If this book had been a straightforward narrative account of L.A.’s history from the end of the First World War through the Great Depression, it could have been brilliant. The two central characters, in all their indulgences and idiosyncrasies, beautifully embody the tale of crime and...
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David John Moore Cornwell — the man the world has come to know as John le Carré — was the son of a con man and a mother he met only at age 21. He spent years in the 1950s and 1960s working for MI5 and MI6 in the most difficult years of the Cold War. His frequently troubled...
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For an 85-year-old guy who lives in the suburbs of Detroit, Elmore Leonard sure gets around. We’ve run into him in Miami, of course, and Hollywood, and many other points on the Western side of the compass. He’s probably just about as American as a writer can be. So, what on earth is...
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First (at least in my consciousness) there were the ten Martin Beck police procedurals of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, published from 1965 to 1975. Now we flock to bookstores and movie theaters to enter the world of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomqvist, who sprang from the mind of the late Stieg...
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Why read mystery stories? What is it about the experience that compels me to return, time after time, to the novels of author Deborah Crombie, Elmore Leonard, Elizabeth George, Ian Rankin, Michael Connolly, and a dozen others? After all, I read about as many...
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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.