Midway through the 12th century, less than 90 years since the Norman Conquest, England’s first civil war drew to a close when the exhausted warring parties reached a shaky agreement. King Stephen was aging, and he accepted as his successor the young son of his adversary, variously known as...
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A review of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach. @@@@ (4 out of 5). Mary Roach is a very funny person. There may be no other writer on the planet, including Woody Allen, who could delve so deeply into the mechanics, the chemistry, and the psychology of sex while managing to unleash laughter out loud on just about every other page.
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With The Holy Thief, William Ryan joins Martin Cruz Smith (the Arkady Renko series) and Tom Rob Smith (the Child 44 Trilogy), whose compelling crime novels have illuminated the dark recesses of Stalin’s USSR. However, Ryan’s new contribution is set not in the 1950s, the 80s, or more...
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Here’s the latest entry in Peter Cawdron’s remarkable series of standalone First Contact novels. It extends Cawdron’s reach further into the boundless realm of possibilities represented by humanity’s first encounter with aliens. However, at a glance, the book appears to be...
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Jonathan Kellerman’s series of Alex Delaware mysteries debuted in 1985. Book number 40 appeared in 2025, making the series one of the longest-running in the genre—and no wonder. His protagonist, Dr. Alex Delaware, is a child psychologist like the author himself, privy to a lifetime of case...
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Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.
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.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
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.