When I read a thriller, I’m looking for several things. I hope the lead will grab me. I count on the author’s ability to build tension and suspense steadily throughout the book. And I look for settings and circumstances that engage my curiosity. After all, isn’t it reasonable to...
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If you’re into alcoholism, wife-beating, absentee fathers, and drugs, or simply like to read about them, you may enjoy Tommy Orange’s portrayal of urban Indian life in his new novel, There There. I didn’t. I cannot be persuaded that everyone in the urban Indian community is a...
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Ever since World War II, espionage has been a favorite topic of thriller writers. Authors such as Eric Ambler and Graham Greene set the tone, and some of their novels are regarded as classics of the genre to this day. In the years since their heyday (the 1930s and 40s), the genre has veered off in...
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How democracy died in Germany is the subject of a penetrating new historical study of the Weimar Republic and the political turmoil that wracked the nation in the early years of the Great Depression. Hunter College history professor Benjamin Carter Hett brings new evidence to light that...
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If you’re under age 40 or so, the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa from the 1950s to the 1990s probably seems like ancient history. But to those of us who lived through those times and followed the news with interest, the South African story loomed large. Nelson Mandela was, simply,...
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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.