I Would Die for You
Set alternately in the present and the 1980s, I Would Die for You is a quick paced mystery that never really resonated with me. The flashbacks seemed a weak retelling of Almost Famous from the point of view of the groupies. The present day plot was a formulaic “my childContinue Reading
Tilt
In Tilt, Annie is having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. First, she is nine months pregnant and feeling it. Second, she is in IKEA, a giant store, looking for a crib with her feet and back killing her. Third, a major earthquake hits forcing her to walkContinue Reading
Killer Potential
I loved the idea of Killer Potential. A brilliant young woman that hasn’t reached her full potential is on the run with a stranger across the United States. Yes, please! But don’t give me more than 150 pages of it. Introspection moves the story along at a glacial pace forContinue Reading
Torrible Puns
Torrible Puns is a fun book that is not just for kids. The puns all employ clever turns of phrase. For example, if you are waiting a long time for your server, which one of you is truly the “waiter”. None of the rhymes seem forced like they are inContinue Reading
Splinter Effect
In Splinter Effect, Rabbit Ward is an experienced time traveling archaeologist who has made one too many mistakes in his past. A mentee, the impetuous young son of his founders, has been left in the past. A rival has stolen half of his treasures on his most recent visit toContinue Reading
The Library Game
If you, like me, grew up devouring Nancy Drew books, The Library Game will bring your mind back to those times. No flashlight under the sheets needed. Just a belief in the possibility of ghosts and a love of locked room murder mysteries. A builder of hidden rooms, Tempest Raj,Continue Reading
The Third Rule of Time Travel
The Third Rule of Time Travel is “The traveler has no ability to interact with the world they have traveled to…” But is the converse also true? Beth is a scientist who, with her recently deceased husband Colson, has developed the world’s first Time Machine. It does have a fewContinue Reading
Cosmic Bullsh*t
As you can tell from the title, Cosmic Bullsh*t, this book discusses some pseudoscience topics in demeaning ways. Mythology, religion, astrology, alien visits, time travel, and dystopian end time scenarios are all reviewed from a scientific perspective and found wanting. The humor interspersed within the science feels rather forced, moreContinue Reading
Rot
Rot discusses the physical and political reasons for the Irish potato famine of the 1840s and 50s. What caused so many to have to choose between emigration and starvation? Where were the rich British landlords when their workers were starving? However, it shines a harsh light on our current AmericanContinue Reading
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
Welcome to the madcap world of Finlay Donovan, a worthy successor to Stephanie Plum. Finlay and her nanny/co-conspirator Vero are in too deep in Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave. First, their nosy and crotchety elder neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, is arrested and then released for the murder of a bodyContinue Reading
Dimming the Sun
Despite inexplicable resistance to the science of climate change, our more drastic weather and the increasing frequency of large storms are heralding a change for the worse. If humans worldwide are unable, or unwilling, to reduce their carbon footprint, do we all just need to move north (or to MarsContinue Reading
The Unworthy
Nope, just nope. The Unworthy tries to be great literature within a torture porn plot. It implies that even in a newly created society, humans are, and will always be, inherently cruel to one another to advance their own agenda. The problem is that the torture is the entire plot.Continue Reading
How to Solve True Crime
How to Solve True Crime contains a series of true crime stories. They illustrate how detectives have used Occum’s razor, both successfully and not so successfully, to solve their cases. Occum’s razor is a scientific theory that encourages looking at the simplest solution first. It doesn’t prohibit expanding the investigation’sContinue Reading
You Are Fatally Invited
Unfortunately, you can only be surprised by the plot of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None once. For those, like me, who long for a similar plot, there is the new locked room mystery, You Are Fatally Invited. Six authors, all with secrets to hide, are stuck on anContinue Reading
Shadowplay: Midnight School
Three students go to a strange and seemingly never-ending night school in the new horror graphic novel, Shadowplay: Midnight School. At first, this book seems like a fevered nightmare. The main protagonist is a music student plagued by relentless self doubt. The school is full of shadowy villains, quick toContinue Reading
We Don’t Talk About Emma
A New Orleans detective decides to take the law into her own hands, but someone else beats her to it in We Don’t Talk About Emma. I look forward to the unusual plots of J.D. Barker’s horror books. However, my favorite genre is mystery. When I saw Mr. Barker branchingContinue Reading