Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What really happens in the jury room?

The Holdout by Graham Moore

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What happens when a young black teacher is on trial for the murder of a wealthy LA businessman’s daughter (who was his student) and there isn’t a body?  You end up with a very long, very publicized trial, and a jury who can’t reach a decision.  Or can they?  In a similar fashion to Twelve Angry Men, can one women change the minds of the rest of the jury to vote not guilty? The Holdout is a brilliant mystery by Graham Moore, a great writer […]

Ready For Her Close-Up

North of Montana by April Smith

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I read an interview with famed Los Angeles-based crime writer Michael Connelly where he was asked to give two recommendations for under-appreciated LA novels. North of Montana is one he mentioned and I was intrigued by it. I had no familiarity with the work of April Smith and the premise sounded interesting enough, especially how Connelly pitched it: a procedural novel with a female detective who has to deal with her male colleagues bullcrap. So I picked it up. I see what Connelly likes about it. […]

Little demons everywhere

Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

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Official book description: Lucy Valdez is many things: fight trainer/bodyguard to superheroines, fabulous vintage fashion plate, undisputed karaoke queen at local joint, The Gutter. She is also one of the toughest fighters in all of San Francisco without superpowers. So why can’t she seem to confess her feelings to her longtime crush Rose Rorick, head of the San Francisco Police Department’s Demon Unit? Well…. actually, she knows why. She’s afraid Rose won’t like the real Lucy, the Lucy underneath all the fabulous bravado. (She is […]

Mess In Texas

The Dime by Kathleen Kent

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The Dime is an interesting book. It purports to be one thing, and it is for most of the story’s first 2/3rds. And then it becomes something else in the final 1/3rd. How you feel about the book will likely hinge on how you feel about that final 1/3rd. Let’s start with those first 2/3rds: It was okay. Betty, the protagonist, is a narcotics officer with the Dallas Police Department, and a New York transplant. Kent doesn’t waste a lot of time comparing the two different […]

Yes, it was quick, but no, I didn’t really enjoy it

Before I Say Good-bye by Mary Higgins Clark

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Our local used bookstore chain (Booksale) is littered with Mary Higgins Clark books.  Somehow, in the hours I spent in those stores (all branches), I never thought to pick up the works of the “Queen of Suspense”.  My sister is a very different reader than me and our bookshelves rarely intersect.  It was snobby of me but I tended to think of the books she reads as “easier” to read.  Still having the vision problems due to the autoimmune disease that I have, I have […]

Mystery as Lightweight Snack

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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I’ve been having some trouble making it through another book for CBR. I started a collection of Ngaio Marsh mysteries, but half-way through the stories dropped off in interest and quality. I then made it about a third of the way through The Best Mystery Stories of 2018, but I didn’t seem to like any of the selected authors. Grumpy, and falling behind in my reading, I seized on The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Skimming through some reviews it seemed to be a quick, […]



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