Disclosure: I was given this novel by the author through a CBR8 giveaway in exchange for a fair review. I received the book Friday, March 18, read half of it on the 19th, and the other half today, the 22nd. Life interfered on Sunday and Monday and I couldn’t sit down to read it, but I did spend a lot of time thinking about it. I don’t really like using terms like “page-turner” because they’re cliche, but this one … this one really did fly […]
Take 52 Steps Away from this Book
Normally I like to add the cover image. I’m not going to do that this time. This book is not worth that kind of energy. The blurb says this: An elderly woman is found poisoned in the upstairs bedroom of her home whose front door stands 52 steps above the street in an old-fashioned whodunit that blends clues, red herrings, suspects, and humor. It has a solid 4 stars. I wanted something fast to read and this promised me funny. It was free. I got […]
Sweet and Cozy
Sometimes I want a quick read. A comfortable read where nothing too gross happens. It’s what they call a “cozy” mystery. If you’re not familiar with the term, think of it as a book that’s like an episode of Castle. There’s a mystery – usually a death – but it’s not described in lurid detail. The main character (almost always a woman) may even say something like “I didn’t need a close look to know that <victim> was dead.” There are quirky characters, quirky settings, and an […]
Holden Caulfield Goes to Hogwarts
Did you ever wonder about those white-haired, cynical wizards in fantasy stories? The ones that show up at strange times and disappear right when their magic would be most beneficial? Did you ever wonder what their backstory was? Me neither, but apparently Lev Grossman did. I wish I could take credit for the “Holden Caulfield goes to Hogwarts” thing, but I stole that from a friend of a friend. It’s fitting. The main character, Quentin Coldwater, is about seventeen at the start of the book. […]
Awooo! Werewolves of Baltimore!
I love me some werewolves. I love me some Baltimore. I love me some gay romance. You’d think I’d love me this book. Sadly, I did not. This book unfortunately pushes a lot of my “nope” buttons, but I do understand that there are a lot of people out there for whom this book will be catnip. Erm. Whatever the werewolf version of catnip is. It starts with a sex scene. Two cops, partners Logan and Dylan, are getting hot and heavy in their off-hours. One […]
The Not So Honorable Phryne Fisher
Reviews #12 through 16. Flying Too High (#2), Murder on the Ballarat Train (#3), Death at Victoria Dock (#4), The Green Mill Murder (#5), and Blood and Circuses (#6). The link for this post is for a collection of the first three stories featuring Miss Fisher. The first one (Cocaine Blues) I read last year, so it’s not included in this review. The official blurb for this book is thus: Meet Phryne Fisher, the 1920s’ most elegant and irrepressible sleuth, in her first three adventures […]