Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“A dilemma, my father used to say, is nothing but two bad options.”

One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley

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I started this book with minimal expectations, having never heard of the book or the author, and I can now say this book wasn’t for me. Overall it was paced too slow and the book was too long for me to find it enjoyable or gripping, but it wasn’t so bad that I stopped outright (plus, it was for a book club and I tend to see book club picks through to the end). The subject matter of this book is heavy and for me […]

What if Lara Croft and Indiana Jones worked together on a dig?

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura

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3.5 stars Official book description: When archaeologist Dr. Socorro ‘Corrie’ Mejía is invited to join an all-expenses-paid dig in the Mexican jungle, she thinks her wildest dreams have come true. It’s her life goal to lead an expedition in search of the long-lost remains of her ancestor, Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. But as the world-renowned expert on the topic, Corrie should be leading the expedition, not sharing the glory with her disgustingly handsome nemesis. Dr. Ford Matthews has been finding new […]

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 […]

An Escaped Eccentric (ft. Two Lovers)

Captured by Mary Lancaster

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Freed from her constrained life by the death of her autocratic father, Hera decides to take up a companion position where no one knows her. But as her assignment turns increasingly sinister, she turns to Justin, the doctor who attended her father before he died, for help. This is the second book in Mary Lancaster’s The Duel series, which follows the aftermath of a duel in which an army officer kills the cold-hearted Duke of Cuttyngham. Hera is the duke’s daughter, and Justin the friend […]

Hello, Old Friend

In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block

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And so I come full circle with the Matthew Scudder series, for though my re-read will go into 2025 (if I’m fortunate to live that long), this was the first one I read, almost 15 years ago. It didn’t start me down the path. Like my impressions with the first two, I found it derivative. Alcoholic PI, knight errant ex-cop, dirty New York, women killed, etc. But on re-reads, I see what Block was doing. I’m not sure he intended to set up a series; […]



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