Category Archives: Reviews

I’ll make this short and sweet. The Clockmaker’s Daughter is not a groundbreaking novel, but it is a good one. It features many of the elements that I’ve come to expect and enjoy in a Kate Morton novels – multiple timelines, intricate mysteries, and an evocative location. The summer of 1862 is a pivotal yearContinue reading “The Clockmaker’s Daughter // Kate Morton”

“Once upon a time there was and there wasn’t a woman who went to the woods.” In this dark fairy tale set in colonial New England, an unnamed puritan woman sets out in the forest to pick some berries for her husband and little boy. She does not return. Perhaps she’s lost. Or perhaps she’sContinue reading “In the House in the Dark of the Woods // Laird Hunt”

(It always starts with a Bishop, does it not?) Boston, 1811. What if your temper got the best of you, to disastrous results? What if you didn’t know what happened, only to find a boy beaten and bloody at your feet? What if you were only 8 and told it was best to never speakContinue reading “The Witch of Willow Hall // Hester Fox”

I’m certainly not one to declare the book review dead (says the person who wrote a stellar Agatha Christie review that I’m pretty sure no one read), but I do think it’s the type of post that’s less engaging, less likely to be clicked on, less likely to be read… You get the idea. And,Continue reading “Honor Roll”

“Be sure thy sins will find thee out.” Agatha Christie was not verbose, and And Then There Were None may well be one of her most spare, yet it may also be one of her most compelling. The novel is relentlessly paced and unsentimental, as it hurdles from one disaster to the next. Tick, tick,Continue reading “And Then There Were None // Agatha Christie”

A powerful queen and one of the most influential women in early medieval Scotland, Languoreth has been largely forgotten. Her twin brother Lailoken, also known as Myrrdin, likely became the man that inspired the legend of Merlin. Signe Pike’s debut novel, The Lost Queen, fictionalizes their lives. Primarily following the life of Languoreth – firstContinue reading “The Lost Queen // Signe Pike”

Florence “Sally” Horner just wants to fit in. When a few of the girls from her class dare her to steal from Woolworth’s – if she does, she can join their exclusive club – Sally reluctantly takes a notebook. Only on her way out, she’s caught by a man claiming to be FBI agent FrankContinue reading “Rust & Stardust // T. Greenwood”

Which of the following makes The Optimistic Decade worth reading? a) “In the Colorado Desert, a Debut Novelist Finds a Metaphor for Israel and Palestine.”* b) A novel set at an ‘80s summer camp is bound to be good. c) Compelling prose that conveys the awkward absurdity and loneliness of the young adult years. d)Continue reading “The Optimistic Decade // Heather Abel”

My youngest son is convinced it would be amazing if the fictional characters we love could be real. “Because wouldn’t it be awesome if Pokémon were real? “ “No,”  I tell him, “have you seen a Raticate?” Wouldn’t it be awesome if Rescue Bots were real? “Maybe,”  I tell him, “but that would mean weContinue reading “The Regulators // Richard Bachman (Stephen King)”

My love of short stories is well known by now, at least to me. It’s possible I love a good short story collection more than a good novel, though if you’d asked me ten years ago, I would’ve said that was impossible. (I’d still say it’s possible, but not probable, overall.) When I saw theContinue reading “Florida // Lauren Groff”