Book reviews and more!

BROKEN RIVER (PAPERBACK) by J. Robert Lennon

June 8, 2017

GLORIOUSLY INTRICATE THRILLER sits beautifully at the intersection of Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates. A MINUS

BROKEN RIVER (PAPERBACK)
Graywolf Press
2017

Grade: A MINUS

Tags:

SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROBOT AND OTHER STORIES by A. Merc Rustad

June 5, 2017

IMAGINATION BREAKING BOUNDARIES of all kinds in brilliantly transgressive science fiction and fantasy tales. B PLUS

SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROBOT AND OTHER STORIES
Lethe Press
2017

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

DUPLICITY by Ingrid Thoft

June 3, 2017

CHURCH OR CULT? A private eye uncovers secrets and lies. Sharp, complex mystery, vivid Boston setting. SOLID B

DUPLICITY
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
2017

Grade: SOLID B

Tags:

THE BRAND NEW CATASTROPHE (PAPERBACK) by Mike Scalise

June 1, 2017

SHARP, IRREVERENT MEMOIR of life with a pituitary tumor (and afterward) takes on family, love, mortality. B PLUS

THE BRAND NEW CATASTROPHE (PAPERBACK)
Sarabande Books
2017

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

REENU-YOU by Michele Tracy Berger

May 29, 2017

CLEVER APOCALYPTIC HORROR tale resonates with larger issues of racism, sexism, motherlessness, and family. B PLUS

REENU-YOU
Book Smugglers Publishing
2017

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

LUCKY by Henry Chang

May 28, 2017

TAUT CHINATOWN NOIR: a cop with loyalties divided between the force and his old neighborhood friends. SOLID B

LUCKY
Soho Crime
2017

Grade: SOLID B

Tags:

THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION by Lyndsay Faye

May 25, 2017

NOBODY DOYLES IT BETTER! Lyndsay Faye’s Sherlock Holmes short stories are intriguing and just delightful. B PLUS

THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION: LOST MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (HARDCOVER)
Mysterious Press
2017

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

PHENOMENA by Annie Jacobsen

May 20, 2017

EXTRASENSORY PHENOMENA, GOVERNMENT-STYLE! Comprehensive history of the US’s ESP experiments is fascinating. B PLUS

PHENOMENA: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT’S INVESTIGATIONS INTO EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION AND PSYCHOKINESIS
LITTLE BROWN & CO
2017

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

REVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE by Steve Jones

May 18, 2017

SCIENCE AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION serve as the jumping-off point for a ramble through history and science. SOLID B

REVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE : TRANSFORMATION AND TURMOIL IN THE AGE OF THE GUILLOTINE
Pegasus Books
2017

Grade: SOLID B

Tags:

JUST ANOTHER JIHADI JANE (PAPERBACK) by Tabish Khair

May 15, 2017

AN ENGLISHWOMAN TURNED JIHADI finds life on the Islamic revolutionary front disenchanting. Fascinating novel. B PLUS

JUST ANOTHER JIHADI JANE (PAPERBACK)
Interlink Books
2016

Grade: B PLUS

Tags: