Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

London Calling

Hard Light by Elizabeth Hand

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With a new Cass Neary novel out, I realized that I put book three off for so long. That was a mistake. I’ve never enjoyed a misanthropic character more and I think in large part that’s because Elizabeth Hand is such a fantastic writer. She doesn’t make Neary more than it is, she’s an anti-hero plain and simple. But she knows how to write a hell of an atmospheric tale, with touches and nods to photography and the punk scene. I know little about either […]

Harry’s back, and this is only the first of the books we get this year

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

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No rating until I’ve read the second part of the story. Spoiler warning! This is book 16 in a long, ongoing series. This really isn’t the place to start. Normally, I’d recommend that you start with book 1, but the first three books of The Dresden Files are pretty bad, so you’d be better off starting with book 4, Summer Knight. I highly recommend the audio books, narrated by James Marsters. They’re what finally sold me on the series. Official book description: When the Supernatural nations of the world meet […]

A locked room mystery that is also a dark comedy and a reflection on mental health

Anxious poeple by Fredrik Backman

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Fredrik Backman is a Swedish novelist who broke out a few years ago with the novel A Man Called Ove.  He is also a genius, which is proved by his latest offering Anxious People.  I have read everything he has written which has been published in English.  His latest might be his best (or at least a close second behind Ove). The premise is pretty simple.  A bank robber, who makes the mistake of trying to rob a cashless bank, escapes by running into an […]

“The future isn’t a warning my friend, it’s a promise.”

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

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CBR12 BINGO: Cannonballer Says I decided to read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle for the “Cannonballer Says” BINGO square after reading Narfna’s review. Or rather, I should say, after skimming Narfna’s review, because as soon as I saw the basic premise and the spoiler alerts, I averted my eyes and decided to go no-contact on any reviews until after I had read it. I’m glad I did; yet here I am with the impossible task of describing a book I really enjoyed without giving […]

Haunted house or horrible people?

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

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Maggie Holt is shocked to learn she’s inherited Baneberry Hall, the Victorian mansion in Vermont that her family fled 25 years earlier. The 20 days they lived at Baneberry Hall were chronicled in a bestselling book, House of Horrors, written by Maggie’s father. Although Maggie has no memory of that time, she’s spent her life being asked by fans, critics, and journalists if the house really is haunted. Her parents have never given her a straight answer, so Maggie decides to go to Baneberry Hall […]

Suspense Is Killing

Hipster Death Rattle by Richie Narvaez

A Touch of Death by Charles Williams

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I finished two different crime novels over the last couple of days, one written by a  novice, the other by a legend, both really good in their own respective ways. Hipster Death Rattle I’ve become more familiar with north Brooklyn the last couple of months and boy, does Richie Narvaez know ever corner and haunt. A delightful skewering of hipster culture set right in the middle of Williamsburg, Gentrification’s Ground Zero, the book is as much a satire as it is a mystery. Some of […]



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