Author Archives: beckylindroos

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy 1895 / Kindle – 455 pages rating: 9 I think I’ve mentioned before that one reason I enjoy classics is because they give an historical peek into the era in which they were written. … Continue reading →

Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje 2000 / 303 pgs (Kindle) Rating:  8 I usually totally enjoy Michael Ondaatje‘s work – especially Divisadero and Cat’s Table, but The English Patient was also quite good.  Imo,  he seems to have been improving as he’s … Continue reading →

The Cruelest Month (Det. Garmache #4) by Louise Penny 2008 / 320 pages Read by Ralph Cosham – 11h 46m Rating:   B+ Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Three Pines in the Province of Quebec,  is called on to investigate death … Continue reading →

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil 2012 / 288 pgs ( Kindle) rating:  8.5 This book started out so lovely,  so real, so refreshing.  I’d say the first half was like that. Then,  probably like the addicts themselves,  it just went downhill … Continue reading →

The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg 2005 (US 2013 / 528 pgs read by David Thorn 16h 58m Scandi-crime Rating:  A- A Fjällbacka lobster fisherman has hauled in a rather different catch – a small girl child – dead.  He notifies the … Continue reading →

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger 2013 / 320 pages read by Rich Orlow – 11h 2m rating:  8 / contemp. fiction This book starts slow and doesn’t speed up very fast either.  But there are inklings that something will … Continue reading →

What God Hath Wrought by Daniel Walker Howe Oxford University Press, USA; 2009 928 pages Rating:  9.5 I was hesitant about getting the book because on a first and very cursory glance it looked pretty dry and tedious.  Not so! … Continue reading →

The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey 2012/ 229 pages general fiction rating: 8.5 Carey seems to have done what he’s done several times before –  he’s constructed a book from two main plot threads.  One is “his” thread, one … Continue reading →

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson western crime 2004 / 400 pages read by George Guidell – 13h 8m rating:   C Walt Longmire has been the sheriff of a small county in Wyoming for a long time.  One night the … Continue reading →

Thirty Years War by C.V. Wedgewood 1938   / 536 pages Rating:  9 The Thirty Years War was the last really large series of conflicts of the Wars of Reformation which had involved the European Protestants and Catholics for in … Continue reading →

Eye of the Red Tsar by Sam Eastland crime / Russia-historical 2010 / 288 pages read by Paul Michael 9h 4m rating:  B+ The Tsar and his family were executed in 1918.  Now,  in 1928,  Pekkala (of the unknown first … Continue reading →

Feasting, Fasting by Anita Desai 1999/240 pages Booker s’list / India rating: 9 Odd I should actually read a paperback rather than an e-book, but this was on a super-sale and I couldn’t resist.   Although Desai has been widely acclaimed … Continue reading →

You’re Next by Gregg Hurwitz 2011 / 560 pages read by Scott Brick 14h. 1m suspense-thriller rating:   A++ Oh what a totally fabulous book – okay,  it starts out a little goodie-goodie with Mike being a bit too honest … Continue reading →

Thomas Jefferson: Author of America by Christopher Hitchens 2005/196 pages Rating:  9 This is more of a long biographical essay than a biography as such.  It’s a short book,  Hitchens’  ideas are well supported,  but there are no source notes. … Continue reading →

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva 2012 / 432 pages read by George Guidall 10h 25m rating:  D Why did I read this?  Because it was on sale and on the surface it looked good.  Later  I found out it … Continue reading →

Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin 2002/ 464 pages read by Joe Dunlop – 15h 34m rating :  B+ And John Rebus finds himself sequestered at Tuliallan Castle for retraining.   There,  he infiltrates a group of the truly corrupt known as “The … Continue reading →

A Distant Shore by Caryl Phillips 2003 / 288 pages contemporary fiction rating: 8.5 This book is comprised of 5 unnamed chapters which at first seem unrelated.   They are related.  This is a novel.  It which won a place … Continue reading →