Strange Houses by Uketsu
Strange Houses was the first book I read this year, back in January, and it has taken me entirely too long to just sit down and jot down my thoughts about it. Part of it is because I was very disappointed with how promising the premise was and how it fully deflated by the time I got to the end, so much so that now six months later, I’m honestly struggling to remember how it ended. The other reason why it took so long is […]
The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong
All I knew about this book before picking it up was that it had been adapted into a movie starring Claude Rains. I caught part of that movie on TCM one time and it looked intriguing so I thought I would check out the book. However, the novel is unfortunately really a very silly little thriller, reliant on extreme contrivances and characters behaving stupidly. The setup is this: Francis and Jane are a nephew and aunt of about the same age who are mourning the […]
The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom by rle Stanley Gardner
Back to the curious mid-century rules of divorce, especially in a community property state like California. No-fault divorce did not yet exist, so if either party wanted to get out of the deal fast, they had to file in the state of Nevada, and even then there were certain rules regarding residency. Which explains the dude ranches that proliferated in the vicinity of Reno and Las Vegas, where they usually hung out for the necessary month or so. The other alternative was the quickie Mexican […]
Guinea Pigs Don't Wear Pants by Chris Paul Rainbows Farias
The email came that said: PW’s Grab a Galley – Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants. It continued Dear You Thank you for requesting Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants through Publishers Weekly’s Summer 2026 Grab-a-Galley event. I’m excited to share that your name was selected as one of the winners for the title. See attached for your digital advance review copy. So, since I won, I should read it, right? I had a few minutes before I needed to send some reports and a few […]
Mountainous by Julia Kuo
Looking at the cover of Mountainous by Julia Kuo made me think that the book was going to be a book that “feels good” and has a mindfulness quality to it. And it does, but it is not just that. This unique work features a clever, sweet, and interesting story that blends meditation, self-esteem, and imagery to create a truly special experience. It shows (from the publisher’s description) that When the world moves so fast, mountains seem to stand still. But mountains move and change […]
The River of Silver: Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty
After taking a brief rest from tearing through Empire of Gold, I took a much more gentle pace through River of Silver. River of Silver is a series of short stories from multiple character points of view that stretches across the whole scope of the original trilogy. The stories are arranged chronologically from decades before we start City of Brass through to just after the ending of Empire of Gold. There are a few stories from the trilogy’s main protagonists, but mostly the stories are […]
