Silver Nitrate
Silver Nitrate is the latest book by the author of the excellent Mexican Gothic and the so-so The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. I was hoping this book was more like the first book. Unfortunately, it was not. My issue with Daughter was the slow pacing and the unoriginal subject matter.Continue Reading
The Block Party
The Block Party makes me glad I moved away from the suburbs! Everyone in the cul de sac is trying to impress everyone else at their annual block party. But they are all burdened with secrets. Secrets that come out after a murder occurs at the following year’s party. AsContinue Reading
Sushi Master
If you have just finished your budget and realized you spend way too much money in sushi restaurants, I have the book for you. Sushi Master looks at sushi creation in the most detailed way possible. From what tools you need to clear and concise techniques to cut and prepareContinue Reading
Dahlia in the Dark Vol. 1
The artwork in Dahlia in the Dark Vol. 1 is great. However, the plot is confusing. While the idea of a fairy world living side-by-side with humans is intriguing, the execution is choppy, and the characters are paper thin. It’s a shame. 3 stars. Thanks to Mad Cave Studios andContinue Reading
A Cryptic Clue
A Cryptic Clue is the first in the new Hunter and Clewe cozy mystery series. The author also writes the excellent Blue Ridge Library series, so I was anxious to read her latest book. The book stars 60-year-old Jane Hunter, a recently laid off librarian, who has found a conservationContinue Reading
The Centre
The Centre is an exclusive and secretive language school. Twenty learners stay for ten days in residence with no connections to the outside world and no talking to the other learners or staff. When they return home, they can speak a new language like a native. The mystery is howContinue Reading
Food, We Need to Talk
Food, We Need to Talk is the latest diet book I’ve read but it is completely different than most diet books. Instead of a diet plan full of restrictions with recipes at the end, this book is full of refreshing ideas about how, and why, plans like that don’t workContinue Reading
Flop Dead Gorgeous
Intense court scenes, Hollywood backstage drama, sardonic humor, and a multitude of cute dogs fill Flop Dead Gorgeous. This legal mystery is the latest novel in the Andy Carpenter (wannabe retired, but keeps being dragged back into the courtroom) lawyer series. This time he is forced to defend a formerContinue Reading
Misfortune Cookie
In Misfortune Cookie, Lana is now the manager of her family’s noodle house in Cleveland, Ohio. She and her sister, Anna May, go to a restaurant convention in Irvine, California. They are also visiting their Aunt Grace, who lives nearby. During the conference, Lana overhears an altercation between a fortuneContinue Reading
The Rachel Incident
The Rachel Incident is a great character-driven novel about adulting in Cork, Ireland during the Great Recession. Rachel meets James while working at the same bookstore. In the way of twenty-year-olds, they are quickly best friends and move in together. James is gay but hasn’t come out yet. He helpsContinue Reading
Misfortune Cookie
In Misfortune Cookie, Lana is now the manager of her family’s noodle house in Cleveland, Ohio. She and her sister, Anna May, go to a restaurant convention in Irvine, California. They are also visiting their Aunt Grace, who lives nearby. During the conference, Lana overhears an altercation between a fortuneContinue Reading
Hidden Beneath
A woman goes for her daily swim off the coast of a small island in Maine. When she doesn’t return, a search is conducted but she is never found. Did she run off? Was she fatally hit by one of the many fishing or pleasure boats nearby? Or is sheContinue Reading
Hey, Hun
How much do multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and cults have in common? It turns out a lot. Both use the BITE (behavior, information, thought and emotional control) method to entice and then entrap their members. Both groups shun former members. Despite the positive messages propagated by the companies. it isContinue Reading
The Choice Point
Multiple times per day individuals encounter The Choice Point, “the exact moment, you decide to shift your attention away from an unwanted thought that might stop you from making a conscious choice to persevere in pursuing a goal (or not). It’s that moment when you say to yourself, ‘to continueContinue Reading
Night Will Find You
In Night Will Find You, Vivvy is an astronomer who has the sight just like her psychic mother. When her mother dies, she returns to her hometown to clean out her mother’s house. While there, she is asked by a high school and local police officer, Mike, to do someContinue Reading
Speak of the Devil
Seven women all have a connection to Jamie. And one of them is his killer in Speak of the Devil. This book starts with a bang, when the seven women are lured to a hotel room where Jamie’s decapitated head awaits them. Now, they must race the police to discoverContinue Reading