The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm are the first two entries in a new detective series featuring Cormoran Strike and written by much-beloved J.K. Rowling (her pseudonym should hopefully not be a spoiler, as it has been well-publicized and Rowling has been interviewed as Galbraith by now). Strike is a veteran and an amputee, struggling to turn a profit as a private detective in The Cuckoo’s Calling when he is approached to investigate the death of a famous model Lula Landry. Strike is accompanied by […]
Troubling on so many levels
I’ve read Gillian Flynn’s body of work in reverse. I first became aware of her when everyone was reading Gone Girl, so I jumped on the bandwagon and tore through that novel like the suspenseful page-turner that it is. Next I read Dark Places, and in some ways I liked it even more, with its dark, In Cold Blood feel, though at times I felt like Flynn piled on the disfunction a bit too heavily. “How much more can this family go through?” I remember […]
There’s a country house party in the 1920s…what do you think will happen?
A. A. Milne is a million times more famous for Winnie-The-Pooh than he is for this neat, compact and fluent little novel of amateur detectives and a body in a locked room. Which is a shame, as The Red House Mystery (1922), while not brilliant or innovative, is of value because it masters the conventions with precision and humour, creating an entertaining mystery, and likeable characters with enjoyably explicit nods to Sherlock and Watson in their dynamic. Mark Ablett is a patron of the arts, an […]
The one where the crazy woman is better written than the crazy woman from Tampa
So it turns out that a) I forgot to post some links, and b) I’m crappy at writing reviews. But with the start of the school year (where the hell did summer go?), maybe I’ll get my act together. It’s impossible to review this book without spoilers, but since I think I’m the last person on Earth to read this, I’m not too worried I’m going to upset anyone. Either way, fair warning: spoilers ahead. Told in alternate voices, a technique I’m not a huge […]
Horns and Snakes, Somewhere in there is a Sir Mix-a-Lot Joke
Joe Hill’s Horns begins the morning Ig wakes up hung over and with horns growing out of his forehead. It’s about a year after his girlfriend was gruesomely killed in a “sex murder” and the whole community believes it was Ig who did it to her. Soon after discovering the growth of his horns, Ig also discovers that people can’t help but tell him their deepest, darkest secrets and desires and then listen to his suggestions to act or not on those impulses. Intrigued? To […]
A Time Traveler’s Homage to Jerome K. Jerome
If you are a fan of Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) or PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves novels, this novel is sure to please. Willis is a well known and “decorated” sci-fi author, having won multiple Nebula and Hugo Awards. She discovered JKJ through reading Robert Heinlein and gives him a tip of the hat in an amusing, clever and thoughtful work that combines time travel, mystery, and comedy of manners. It’s 2057 London and Ned Henry, an […]
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