Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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About esmemoria

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In my walking around life, I miss my old, blind pug (the Ancient Mariner), help amazing college students become teachers, and tie an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: esmemoria's Quick Questions interview.)

esmemoria's Reviews:

The Title Pretty Much Says it All

Pursuit by Thomas Perry

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Bingo: Left. Main antagonist leaves home to start his “life of adventure” as he puts it, a life of crime Thomas Perry’s Pursuit is not really a mystery and not quite a thriller. Two men—one a killer for hire, the other not much different but with a little less sociopathy—chase each other around the country to kill the other one. Varney, the main antagonist, is a young man with a dysfunctional family background. He leaves home for what he calls “a life of adventure” and […]

Not Bad, Not Great

Never Flinch by Stephen King

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Bingo: One. Two distinct storylines come together as one. You have to push through to the bitter end. No flinching, no turning away. it amazes me sometimes how long I’ve been reading Stephen King. At least since 12 years old, I think and I’m 57 now. I haven’t read everything but I’ve read a lot. Never Flinch was enjoyable if a little repetitive in places (King could always use a little editing).  It’s part of what started out as the Bill Hodges series, and now the […]

“I loved her.” “Since when has that ever stopped anybody from hurting someone?”

The Dry by Jane Harper

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Bingo: Season. The small town featured is suffering through a season of drought Jane Harper’s The Dry is set in the small Australian town of Kiewarra. The town is in the middle of a terrible drought when the murder of a mother, father, and young son is discovered on their land. Based on the bodies’ conditions and location, it appears the father, Luke Hadler, murdered his wife and son before taking his own life. A prodigal son of sorts, Aaron Falk, a federal agent, returns […]

My Mystery Streak Chugs On

The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

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Bingo: Versus. Character Anthony Horowitz versus Cara Grunshaw and Derek Mills, two detectives who arrest him for murder. I will never get tired of Anthony Horowitz, I’m calling it now. The Twist of a Knife is another book in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, with Hawthorne being a mysterious but astute detective and Horowitz the author himself. I’ve read two other books in the series and enjoyed them very much. It is no different with The Twist of a Knife. The book starts with the […]

Horowitz Never Fails

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

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Bingo: And. Horowitz embeds a mystery book in his mystery book. One mystery and another mystery. IMPORTANT NOTE: This book, third in the Susan Ryeland series, references the solution to the first book, Magpie Murders. Readers are advised to read that book first if they don’t want it spoiled. Marble Hall Murders takes up where Moonflower Murders ended. Editor Susan Ryeland has moved back to England from Crete and is freelancing for a new publisher. The publisher has given Susan a manuscript that lays out […]

Dear Lord, This Was Awful, But Dammit it Stuck the Landing

Hide and Seek by James Patterson

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Bingo: Success. The two main characters are huge successes in their fields. Hide and Seek by James Patterson is terrible by any measure. It’s poorly written (and this is when Patterson was writing his own stuff I believe and not pairing up with ex presidents and a team of ghost writers). Its female main character is an insufferable Mary Sue. The antagonist is a standard issue violent sociopath whose actions are boringly cliche. The plot feels like a rip off of Sydney Sheldon’s Rage of […]



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