Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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A Quick Little Walk on the Dark Side

The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 by Louise Penny (editor)

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I’m going to say that while I did like this collection, I don’t necessarily know that I personally would have called all the included stories “mystery” stories. A lot of them fell into more of a ‘suspense’ or general ‘crime’ genres rather than a true mystery story. That didn’t bother me most of the time, but it was enough of a thing that I wanted to get it out there for anyone who may want to check this one out. As with most short story […]

Apologies to whoever sat next to me while I read this

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

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The Library at Mount Char is a strange book. Sometimes it’s really interesting and suspenseful; other times, it’s horrific (as in horror literature, not general quality). The thing is, at least for me, is that the two don’t quite mesh together. The general story follows Caroline and Steve, who apparently has some kind of criminal past but now lives a quiet life as a plumber. He meets Caroline who seems a little off but who offers him an unusual amount of money to help her […]

Red Harvest

The Fools In Town Are On Our Side by Ross Thomas

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Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest is perhaps my favorite crime novel of all-time. It inspired one of my favorite movies of all time: Miller’s Crossing. It also inspired the Akira Kurosawa classic Yojimbo, which I have not seen, though I want to. Point being: I obviously have a thing for the specific genre where a political actor is caught in a corrupt city and plays both sides against each other for their own benefit. I don’t know Ross Thomas’ inspirations for Fools in Town but I’d be stunned if Red Harvest wasn’t one […]

If ever there was a book that I needed to talk to someone about, this would be it

Blue Hours by Daphne Kalotay

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I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review. Blue Hours is a book in three parts. It is part relationship drama, part international hostage drama, and part infuriating. The story begins in New York City with Mim, a recent college graduate trying to make it as a writer. She lives with several roommates and works in a retail clothing store. She is both too frugal to eat anything but liverwurst at the deli for lunch everyday […]

Very Much The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Before Turning Into Another Book

The Woman in Our House by Andrew Hart

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Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review. This book will be released on June 18, 2019.  So initially I thought this was a pretty good book. We follow Anna (a young mother who is attempting to go back to work and is looking for a live in nanny) and Oaklynn (the nanny in question). Then Hart decides to follow other POV’s in this one (Anna’s husband Josh, a neighbor of the couple, a police officer, […]

Enough to Turn You Off True Crime

Two can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

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I didn’t like the two leads (Malcolm and Ellery) and the whole book really showcases why a lot of true crime fans like Ellery suck. They don’t really care about the victims of a crime, they just want to play amateur sleuths and think they can find the guilty party. That said, there was not really anything suspenseful in this read. I was bored from beginning to end. Even though this is a Young Adult mystery novel, the actual mystery part should make sense and […]



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