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January 2023 Leftovers

Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly

Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh

Anxious People by Frederick Backman

The Dead Season by Tessa Wegert

A Diet of Treacle by Lawrence Block

The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports by Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg

February 3, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

Here are brief reviews for the books I read in 2023 that I either didn’t have time to review or that didn’t merit 250 words… Two Kinds of Truth*** First new read of 2023! I continue to plow through the Bosch series. I enjoyed most of what I read recently but this was just blah. Boring, predictable dueling plots, though one is resolved with an interesting twist. Read better, read worse in this series. Looking forward to getting to some of the Renee Ballard books. […]

California Soul-less

Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper

January 20, 2023 by Jake 2 Comments

Much like Deepti Kapoor’s Age of Vice, this is an early 2023 novel that came with a ton of hype. Being a big crime fiction fan, I’ve been hearing about this book for months, not just from publishers who make it their job, but from other mystery writers. It was billed as the modern day Chinatown, the new age Los Angeles noir. I knew I’d probably enjoy it but wasn’t sure if it could live up to its lofty billing. It did. Oh my, it did. What […]

December 2022 Leftovers

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Nineteen Eighty Three by David Peace

Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder by Steve Hodel

And There He Kept Her by Josh Moehling

The Crossing by Michael Connelly

The Nice Guys by Charles Ardai

What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 by Daniel Walker Howe

December 30, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Happy Holidays! Here are the books I finished this month that didn’t merit full reviews due to time constraints and/or a lack of 250 words to describe them… The Burning Room**** Usually with Bosch books, I can tell within the first 30 pages if they’re gonna be good or not. This one was different. I didn’t have a sense for it at first and had a little trouble connecting with it but it turned out to be great. I liked Connelly’s integration of Lucia Soto, […]

Bringing L.A. to the Water (and movies, and church)

The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist

December 6, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

My Los Angeles kick continues with a good one. Being a big fan of Chinatown, I’ve always been curious about the truth behind the actual story to hydrate Los Angeles. Throw in the stories of the founding of the movie industry and the story of Aimee Semple McPherson’s controversial life and I’m in. Gary Krist delivers. He doesn’t get too bogged down in the technical aspects of the respective fields he’s describing. I felt like I got a healthy picture of each particular person involved: McPherson, city engineer […]

November 2022 Leftovers

The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

The Hot Beat by Robert Silverberg

Your Book, Your Brand: The Step-By-Step Guide to Launching Your Book and Boosting Your Sales by Dana Kaye

Nineteen Seventy Seven by David Peace

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy

Nineteen Eighty by David Peace

Ex Machina, Book Three by Brian K. Vaughan

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Destroy All Monsters (Reckless, Vol.2) by Ed Brubaker

The Ghost in You (Reckless, Vol.3) by Ed Brubaker

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

December 3, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all who observe! Here is my list of readings that I got to in November that didn’t merit a longer review… The Golden Cage*** Part 1: Ma’am, wyd? Part 2: Good for her! Part 3: Good for…her? Also, kinda sad. Epilogue: Good for her! This is a good, trashy beach read. I just wish there had been less on Faye’s shady past- which wasn’t filled in well-and more on the machinations to destroy her husband’s business. Also, I’m not […]

In the City of LA

The Empty Glass by JI Baker

A Student of History by Nina Revoyr

Friend of the Devil (Reckless #2) by Ed Brubaker

November 23, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

By both design and coincidence, I read three consecutive books on Los Angeles over the last 48 hours. The first two were good 4-star reads and the third was an excellent 5-star one… The Empty Glass Oliver Stone’s Blonde. This got poor reviews and I guess I get it? I suppose it depends on what your expectations are. Me personally, I enjoyed this wild romp through Los Angeles as a low level county morgue guy tries to unravel a government conspiracy around Marilyn Monroe’s death. […]

MsWas on I was right to kidnap this book.That is a hilarious and inventive way to give that book. I will have to keep that in mind.
Emmalita on I was right to kidnap this book.Ok, but your gift giving game is excellent!
Emmalita on OK, I Need to Talk About These BooksThere are some books that are addictive even when they make us feel bad about ourselves after reading them. I can see how these books...
Malin on “One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.”I really want to read this, I'm just worried that it being set in a fictional version of Norway is going to push some peeve...
Michellers66 on I was right to kidnap this book.I am not familiar with Benjamin Stevenson and delighted to try one of his books, think I will start with Either Side of Midnight per...

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