The Latest

SCIENCE FICTION

Did the ancient Greeks make First Contact?

Did the ancient Greeks make First Contact?

We humans are a race of storytellers. Over the course of the 300,000 years that we have commanded the power of speech, we have huddled in caves, sat around campfires, recited epic poems, published books, produced stage-plays, and used modern media to tell our stories. But in...

read more

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS

The best books of the year 2025?

The best books of the year 2025?

Truth to tell, I don’t know whether the 26 books I’ve listed below are, in fact, the “best” books of the year 2025. All I know is that they’re the best books I’ve read and reviewed during the past 12 months. In fact, a few of them were published in earlier years. I just didn’t...

read more

NONFICTION

The best books of the year 2025?

The best books of the year 2025?

Truth to tell, I don’t know whether the 26 books I’ve listed below are, in fact, the “best” books of the year 2025. All I know is that they’re the best books I’ve read and reviewed during the past 12 months. In fact, a few of them were published in earlier years. I just didn’t...

read more

Popular Fiction

The best books of the year 2025?

The best books of the year 2025?

Truth to tell, I don’t know whether the 26 books I’ve listed below are, in fact, the “best” books of the year 2025. All I know is that they’re the best books I’ve read and reviewed during the past 12 months. In fact, a few of them were published in earlier years. I just didn’t...

read more

Explore My “BEST OF the category” selections

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

When people ask me that question, I never know what to say. In a lifetime of reading, I’ve read many thousands of books. And I’ve reviewed well over 2,000 of them on this site. Picking just one as a “favorite,” or even a handful of them, makes no sense to me.

The problem is, I read for many different reasons. Perhaps you do, too. And I read many different sorts of books. Mysteries and thrillers. Popular fiction, especially historical fiction. Science fiction.

And nonfiction, history in particular. You’ll find hundreds of reviews in every one of those categories on this site.

Look to the right for a rotating random selection culled from throughout this site.

Happy reading!

 

Cover image of "The Ambassador's Wife,"

A murder mystery spans Singapore and Bangkok

Inspector Samuel Tay has been with the Singapore police for nearly twenty years, much of that time as a homicide detective in the elite Special Investigations Section of CID. But he is squeamish and can't stand the sight of mangled flesh and blood. So, when the body of a woman turns up displayed...

Why the Great Recession happened — and the Great Depression before it

Today, many Americans puzzle over why the Great Recession happened. Amazon lists more than 1,000 books on the subject. But readers today might benefit from taking a longer view. Because, as Frederick Lewis Allen told the tale in The Lords of Creation nearly ninety years ago, the conditions that...
Cover image of "The African Equation," a book by one of the best known African writers

African writers aren’t all world-class

Here's a story that could have been worked into a terrific novel in the hands of a writer with a trifle of self-restraint. Unfortunately, Yasmina Khadra, reputedly one of Africa's greatest writers, displays none of that. Every one of his characters, from a German physician to a passel of Somali or...
Cover image of "Groucho Marx Master Detective" by Ron Goulart

Sherlock Holmes, meet Groucho Marx, Master Detective

Here's the ultimate wisecracking detective, and, yes, it's Groucho Marx, in person. If you're a fan of the Marx Brothers classics of the 1930s—Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera, Horsefeathers, Animal Crackers, and the others—you'll love this fast-paced romp through the dark side of Hollywood. In...
Cover image of "The Code Breaker," a great example of science explained in print

Science explained in 10 excellent popular books

Astronomy. Epidemiology. Lexicography. Microbiology. These are among the 42 different scientific fields discussed and explained in the more than four dozen good popular books about science and science history that I’ve read and reviewed. Some of these books are by prominent authors, including...
Across a Billion Years depicts an advanced alien civilization.

A science fiction master imagines a uniquely advanced alien civilization

Every science fiction fan must be familiar with Robert Silverberg. The man has written more than 300 books, most of them SF. He won the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFFWA) in 2003—a rare honor that goes only to the best in the business. If you read a...
The Warehouse is a near-future dystopia.

Amazon on steroids in a grim near-future dystopia

Can you imagine what our world might look like if Amazon were to keep growing indefinitely and drive almost all its millions of competitors out of business? Today, the company employs 750,000 men and women and more than 100,000 robots and boasts a market cap north of one trillion dollars. What if...
Last Looks is a satirical Hollywood detective novel.

An inventive Hollywood detective novel written by a veteran screenwriter

Should we be surprised that Hollywood has been the subject of so much satire? Frankly, it's hard to imagine that it wouldn't be. The place is soaked in money, it's a magnet for people seeking fame and fortune, and it's virtually infested with ambitious writers. So, when another one of their number...
Cover image of "Dead Watch," a novel that appears to be the start of a new bestselling series

Is John Sandford’s latest novel the start of a new bestselling series?

John Roswell Camp, aka John Sandford, is the author of nearly four dozen books, the bestselling 25-book Prey series most prominent among them. Lucas Davenport of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension stars in the series, often assisted by the crack investigator Virgil Flowers (who sports...
Cover image of "Disclaimer," an unusual psychological thriller

An unusual psychological thriller from Britain

Mystery and thriller writers employ a wide variety of recognizable devices to create suspense and make their novels hard to put down. The most annoying of these are the clumsy clues sprinkled throughout whodunits and the deliberately misleading omission of facts known to a central character. None...

My Most Popular Reviews

Weekly Reviews Delivered to You!

Mal Warwick - Book Reviews

Weekly book reviews to match your taste!

Love mysteries and thrillers? Historical fiction fan? Prefer to read nonfiction? Or, like me, you just love reading? Take your pick of my three weekly newsletters. Just click the Yes! button, and you’re on your way.

Here you can take your pick of the three newsletters I publish each week. They’re all free of ads, and I never share subscribers’ email addresses with anyone. Just make your newsletter selections below.

Feel free to subscribe to any or all of these newsletters. Remember, they’re ad-free, and I won’t share your contact information with anyone.

Enjoy reading!

Mal Warwick

The latest mystery
& thriller book
reviews every Tuesday.

…includes my latest mystery and thriller book reviews, with links to other content in the genre.

The latest nonfiction book reviews every Wednesday.

…includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

My latest
book reviews,
every Thursday.

…includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

...includes summaries and links to all of the week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Mystery & Thriller Book
Reviews Every Week

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Nonfiction Book
Reviews Every Week

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Tuesday's Newsletter

Tuesday's Newsletter

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Wednesday's Newsletter

Wednesday's Newsletter

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Weekly Newsletter

Thursday's Newsletter

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!