Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A Different Kind of Spy Novel

The Secret Lovers by Charles McCarry

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Charles McCarry meets the kind of Goldilocks/middlebrow standard I look for in spy novels: not too complex, not too simple, not too jingoistic, not too cynical. Juuuuust right. This is the third I’ve read of his Paul Christopher series and like the last two, the plot gripped me. It’s a deep plot but not so convoluted that it loses the reader. Every scene has a purpose; there are few red herrings. It hurtles its way towards its sad, surprising end, tying in perfectly with the title of the novel. The characters are great too. I like McCarry’s say-little, stay-focused protagonist […]

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9/13/2018 's CBR10 Review No:21 |

Velvet…if you please (don’t murder me).

Velvet by Ed Brubaker

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You know how there are just too many strong female secret agents to choose from, in the same vein as James Bond or Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne, or raspy Liam Neeson, or raspy Jason Staham or whoever Tom Cruise is in the Mission Impossible movies? Except, like, not. What I’m saying is, women are hurting for representation in this genre, and the Velvet series is here to fill that gap and make you very very happy. And make a lot of dudes really really dead. Velvet is, as far as most people know, is just another secretary in a […]

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8/26/2018 's CBR10 Review No:33 |

Lady Bond Hunts Spy Ghosts and Discovers Cthulu May be Real

Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi

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Make James Bond a married woman and more complex character, allow for a very real afterlife which connects in some ways to the living realm, add an extra double cross and you’ve got Summerland. The premise is super interesting: in the late 1930s there are 2 branches of British spies, one based in the world of the living and one based in the world of the dead, called Summerland. There is massive political intrigue and likely catastrophic conflict brewing between the followers of the Presence (some sort of god-like intelligence that exists in the afterlife but has followers among the […]

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7/19/2018 's CBR10 Review No:44 |

Traitors, Talents, and Spies

At the Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon

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After finishing the disappointing Half a War I was scanning my shelves and the spine of this book, emblazoned with the flag of Great Britain, jumped out at me.  At the Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon.  The cover has a WWII militaristic look, with the tagline “Traitors, Talents, Spies:  Let the games begin”.  It had been the speculative fiction pick of the month last year at my favorite bookstore.  I knew nothing about it but the store’s recommendation was enough for me. Kay Kenyon has reimagined a post WWI era, where people have begun to show special abilities in the wake of the […]

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1/13/2018 's CBR10 Review No:4 |

How is a book about a spy this boring?

For Your Arms Only by Caroline Linden

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Alexander Hayes fought bravely during the Napoleonic war and achieved the rank of Major. During the battle of Waterloo, he was gravely injured and nearly died. When he, some weeks later, managed to get back to rejoin his fellow soldiers, he discovered that not only had one of his childhood friends died during the battle, but that he was being accused of treason. In absolute disgrace, he lets his family continue to believe that he died, and goes to work as a spy for England, in the hopes of eventually being able to clear his name. Now, five years later, […]

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12/30/2017 's CBR9 Review No:123 |

This book features a spy hero, but don’t go expecting some kind of exciting Regency James Bond adventure

A View to a Kiss by Caroline Linden

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3.5 stars Lady Mariah Dunmore is the daughter of a highly regarded diplomat, and has lived most of her life abroad with her very understanding mother and father. They would like her to find a nice man to marry, but seem perfectly fine with her taking her time and as they have such a good marriage themselves, no problem with her wanting to marry for love. Sadly, Mariah finds all the gentlemen of the London season rather tedious and uninspiring, until she meets a mysterious man in the shadows on the balcony at her parents’ ball, who charms her with […]

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12/23/2017 's CBR9 Review No:113 |

Searching for highwaymen in the Lake District

The Summer of You by Kate Noble

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Lady Jane Cummings has been mourning her mother’s death for a long time when she’s finally allowed back into society. Before she gets much of a chance to enjoy the balls and garden parties, however, her brother Jason returns from his Grand Tour on the Continent and insists that she take their ailing father, the Duke of Rayne north to their summer residence in Merrymere in the Lake District. He’s terrified that someone in society will discover that the respected Duke is losing his wits and while Jason’s plan involves Jane taking care of it (as she has done since […]

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12/3/2017 's CBR9 Review No:109 |

The Beauty and the Civil Service Clerk

Revealed by Kate Noble

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Lady Phillipa Benning is a young, beautiful, fantastically wealthy widow and the undisputed queen (and Mean Girl) of London society. She has set her eyes on the Marquis of Broughton, who is equally eligible, wealthy and popular, but her arch rival from school, Lady Jane Cummings also seems to have him in her sights and the vexing man is not beyond playing the two ladies against each other. Things start getting complicated after Philippa, having arranged a tryst with Broughton in a library, ends up hidden in a sarcophagus overhearing what appears to be famed English spy The Blue Raven discussing […]

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12/3/2017 's CBR9 Review No:108 |


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