A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

Books To Die For: The World's Greatest Mystery Writers on the World's Greatest Mystery Novels is a collection of essays edited by two of Ireland's top mystery writers, John Connolly and Declan Burke, both of whom also contribute essays to the collection. Ever wonder what seminal mystery works inspired, influenced or otherwise shaped your favorite mystery novelists?  This volume gives insight in to mystery writers, mystery novels, and the mystery genre itself.  This is a great way to find out what other mystery writers have read and to find some new mystery titles to add to your own reading list.  The essays' subjects range from Scandinavian mysteries to Irish mysteries to American mysteries to South African mysteries and the essays' authors are just as varied as the subjects.  Any longtime, hardcore fan of the mystery genre will want to pick up this volume. --Reviewed by Ms. Angie

The Space Between Us is the most recent title from Anna McPartlin; it was released in 2011 or 2012.  Her website hasn't been updated in ages and the new title isn't even included on her bibliography on the site.  I say all this because I'm wondering when she'll release a new title (and I'm suffering a little Anna McPartlin book withdrawal).  I bought a copy of this one off of eBay from a seller in the U.K.--I was desperate, okay?  It will soon be available to borrow from the library. The back cover blurb calls Lily's marriage "impossible" ...let's be real, people, and call things what they are because mislabeling the nature of the relationship between Lily and her husband, Declan, is dangerous.  It is abusive--always verbally, sometimes physically, and occasionally sexually--controlling, and isolating.  Lily has no friends and that's how Declan likes it.  Declan is the textbook example of abuser begetting abuser in an endless cycle across ...

This is the latest installment in the epic adventures of the private investigator, Charlie Parker, the one whom evil fears.  Before I get to the review I just have to get somethings off my chest. The whole premise of this book (allegedly, according to its jacket) is that Charlie Parker is hired to find a mysterious plane wreck out in the boonie nether regions of Maine.  His ulterior motive (besides finding it and securing it before the wrong people do) is that the wreckage contains a manuscript that lists the names of those who have sold their soul to the devil.  Charlie wants to find the list because he's afraid his name is on it.  Um.  If you sold your soul, don't you think you'd know it?  I'm pretty sure I'd recall making that transaction. As I'm reading along (and obsessing about why wouldn't Charlie remember selling his soul, if indeed it was sold, and if not, then why would his name be on that list?) a question occurs to me: does John Connolly h...

So Mad River is the latest installment in John Sandford's Virgil Flowers adventures.  The previous Virgil Flowers novels have been reviewed here on the blog, and you can find them by doing a search on the blog if you're interested.  This latest installment differs from previous ones by the fact that it is largely a manhunt--the culprits are known to the police, so there isn't much need for detecting much besides the whereabouts of said culprits before they drop more bodies in their bloody wake. Virgil Flowers is literally just returned from a Bahamian vacation when his boss at Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Davenport, sends him into western Minnesota to work a double murder and then the massive manhunt that ensues.  Unfortunately for Flowers by novel's end things go sideways leaving him unable to tie up his investigation to his liking. Jimmy Sharp, Becky Welsh, and Tom McCall just want to get to L.A. even if that means killing some people to get...