Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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The human side of Sherlock Holmes.

Observations by Gaslight: Stories From the World of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

January 3, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

Lyndsay Faye is a consummate player of The Great Game, and this book was a lovely little treat. If you’re somehow unaware, The Great Game is the practice of Sherlockians to act as if Holmes and Watson were real, and to make existing canon and facts fit together. This book plays into that in that Faye acts like she is just the editor of these stories, which are all told from the first person perspectives of people in Sherlock Holmes’s life who aren’t Dr. John […]

Filed Under: Mystery, Short Stories Tagged With: Lyndsay Faye, mystery, narfna, observations by gaslight, pastiche, published fanfiction, Sherlock Holmes, sherlockian, stories, stories from the world of sherlock holmes

narfna's CBR14 Review No:1 · Genres: Mystery, Short Stories · Tags: Lyndsay Faye, mystery, narfna, observations by gaslight, pastiche, published fanfiction, Sherlock Holmes, sherlockian, stories, stories from the world of sherlock holmes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A literary mystery where the stuff on the side is more interesting than the main course.

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

December 30, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I feel like this book proves how diverse the crime/mystery genre can be in terms of style and theme, and it proves that by not really being something I loved. I love mysteries, unsolved crimes being solved, themes of racial and gender equality, historical fiction mysteries, books about writers and journalists, and stories about women breaking free of their expected gender roles. And yet, I didn’t love this, even though it features all of those things. I like my crime and mystery books either to […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: historical fiction, Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman, mystery, narfna

narfna's CBR13 Review No:207 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: historical fiction, Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman, mystery, narfna ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

An interesting failure.

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox

December 29, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

Thanks to Netgalley and Recorded Books for the audio ARC. It hasn’t affected the content of my review. This was an impulse request from Netgalley because I thought it was a true crime story, as one might expect from the title. It, my friends, is not. It is a fictional thriller/mystery written sort of in the style of a true crime book. I’ve never, ever seen an actual true crime book structured like this, though. It has more elements of an oral history or filmed documentary […]

Filed Under: Mystery, Suspense Tagged With: ARCs, audiobooks, full cast recording, Joseph Knox, mystery, narfna, NetGalley, Suspense, true crime story

narfna's CBR13 Review No:200 · Genres: Mystery, Suspense · Tags: ARCs, audiobooks, full cast recording, Joseph Knox, mystery, narfna, NetGalley, Suspense, true crime story ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Merry Christmas!

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby

Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League by Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortune of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by Jonathan Pearson

The Blonde on the Street Corner by David Goodis

December 26, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Having been busy with Christmas prep, avoiding Delta and Omicron, and other various things, I haven’t had the time to write long, 250+ reviews for these books. I figured I’d just cram them all here since I know I won’t finish Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate before New Year’s Eve. The Fortress of Solitude *** This clears the 3-star threshold but just barely. I appreciate what Lethem is trying to do here and I usually enjoy his work. But this was a […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, History, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Sports, Suspense Tagged With: All Her Little Secrets, Atlanta, bildungsroman, Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Brooklyn, Cold Shot to the Heart, Con Men, corporate thriller, David Goodis, football, Georgia, Getty Oil, Hail Mary, hard case crime, J. Paul Getty, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Pearson, lawrence block, mystery, National Women's Football League, Noir, Painfully Rich, Philadelphia, sports, superheroes, surrealism, The Blonde on the Street Corner, The Fortress of Solitude, The Girl with the Long Green Heart, thieves, thriller, true crime, Wallace Stroby, Wanda M. Morris, women

Jake's CBR13 Review No:201 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, History, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Sports, Suspense · Tags: All Her Little Secrets, Atlanta, bildungsroman, Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Brooklyn, Cold Shot to the Heart, Con Men, corporate thriller, David Goodis, football, Georgia, Getty Oil, Hail Mary, hard case crime, J. Paul Getty, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Pearson, lawrence block, mystery, National Women's Football League, Noir, Painfully Rich, Philadelphia, sports, superheroes, surrealism, The Blonde on the Street Corner, The Fortress of Solitude, The Girl with the Long Green Heart, thieves, thriller, true crime, Wallace Stroby, Wanda M. Morris, women ·
· 0 Comments

The weakest one of these in a while.

Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #14) by Louise Penny

December 21, 2021 by narfna 4 Comments

Lots of mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I really liked the main conceit of the plot, that this old woman makes Gamache, Myrna, and a strange young man named Benedict the liquidators of her will, despite that none of them knew her. The woman, who called herself the Baroness, had a strange and interesting past, and as often happens in these books, a murder occurs. The B-plot of the book follows Cadet Amelia Choquet after she is expelled from the academy […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Canadian Lit, chief inspector armand gamache, Detective Fiction, Kingdom of the Blind, Louise Penny, murder, mystery, narfna

narfna's CBR13 Review No:191 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Canadian Lit, chief inspector armand gamache, Detective Fiction, Kingdom of the Blind, Louise Penny, murder, mystery, narfna ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

Officer Involved

You Can Die Trying by Gar Anthony Haywood

December 19, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’ve been going through some of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series this past year. One thing I’ve written about it is my concern of how Connelly walks to the edge of police criticism but then draws back because he needs his Harry Bosch character to be “good,” even when Harry is bending and breaking laws to solve cases that apparently only he can solve. I like Connelly a lot, I really do. But reading Gar Anthony Haywood’s take on systemic racism and police brutality in You […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Aaron Gunner, Gar Anthony Haywood, los angeles, mystery, Police Brutality, You Can Die Trying

Jake's CBR13 Review No:194 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Aaron Gunner, Gar Anthony Haywood, los angeles, mystery, Police Brutality, You Can Die Trying ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • G.D. Giant
    on When You Hate the Protagonist (But Enjoy the Book)
    Will do!
  • RouletteGirl
    on When You Hate the Protagonist (But Enjoy the Book)
    Once you finish it, let me know what you think!
  • G.D. Giant
    on Love is in the Cards
    Oh gosh, I loved this book! While I didn't find it "erotically charged" I definitely found it deeply affecting. It...
  • G.D. Giant
    on When You Hate the Protagonist (But Enjoy the Book)
    Hah! This is exactly the review I was hoping for for this book. I haven't read it yet, but it's...
  • G.D. Giant
    on I couldn’t put it down
    I just read this last year and your review is spot on with my experience. I also wished I had...
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