Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search this Site

Tigers, Spooks and Podcasters

Real Tigers (Slough House #3) by Mick Herron

Spook Street (Slough House #4) by Mick Herron

A Murder Most Actual by Alexis Hall

by 1 Comment

A.k.a. The reviews I didn’t feel like writing, but hey, I read the books.  Real Tigers & Spook Street I read the first two books in the Slow Horses series. I got them from my library, which unfortunately only carried translations.  Pro tip: translations suck and avoid them where you can.  They’re not bad translations, but all the whimsy and finesse are lost. I got the rest of the series in its original English, and whether that’s the sole reason I enjoyed the next parts […]

Final 2024 Leftovers

1876 by Gore Vidal

Joe Country by Mick Herron

James by Percival Everett

Slough House by Mick Herron

Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie

The Contemplative Tarot: A Christian Introduction to the cards by Brittany Muller

by Leave a Comment

Hope everyone had a wonderful 2024. Remember that while we can’t control the horrors of the world, there is joy to be found in the presence of those we love. 1876**** Didn’t hit as hard as Burr; Burr’s presence was the center of the story that made it go, whereas this book wants to highlight every major player in the 1876 election. But Vidal does a good job of evoking the atmosphere of the time: the unapologetic corruption, the paranoia of another war and the […]

The past and the present walk into a bar

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

by Leave a Comment

Slough House: a grimy station across from London’s Barbican Estate, tucked away above a Chinese restaurant that’s perpetually closed. It’s where MI5-rejects are sent in the hopes that they will quit, thus saving the service the headache of firing them. Against all odds, it has been drafted in protecting a visiting Russian oligarch with whom the British government is interested in striking a deal, or at least set up some sort of connection the way governments do. Two Slow Horses are ordered to babysit, though […]

Thanksgiving 2024 Leftovers

Remembrance Day by Henry Porter

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

Killing Castro by Lawrence Block

Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins

Spy Hook by Len Deighton

London Rules by Mick Herron

Real Tigers by Mick Herron

by Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Remembrance Day**** An interesting take on the English-vs-Irish spy novel and while the author telegraphs too many things, he knows how to keep a story moving. Barely clears the 4-star threshold but if I invest time to read something almost 500 pages long, it has to be at least “good” and this was. Dead Lions, Real Tigers, and London Rules**** I had originally meant to do a big long post on my love/grr relationship with Mick Herron’s Slough House […]

How do you decide which jerk to root for?

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

by Leave a Comment

This book is odd for two main reasons: there’s not one main character but a group; and none of them are really likeable. I know I’ve said this before, but I need at least one likeable character to root for! So this was an interesting read, but I don’t think I’ll seek out others in the series. The Slow Horses are MI5 agents who have been disgraced by mistakes and shuffled off to Slough House – a place for spies who have embarrassed themselves, but […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo