For good or ill, a fair amount of what I’ve learned about espionage over the years has come from reading spy stories. A few authors are particularly diligent about research and accuracy, so most of what I’ve picked up is probably true. In fact, many of those authors are veterans of the...
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An author’s second novel is all too frequently a disappointment. This one was. Chris Pavone gained widespread attention with his first novel, The Expats, which won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and became an international bestseller. I liked it a lot when I read it last year. The...
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Occasionally, I come across a book on an important topic that’s crammed with information I was able to find nowhere else — but is a chore to read. Even though it is not an academic study but clearly intended for a general audience, Fred Kaplan’s recent history of cyber war, Dark...
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As Timothy Hallinan writes in an Author’s Note at the conclusion of Crashed, the first novel in his series featuring the career burglar Junior Bender, criminals are “intrinsically interesting because they’ve rejected the standard set of values and, since we all need values of...
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I’ve read a lot of biographies and memoirs since I began posting book reviews in January 2010. I’m listing here 100 titles that I can recommend, omitting many that underwhelmed me (in addition to others I couldn’t finish reading). These books cover a wide range of both historical...
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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.