Category: Book Reviews

The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories by Agatha Christie My rating: 3 of 5 stars I haven’t read Christie’s early works before, and it was interesting watching her development as a writer through reading this series of her short stories. Her writing here was very much in the style of the 1920s and was…

Fever Dream by Douglas Preston My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was not my usual kind of read in that I prefer to start mystery series from the beginning. But I saw this, liked the plot description, and borrowed the ebook from the library. It had good characterizations and action — both dramatic and…

Plot It Yourself by Rex Stout My rating: 5 of 5 stars Loved this book! I think it’s because Rex Stout had obvious fun writing it, and as a writer and long-time reader of Stout’s, I enjoyed the plot very much. He took swipes at publishers; he gleefully exploited the endless author-publisher tension; he was…

Odd Interlude #3 by Dean Koontz My rating: 4 of 5 stars This ebook is part three of three, really a novel cut into three to up the suspense (and profit) factor. I borrowed all three ebooks from the library: Odd Interlude #1, Odd Interlude #2, and Odd Interlude #3. This is a review of…

Odd Interlude #2 by Dean Koontz My rating: 4 of 5 stars This ebook is part one of three, really a novel cut into three to up the suspense (and profit) factor. I borrowed all three ebooks from the library: Odd Interlude #1, Odd Interlude #2, and Odd Interlude #3. This is a review of…

The Father Hunt by Rex Stout My rating: 3 of 5 stars It wasn’t till I finished reading this good book that I realised the point of The Father Hunt is in the title: the hunt. Not the solution, this time. And in that it’s a gem. But I will say that the holes at…

The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge by John Bateson My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read the ebook version of this book as background research for the novel I wrote during National Novel Writing Month in November 2012. It’s an eye-opener, replacing suicide mythology with facts and figures. For example, many…

Lost River by Stephen Booth My rating: 4 of 5 stars The two plot lines were much more tightly — or obviously — connected than in previous books in the Cooper and Fry series. There was also a social justice message behind it that was compelling to read rather than preachy. I have to say…

The Kill Call by Stephen Booth My rating: 0 of 5 stars This had the best ending I’ve read in ages from any author. It made me want to immediately start reading the next book in the series. Stephen Booth really hit the writing mojo with this book, after a few that were okay but…