Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Thick As Blood

Judas: How A Sister's Testimony Brought Down A Criminal Mastermind by Astrid Holleeder

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I try hard not to pander as a well-intentioned guy but, man, men suck. Not trying to impress anyone with this very obvious comment. It’s a world created by and dominated by men. I don’t say this to invisibilize the very real gains and sacrifices women and non-cis-men have made in this world. But so often, the worst crimes in humanity originate from the minds and hands of men. I say this because Astrid Holleeder’s very raw memoir about testifying against her brother is not […]

“I think, in this case, ‘alligator tears’ would be a more appropriate wording.”

Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida by Mikita Brottman

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Two couples in Florida make up a close knit quartet of best friends, until one husband vanishes while out duck hunting, sparking a long running mystery that will remain unsolved for more than a decade. In the annals of true crime, murder as the solution to an affair is a common occurrence, mundane even when stacked up the ranks of serial killers and mass murderers who generally get top billing. But even a ‘mundane’ crime is a story in itself, and the people they victimize […]

Racing Time

Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens

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A horse called Darley was born on a farm in Kentucky a decade before the Civil War; under the name Lexington, he broke the world record for speed and left an imprint on the world of American horse racing that persists to this very day. I was never a horse girl, but in elementary school I had a phase in which I read a great deal of Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley. As such, I’ve probably seen about four horses close up throughout my life, […]

The Great Crime Boom

San Francisco Homicide Inspector 5-Henry-7 by Frank Falzon, Duffy Jennings

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As a homicide inspector in San Francisco during the 1970s and 80s, Frank Falzon investigated some of the most famous crimes of the decade, including the Night Stalker serial murders and the Moscone-Milk assassinations. I came to this book in a pretty serendipitous way. I’d just listened to an episode of My Favorite Murder in which the one of the hosts covered a case discussed in this book, which she’d come across because her cousin was a colleague of Falzon’s. Just a day later, when I […]

November 2023 Leftovers

Catch and Release by Lawrence Block

We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba

The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched an Empire by John Eisenberg

Ghosts of West Baltimore by David Simmons

Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci

Hit Me by Lawrence Block

Donnie Brasco by Joseph D. Pistone

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Happy Thanksgiving to all who observe! Catch and Release *** Been angling to read more LB lately so I figured I’d knock out this short story collection for my monthly HCC read. Sadly, the results were predictable: a repetition of serial killers, hit men and un-sexy sex. I just can’t sink my teeth into books featuring short stories and this one was no exception. I enjoyed visiting Matt and Mick at Grogan’s again and the last story was fun but beyond that? Who lotta eh and […]

Bright Young Women

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

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I was hesitant to pick up the new novel from Jessica Knoll as I really didn’t care for Luckiest Girl Alive, one of her previous published works which was turned into a Netflix film starring Mila Kunis. But I was pleasantly surpised by Bright Young Women, as it was a refreshing take on the oft cliched true crime drama narrative. Rather than focusing on the perpetrator, Knoll brings attention and humanity to the victims, their friends and their families. The book follows two women across two different […]



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