Hope by Pope Francis
Read as part of CBR17 bingo: white cover Will preface this by saying I know a lot of people have suffered religious trauma, especially at the hands of the Catholic Church. This review is not meant to convert or convince you that your pain is not real. I also know that faith is not for everyone. This is not meant to be an evangelizing post. Despite my frustrations with the Roman Catholic Church, I had always been a fan of Pope Francis. I believed he […]
Conclave by Robert Harris
Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: detente. A cardinal attempts to keep peace while the church world is suspended over who will be the next Pope, despite shenanigans happening on the side. Also, shoutout to Spencer Hall, whose tweet eleven years ago still makes me laugh and is the title for this review. When I saw the trailer for Conclave, I knew I would be reading the book it was based on no matter what. I have mixed feelings on Robert Harris’ books but they […]
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy
As readers, we all dream of books that are specifically written for us. Certainly, we sometimes like to be challenged and pulled out of our comfort zone. But most of the time, we sit around asking questions like: Man, I wish someone would write a book in the hardboiled vein of a badass Catholic nun trying to solve a mystery in sun soaked New Orleans. Or words to that effect. Anyway, yes, Margot Douiahy wrote a book that was basically fine tuned to someone who likes the […]
The Confessions of Al Capone by Loren Estleman
This one is a tough book to pull off. There’s already tons of bs associated with the legend of Al Capone that it’s tough to discern the truth. Fortunately, Loren Estleman, a writer who I’ve been meaning to read for a very long time, gets it well. Estleman’s research is incredible. I read Max Alan Collins’ Scarface and the Untouchable before this so a lot of it was fresh in my head. I figured he (Estleman) might fudge the facts in order to tell a more compelling […]
Broken Places by Tracy Clark
The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
Solos by Kitty Burns Florey
The Lady Upstairs by Halley Sutton
Finishing off the year right with another round of great crime fiction… Broken Places 4 stars A really good debut novel that’s pure Chicago without being annoying. A little predictable towards the end but well-written nonetheless. Also, much love for featuring black Roman Catholicism, which is a different expression than the commonly mass produced (re:white) Roman Catholicism of crime novels and movies. The A.B.C. Murders 4 stars This one was about to highlight why I’m not a big Christie fan, despite usually enjoying her novels. Whereas […]
