Review of The Man With a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes (1981) (Richard Jury Series)
Bottom line: A pleasant and intriguing read with a few murders thrown in for good measure. Rating: Recommended Blurb: At the Man with a Load of Mischief, they found the dead body stuck in a keg of beer. At the Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, […]
10 books I’ve carried with me
This post originally came from a Facebook meme that’s been going around: name 10 books that have you’ve carried with you and don’t take too long to think about it. Normally I ignore stuff like this (“If you don’t forward this post, you’re a terrorist!” “If you don’t copy and paste this post, I’m going […]
Book Review: Matt Archer: Monster Hunter by Kendra Highley
Bottom Line: A gritty YA fantasy definitely worth the read. Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: Fourteen-year-old Matt Archer spends his days studying Algebra, hanging out with his best friend and crushing on the Goddess of Greenhill High, Ella Mitchell. To be honest, he thinks his life is pretty lame until he discovers something terrifying on a […]
Review of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (1990) (Jurassic Park Series)
Bottom line: A classic, both in paper and on the screen, that is worth the hype. Rating: Recommended Blurb: An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all […]
Review of Sorcery and Cecelia
Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988) (Cecelia and Kate #1) by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Bottom line: Delightful Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: In 1817 in England, two young cousins, Cecilia living in the country and Kate in London, write letters to keep each other informed of their exploits, which take […]
Review of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy
Review: C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strengthh) is the most disjointed trilogy I have ever read. That’s not to say it isn’t worth reading, or even good, but it feels more like a very loosely related collection of books than a trilogy. What makes it feel so […]
Review of The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973)
Bottom line: A movie that is 100% fun, and the book that inspired it. Rating: Strongly Recommended for the movie, Recommended for the book Blurb: William Goldman’s modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that’s thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may […]
Review of Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (1975) (Amelia Peabody #1)
Bottom line: A fun Victorian cozy set on the banks of the Nile Rating: Recommended Blurb: Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to […]
Review of A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (2007) (Three Pines Mysteries #2)
Bottom line: A strong continuation of a very good series. Rating: Recommended Blurb: CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone in the hamlet of Three Pines, right up to the moment she died. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache begins his investigation, it seems like an impossible murder: CC was electrocuted on a frozen lake, in […]
Review of A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer (2009) (Rumpole series)
Bottom line: A fun holiday read with a little murder, theft and blackmail thrown in here and there. Rating: Recommended Blurb: Of the late Sir John Mortimer’s many beloved characters, it is widely agreed that Horace Rumpole was his greatest fictional creation. Here, collected in book form for the first time, are five delightful tales […]