Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Blinded by the Glitter

A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton

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When the body of a strange young woman is found in the Earl of Unsworth’s garden during a party, his capable secretary Mr. Quayle is tasked with keeping the family from scandal during the investigation – a task only made harder by the secrets everyone is keeping. This is a cozy sort of mystery in 1920s England, with the vibe you’d get if you blend the adventurous plots of Sherlock Holmes and the humorous domestic drama of PG Wodehouse. I liked how the author built […]

“Being a serial killer who kills serial killers is a great hobby… Until you find yourself locked in a cage.”

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

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CBR16 Sweet Books: Excited (I love this book and would like everyone I know to read it, but also understand that it’s very much NOT for everyone). Spoiler warning! I will do my best to review this without major plot spoilers, but if you want to experience this book without any prior knowledge of the contents, possibly skip this review until you’ve read the book. Sloane “Blackbird” Sutherland and Rowan “Butcher” Kane have a rather unusual meet cute. He finds her locked in a cage, […]

A Lineage of Madness

The Noh Mask Mystery by Akimitsu Takagi

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An aspiring mystery writer and his childhood friend must join forces to solve the mystery of a string of deaths in a prominent Japanese family that may be the result of an inherited curse. I’ve always enjoyed reading works in translation – they seem to bring you closer to the place in which they are set – but I definitely haven’t read many genre works. As such, I was intrigued by the prospect of this locked room murder mystery, written in 1949 but never before […]

Too Many Bumps in the Night

The Last Girl Left by A.M. Strong, Sonya Sargent

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Five years after surviving the horrific crime in which all her friends were killed, Tessa returns to the lonely beach house where it occurred in the hopes of overcoming her trauma and writing a book. But as things become increasing sinister, she fears that the danger may not be fully past. I’ve been in the mood for a thriller recently, and thought this book should scratch that itch. The summary promised plenty of suspense and chills, and I am a sucker for the ‘last girl’ […]

Between the Freeze and the Thaw

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

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When midwife Martha Ballard is called to inspect the body of a man found frozen in the Kennebec River, the last person she expects it to be is the accused rapist of one of her patients – and when she determines that he has been murdered, the situation only becomes more complex. I first heard about Martha Ballard a few months ago, when I picked up the Pulitzer Prize-winning book based on her life (A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her […]

It was a relief and a horror to be known so perfectly.

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

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I’m not sure if I can categorize this book as dark academia, but the characters and the story remind me so much of what I enjoyed about “If We Were Villains” and “The Secret History,” it is impossible for me not to draw parallels between them. All three stories are linked by a sudden and violent death, and how those left behind cope with their secrets. Paul is a seventeen-year-old who has recently graduated from high school. He lives with his mother and his two […]



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