book review Archives

Last Word

A Review To Die For Author: Taylor Adams Taylor Adams has proven himself yet again in The Last Word; he is a master of the thriller, of the suspenseful, twisting narrative with shocks and surprises, of deeply wounded yet empathetic characters caught in wildly escalating situations that, somehow, we breathlessly believe. In this story, we have an ominous grey beach, waves pounding relentlessly on shore. It’s off season, only a few residents remain. Among them is Emma and her dog, Laika. Emma is house-sitting, and she likes the solitude, the aloneness. It’s perfect for what she has in mind. Her [...]

Frances Carden2024-02-02T16:02:14-07:00February 2nd, 2024|Tags: book review, botm, read, reading, thriller|

Death Writes

A So-So Mystery Author: Andrea Carter Gavin Featherstone, a best-selling author, is finally leaving his self-imposed reclusive lifestyle to once again bathe in the limelight, this time garnering interest for his soon to be published autobiography. He is debuting at Glendara’s local literary festival, side-by-side with an up-and-coming feminist short story author, when a poisoned glass of water leaves him gasping and dying in front of his shocked audience. As the investigation unfurls, it becomes evident that many people wanted the sometimes charismatic, sometimes brusque author dead: his estranged wife, his rejected children, his suspicious new assistant, his rejected lovers, authors [...]

Frances Carden2024-01-28T12:02:11-07:00January 28th, 2024|Tags: book review, mystery, reading, reviews|

Zombie Bake-Off

A Cruel, Samey Attempt at Horror Comedy Author: Stephen Graham Jones What happens when a group of Pro-Wresters arrives early to their venue, only to crash a soccer-mom style baking event? You send them to the back room . . . where they unfortunately eat infected donuts and turn into the living dead. From here, all you need to do is accidentally lock everyone in the building, block the loading dock, and scream and run around a lot. Honestly, it’s a concept that could have been cute on the big screen. Think of my all-time favorites: Zombie Strippers and Sharknado. Sometimes [...]

Frances Carden2024-01-21T17:06:17-07:00January 21st, 2024|Tags: book review, Comedy, horror, read, reading|