga center but possibly a house of ill repute, Dani might have found a side hustle she is good at. Only time will tell.
Read MoreA group of strangers wake up on a blood soaked boat with a dead guy, and none remember who they are or how they got there. When a phone rings with certain instructions, they realize they are on a mission of some kind. One that they volunteered for. One that requires that they eradicate an infestation of some sort. One that will likely cost them their lives. If you are feeling Last Of Us vibes, you are not wrong!
Read MoreHenri and Louise are two strangers at a crossroads in their lives when they meet on a train travelling across Europe. The thing is, this isn’t the first time they have met. Yet there seems to be an unspoken agreement between them that for this moment, in this place, the past does not exist. Pretending that their fates are not inextricably entwined. I loved the untangling of their story.
Read MoreThis tale of wonder and terror follows a creepy reunion of the cast of a magical kids show that exists only in its viewers memories. A twist of fate brings all the surviving cast members back together, and someone, or something wants them to recreate the magic. Problem is that it might be bad magic.
Read MoreParadox Hotel - Rob Hart
Lexicon - Max Barry
Dead Silence – S.A. Barnes
Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
Station Eternity – Mur Lafferty
Mindwalker – Kate Dylan
Echo Wife – Sarah Gailey
Frankenstein – Mary Shelly
Neuromancer – William Gibson
The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu
Company Town - Madeline Ashby
Ready Player One – Ernest Cline
Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum
The Impossible Us – Sarah Lotz
Night Shift – Natalka Burian
The Martin – Andy Weir
Yesterday – Felicia Yap
Tell Me An Ending – Jo Harkin
Zero Sum Game – S.L. Huang
Marrying The Ketchups - Jennifer Close
Hot Mess - Emily Bleden
Mastering The Art Of French Murder - Collen Cambridge
Recipes Of Love & Murder - Sally Andrew
Miss Cecily’s Recipes For Exceptional Ladies - Vicky Zimmerman
The Kitchen Front - Jennifer Ryan
Sourdough - Robin Sloan
Kitchens Of The Great Midwest - J. Ryan Stradel
The Kitchen God’s Wife - Amy Tan
The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender
The School Of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister
Serving Crazy With Curry - Amulya Malladi
The Kitchen Daughter - Jael McHenry
The Hundred,Foot Journey - Richard C. Morais
Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg
The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe - Mary Simses
The Coincidence Of Coconut Cake - Amy E. Reichert
Chocolat - Joanne Harris
Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler
Speak Of The Devil - Rose Wildling
Blood Sugar - Sascha Rothschild
No One Will Miss Her - Kat Rosenfeld
Theives Gambit - Kayvon Lewis
Gaslight - Femi Kayode
How To Kill Your Family - Bella Mackie
Hurricane Blonde - Halley Sutton
The Trap - Catherine Ryan Howard
Girl In The Eagles Talons - Karin Smiimoff
To Catch A Storm - Mindy Mejia
Twisted: A Love Story - Samantha Downing
The Viper - John Verdon
Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll
The Confession - Charlotte Bigland
The Fury - Alex Michaelides
After That Night - Karin Slaughter
The Spider - Lars Kepler
This Is How We End Things -R.J. Jacobs
Woman In The Window - A.J. Finn
What if the murder you had to solve was your own? Lou is a happily married mother of a cutie pie baby girl. She is also the victim of a serial killer. Recently resurrected by a secret cloning project, she is struggling to reconnect. I inhaled this speculative and smart twist on the crime novel, one with an ending I never in my wildest dreams, even the darker ones, could have imagined.
Read MoreWhat if you discovered your husband was having an affair with his wife? Yes, you read that properly. The author spins the extramarital and domestic strife tropes in some intriguingly unique directions. This book has a lot to love; weird science, murder, bad romance and the unspooling of enough twists to leave the reader with a serious case of whiplash.
Read MoreBooks have been a constant in my life in ways nothing else ever has been. They have given me the world, imparted upon me a sense of wonderment, ignited bone deep fire and incurable curiosity, provided pleasure as well as nourishment, indulgence as much as wisdom, inspired empathy, transcended my wildest imaginings, encouraged me to think before I speak and how to use my voice when I did so. And most importantly, reminded me I was not alone. That I never have been, and never have to be. Happy Anniversary to Cracking The Spine!
