Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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CBR BINGO: One—R.I.P. Tree

The Killing of a Chestnut Tree (Havelock Harper Mysteries, #1) by Oliver K. Langmead

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Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. I went to see John Green speak on his tour for Hollywood, Ending last Thursday, and at one point point in his talk, he said there are two types of people as you hit fifty years old: you either turn into a tree person or a bird person. I believe that I am turning into a tree person (I’ve read too much Tolkien, I think). So this is […]

“We women have been taught since birth that virtue is our greatest asset. I have nothing against virtues—I’d like to think that there are many virtues I practice assiduously. But power does not yield to virtue. Power yields only to power.”

Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock, #5) by Sherry Thomas

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I liked this one, but the mystery plot got convoluted at the end and I had to re-read several bits multiple times, and stop and think about things before it all came together for me. That confusion aside, this also didn’t have as high of emotional stakes for the characters I cared most about. The biggest stakes are for Inspector and Mrs. Treadles, since Inspector Treadles has been accused of two murders. Reasonably, as it turns out, as he was found in a locked room […]

“You are telling me that before you can be sure of your affections, you must be sure of yourself.”

The Art of Theft (Lady Sherlock, #4) by Sherry Thomas

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This isn’t my favorite series of all time or anything, but it is so consistent, and I really think that’s a trait we don’t talk about enough in books and authors. There is nothing worse than loving a book to pieces, and then it becomes a series and each book goes down the hill of quality and fun a little further until you just wish it would just die, and your love maybe curdles into hate. That has not happened here! Sherry Thomas knows what […]

“News always reached Miss Marple, one way or another.”

Marple: Twelve New Stories by Various

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I would read more of these Agatha Christie short story collections featuring notable authors, for sure. Even the ones where Americans tried and failed to capture that British Marple feeling were entertaining in their failure. But most of these stories were pretty successful! One nailed it completely. Highlights for me were the stories from Ruth Ware (I know!), Naomi Alderman, Elly Griffiths, Kate Mosse, and Leigh Bardugo. This may be the easy way out, but I’ve just copied and pasted my Goodreads status update mini-reviews […]

“I was the kid with the shackle clamped around his wrist:” King’s Latest Doorstopper

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

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I’ve read almost all of the King oeuvre so was excited to see this at 30% off at Target. He’s known as a master storyteller for a reason, and I sped through this in a few days. Over the last few years he’s been mainly playing around with crime novels and thrillers, so this pastiche/homage to classic fairy tales and America’s foundational genre writers like Burroughs, Lovecraft, and Baum was an interesting change of pace. He’s only really written one other fantasy-type novel (Eyes of […]

“And then Sherlock Holmes had turned out to be a woman with loose morals and no remorse.”

A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock, #2) by Sherry Thomas

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I spent my July 4th holiday off work reading about a fictional British character based on another fictional British character. I read this whole thing in a day, but even if I hadn’t had the day off work, I would have zoomed through it. I just love this series, its whole vibe. I’ve said this before, but I’m so impressed with how Sherry Thomas has managed to create her own sort of chemistry with these characters and these stories, when reimaginings can often feel pretty […]



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