Category Archives: books

Hi all, I’ve been gone for awhile because I was, and still am, very sick. But I feel a whole lot better the. last couple of weeks and I want to continue the blog because, as I planned when I … Continue reading →

Long ago I read a handful of books about modern day Israel, its history and difficulties. One of the an authors was Ilan Pappe, and I believe Chomsky may have been another.  This book, published in 2023, is an excellent … Continue reading →

Oh this is a wonderful book!  I loved reading it and finished it, 9h 21m, in one day.  This was*back on June 6 I and didn’t manage to blog it.    The plot is thick and twisty. The characters are … Continue reading →

Recommended in the 4-Mystery Addicts reading group and I’d been looking closely at it anyway.  I’ve read so many “mystery” novels from India and Pakistan, Malaysia, etc.  The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips, 2023Read by Fareda Pasha, 9h 19mRating … Continue reading →

The story concerns a family slaying in which a 15-year old girl, Sophie. hides, survives and escapes. (This happens in the Prologue.) This kind of hooks the reader into the story (lol). The Silent Watcherby Victor MethoseNarrated by: Saskia Maarleveld 8h … Continue reading →

In his 2009 (?)  book,The Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis wrote about how the government might possibly develop a way of rewarding the good workers in its various departments. There are multitudes of good workers and probably dozens of outstanding workers. … Continue reading →

Oh I so enjoy raw books of Victor Mwrhoa – these are legal thrillers with plenty of courtroom drama. Many of them come in short series. I’ve read about 7 books – not going in any rush but I could … Continue reading →

Fun book – especially for a debut novel. heartwarming characters involved in a complex plot with thought-provoking themes. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltRead by Marin Ireland, Michael Urie 11h 16mRating –  8.75 (Very good!)  Heartwarming tale – fun.  There … Continue reading →

I’ve read Banville/Black’s 6 earlier novelss in this series and enjoyed them all. Prior to those I read most of his stand-alone literary fiction. Banville has his own unique style which will likely never pull off a James Patterson type thriller. … Continue reading →

Time has gone by and the daughters of Joe and Marybeth Pickett have grown up, but the world has changed, too.  Where the Job is the same in some ways like finding the idiot who shot and then left a … Continue reading →

This is the 15th mystery novel in the fine Gaslight Series which takes place in New York City at the turning of the century from the 18th to the 19th centuries.  Murder on Fifth Avenue ~ by  Victoria Thompson read by … Continue reading →

Vicious CircleBy C.J. Box, 2016/ by David Chandler \(Book #17 in the Joe Pickett series)  The plane circled in the dark. Joe Pickett could just make out down below a figure in the snow and timber, and then three other figures closing in. There … Continue reading →

I read this back in February (’25) and made notes for it, but I never got those notes put up into a “review.” Playground  by Richard Powers,  2025Read by Edoardo Ballerini &  a small castWinner of Pulitzer Prize fiction 2024Rating … Continue reading →

Conclave by Robert Harris2016Rating – 8 / Gen Fiction Good book! A bit more religious (appropriately and carefully so) than I expected – I guess I expected big sex scandals or something but that’s not it, although there is a … Continue reading →

This is Book 2 of a 2-book series. The interesting thing  is there are probably 20 years between books. I’m surprised I remember book #1.  . That reminds me of one of John Grisham’s newer books and there are similarities. The … Continue reading →

This is #13 in the Gaslight Mystery series which I’m reading my way through nice and slowly, enjoying myself.  This series has some excellent historical fiction with a very light touch of romance.  I don’t know about Thompson’s other books … Continue reading →

Remember when typewriter print was as regularly examined and written about in crime stories as fingerprints are today?  Yes, well his first book, Call for the Dead, first published  in 1961,by John Le Carre, took me back.   Call for the DeadBy … Continue reading →