Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


December 2022 Leftovers

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Nineteen Eighty Three by David Peace

Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder by Steve Hodel

And There He Kept Her by Josh Moehling

The Crossing by Michael Connelly

The Nice Guys by Charles Ardai

What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 by Daniel Walker Howe

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Happy Holidays! Here are the books I finished this month that didn’t merit full reviews due to time constraints and/or a lack of 250 words to describe them… The Burning Room**** Usually with Bosch books, I can tell within the first 30 pages if they’re gonna be good or not. This one was different. I didn’t have a sense for it at first and had a little trouble connecting with it but it turned out to be great. I liked Connelly’s integration of Lucia Soto, […]

Murder and a Fulfilling Retirement

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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The Thursday Murder Club has been on my radar off and on for a while; finally, another Cannonballer’s review of a sequel reminded me and coincided with a random bookstore coupon (in-store only), so I went shopping. This is probably what Only Murders in the Building must be like in book form; I don’t have the streaming service required, but I’m not too sad about that anymore. Basically, the premise is a group of residents of a retirement home in rural-ish England get together to […]

Mysteries and sci-fi fandom

Ten Little Fen: A Spade Paladin Novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

At Witt’s End: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Really Big Ka-Boom: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Unity Con: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Early Conundrums: A spade/Paladin Collection by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

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These books and stories were all read together in a bunch, although the writing of them probably spanned decades.  The stories are all set at various speculative fiction cons – featuring two main characters who only really interact at these cons.  Spade – a large guy who made money in the early days of computing and acts as one of the “Secret Masters of Fandom” and helps keep cons going.  He acts as a form of detective.  Paladin – a slight woman who acts as […]

“Declan had put his identity crises on hold multiple times for the greater good. Matthew had only been asked to do it once.”

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater

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This is NOT the place to start if you’re not caught up. Begin either with the start of this trilogy, Call Down the Hawk, or with the start of the previous series (in which Ronan is an essential character), The Raven Boys. This book kicks off a little while after the rather dramatic cliffhanger that the previous book left us with. Ronan and Hennessey are fugitives from the Moderators, learning new and helpful tricks to deal with their mysterious hunters from the enigmatic Bryde. According […]

Other things I have read – a mixed basket of books i finally finished

Prime Meridian by Silvia Morena-Garcia

I Have Always Been Me: A Memoir by Precious Brady-Davis

Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard

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An assortment of books that have been on my kindle for a while – half read and now finally finished Prime Meridian More of a novella, this is set in a near future where humanity is starting to head to Mars, but much of our current issues are are still there.  The heroine, Amelia, doesn’t have much money. She scrapes a living with various tasks and dreams of being an astronaut.  She had a relationship with an artist who turned out to be wealthy, but […]

A second and third helping for the Noodle Shop mysteries

Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien

Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien

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When work is stressful, I unwind often with a cozy mystery. Vivien Chien’s Noodle Shop mysteries really hit the spot. Last year, I reviewed the first novel, Death by Dumpling for CBR 13. The series follows Lana Lee and her family’s noodle restaurant in the Asia Village shopping center. She stumbles upon a murder and helps the cute detective, Adam, solves the case. It’s a similar formula in the next two novels in the series. It was easy to go back into the series months […]



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