Read MoreThis ambitious and meticulously crafted book is a celebration of stories that outlive the paper they are written on and the libraries where they rest on shelves to be read. Unquestionably a love letter to books and the buildings that house them, this has a far greater reach to be explored for the reader. Beautifully woven with magic, adventure, intrigue and even love.
Read MoreWe Sold Our Souls - Grady Hendrix
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
Girl - Blake Nelson
Space Opera - Catherine Valente
Signal To Noise - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Songs In Ursa Major - Emma Brodie
More Than Maybe - Erica Hahn
Fever House - Keith Rosson
The Farewell Tour - Stephanie Clifford
The Vinyl Underground - Rob Rufus
This Song Will Save Your Life - Leila Sales
The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce
A Song For A New Day - Sarah Pinsker
Guitar Notes - Mary Amato
Spin - Colleen Nelson
Impossible Music - Sean Williams
How to Kill A Rock Star - Tiffanie DeBartolo
Stone Arabia - Dana Spiotta
Bootleg Stardust - Glenn Dixon
The Institute - Stephen King
Reluctant Immortals - Gwendolyn Kiste
Chain Gang All Stars - Nana Kwame Adeji
Dead Eleven - Jimmy Juliano
The Death I Gave Him - Em E. Liu
Starlling House - Alix E. Harrow
Hidden Pictures - Jason Rekulak
The Violence - Delilah Dawson
Night Shift - Alex Finlay
Final Girls Support Group - Grady Hendrix
Family Business - Jonathan Sims
A God Of Endings - Jacquline Holland
Silver Nitrate - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Security - Gina Wolshindorf
Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill
The Ruins - Scott Smith
The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean
Magic For Liars - Sarah Gailey
Empire Of The Vampire - Jay Kristoff
Fairy Tale - Stephen King
Midnight At The Houdini - Delilah Dawson
Cinder - Marissa Meyer
The Queen Of Tearling – Erika Johansen
Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo
The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon
Wicked Saints – Emily A. Duncan
One Dark Window – Rachel Gillig
These Violent Delights – Chloe Gong
The Cartographers – Peng Shepherd
Witch King - Martha Wells
Ordinary Monsters – J.M Miro
Cursed - Marissa Meyer
Swordcatcher - Cassandra Clare
Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross
1984 Julia - Sandra Newman
Kingsbane – Claire Legrand
Secret Identity – Alex Segura
The Starless Crown – James Rollins
I’m a planner in every way you could imagine, a particular quirk that benefits my reading life. And now you dear reader, will reap the rewards with my new monthly post that will feature three of the most interesting books coming out in the next month as well as a few extra just for fun. Happy Reading!
Read MoreLaura is a journalist tasked with writing a piece on the remake of a ‘90’s horror flick that she starred in as a child. One that was cursed. One that had eight cast and crew dying in ways that eerily mirrored the movie’s on-screen deaths. And now? People are dying again. You get all the tropes, a slasher, final girl, cursed movie within a movie all in one.
Read MoreSeptember 7th, 2023 will mark the 5th Anniversary of Cracking The Spine.
Over these years I have shared an abundance of content with my readers. Profiling 1,500+ books through innovative and in-depth features as well as reviews of the books I have read during this time. To honor this moment of celebration, I will share my five-fav reads in the last five years under each of my five-fav genres.
I hope you have found as much joy in my bookish wanderings as I have in sharing them! More to come…
Read MoreThe story starts off with the husband whispering in his wife’s ear, “we need to find a moment to talk. It’s important.” The potential implications of this send her spiraling while she takes the reader back through her week in the hopes of finding an inkling as to what this chat might be about. Her devotion, or maybe obsession is a better word, is unsettling and impossible to look away from!
Read MoreThe Puzzle Master - Danielle Trussoni
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson
The Golden Spoon - Jessa Maxwell
A Most Agreeable Murder - Julia Seales
Mother Daughter Movie Night - Nina Simon
The Busy Body - Kemper Donovan
Woman In The Library - Sulari Gentil
Eight Detectives - Alex Pavesi
The Last Devil To Die - Richard Osman
Last Night At The Hollywood Canteen - Sarah James
The Fiction Writer - Julie Cantor
The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose
The Puzzle Of Blackstone Lodge - Martin Edwards
The Killing Circle - Andrew Pyper
Obilivion - Peter Abhrams
Trust No One - Paul Cleave
Think Of A Number - John Verdnon
The Eight - Catherine Neville
An Instance Of Fingerpost - Ian Pears
