CategoryReading

As the third Abbott book that I’ve read so far, this one had less of the tactility and was just downright creepy. Child abduction and sex crimes are a lot more difficult for me to stomach than murder, it turns out. Still, as an earlier example of her work, it’s interesting to see some of

I have a confession… well, two confessions, really. The first is that I took a few weeks off from #MySummerOfMysteries to read some new literary fiction. It’s true. I took time to read some Alejandro Zambra, some Emma Cline, some Han King. If we’re being honest, all books are mysteries, if not thrillers. The second

It took me awhile to get into James Sallis and, specifically, this book. I’m comfortable admitting that. I’ve gotten pretty used to genre conventions over the past few weeks and this book threw me for a loop at first, just in the ways that it defies them. However, as soon as I got over the

Oh, okay. Now, I get what all the fuss is about! This book had me wanting to leave work, sneak off from parties, and otherwise abandon reality in order to read just a few more pages. Enough has been said about The Girl on the Train elsewhere though, so the only thing I have to

Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman was my first book by this author, though I’ve known her name for years. Obviously, this means that I can’t speak to how this title compares with her other standalones or her series. However, from just this one book, I understand why Lippman has such a following. Immediately, I was

Before I stumbled onto this title thanks to a surf lit list on LitHub, I didn’t even know that surf noir was a thing. That has been remedied in spades after churning through the pages of Nunn’s classic in less than 48 hours. (I’ve already checked out two of his other books from the library,

I have to admit I almost put this book down in the first couple of chapters after realizing that prominent characters were a pair of conjoined twins that were cast as sideshow freaks. It just felt too schlocky. However, Nigerian/American author Chris Abani had come highly recommended and this book earned him the 2015 Edgar

Like you, I’ve heard the excitement in people’s voices when they talk about Megan Abbott’s books. If they’re all in the vein of The Fever, then I can understand why. I blew through this book in two sittings… couldn’t tear myself away from the next page and didn’t want to return to my own reality

Ellen Crosby’s The Merlot Murders is the first cozy mystery I’ve read since I was in middle school, and I was admittedly a little tentative about the undertaking… needlessly though, as it turns out! I enjoyed every page-turning moment of the book, especially the well-researched oenophilia and the rich descriptions of Virginia summers. Crosby’s writing

For the third entry in #MySummerOfMysteries, I opted to read Chris Pavone’s The Travelers because I’d heard such good things about the book, generally, as well as enthusiastic feedback from people who attended his program at the 2016 Virginia Festival of the Book. So, it was no surprise that The Travelers was a quick-paced read.