Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews, plus social, political, & economic commentary
Recently, I’ve reviewed several new books for Lone Star Literary Life and for this book review blog. And I keep looking guiltily at the other books I’ve gathered over the months and years before the pandemic hit. I want to be reading them, too. Yet, even when much of life is shut down and “house … Continue reading Book Reflections: 07/2020
Trust MeRichard Z. SantosArte Publico Press This well-crafted suspense tale provides a nice debut for first-time novelist Richard Z. Santos. Trust Me also has a real-life tale of perseverance behind its fiction. Indeed, many writers can identify with Santos’s long struggle to get his first book finished and published. And that may inspire new hope … Continue reading Political intrigue, a land fight, clashing agendas, and unearthed bones all propel new suspense novel ‘Trust Me’ by Richard Z. Santos
Raining Fire Rajan Khanna Pyr Books I’ll be honest. I’ve thought I’m a bit too old to read steampunk novels. But Rajan Khanna’s Raining Fire has opened my eyes and widened my horizons a bit. It is a fast-paced sci-fi action-thriller where the steampunk hero goes into battles armed with an old Smith & Wesson … Continue reading ‘Raining Fire’ is a fast-paced steampunk sci-fi action thriller
The Heavens May Fall Allen Eskens Seventh Street Books, paperback, Kindle In his third novel, The Heavens May Fall, Allen Eskens has created an engrossing tale built around two Minneapolis police investigations and a high-profile murder trial. In this book, fans of Eskens’s writing will be pleased to see that he has brought along three characters … Continue reading ‘The Heavens May Fall’ – A Minneapolis mystery-thriller – #bookreview
Spear of Light The Glittering Edge, Book Two Brenda Cooper Pyr – Kindle, paperback Spear of Light is the second book in The Glittering Edge duology. And it has been my introduction to Brenda Cooper’s science-fiction writing. For the most part, I am impressed. While I missed Edge of Dark, the duology’s first book, I … Continue reading ‘Spear of Light’ – Human vs. post-human on a planet facing destruction – #scifi #bookreview
See Also Deception Larry D. Sweazy Seventh Street Books As I have mentioned here before, I love mystery stories where the investigator is an ordinary citizen, not a well-trained police detective or a struggling private sleuth beaten down by drunkenness, personal demons, and too many bad cases. The investigator in See Also Deception, the second novel … Continue reading ‘See Also Deception’: A good addition to the Marjorie Trumaine mystery series #bookreview
A Brilliant Death Robin Yocum Seventh Street Books – paperback, Kindle Writers often are advised to “Write what you know.” Author Robin Yocum clearly has heeded that advice. This is a well-written mystery that also is a coming-of-age story, plus a fine portrait of simpler times in the American heartland during the mid-1960s. A Brilliant … Continue reading ‘A Brilliant Death’ – Murder mystery, coming of age and homage to 1960s small-town Ohio – #bookreview
Rain Dogs A Detective Sean Duffy Novel Adrian McKinty Seventh Street Books – paperback, Kindle, audible Now that I have suckered you into this review with a question, I’m going to give you something of a cop-out answer: Rain Dogs is the best Sean Duffy detective story I have read…since the last Sean Duffy detective … Continue reading “Rain Dogs” – Adrian McKinty’s best Sean Duffy murder mystery? #bookreview
Woman with a Blue Pencil Gordon McAlpine Seventh Street Books – paperback, Kindle What if the characters in a mystery novel are alive in some other universe, and their world keeps changing, because their book, unknown to them, is being edited and rewritten? And what if one of those characters is … Continue reading ‘Woman with a Blue Pencil’ – Characters in a mystery novel that is being rewritten find themselves in conflict in a world that keeps changing – #bookreview
The Secret Life of Anna Blanc Jennifer Kincheloe Seventh Street Books – paperback, Kindle This feisty debut novel makes the case that it’s tough to be a female detective…especially in 1907. The Secret Life of Anna Blanc is a clever blending of mystery, murder, and social commentary, along with elements of a comedy of … Continue reading ‘The Secret Life of Anna Blanc’ – This debut murder mystery has everything from comedy to horror – #bookreview
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