Pros: Halfway-decent action Cons: Awkward style; ‘meh’ twist Rating: 2 out of 5 Steve Hudgins’s novella The Craving introduces us to The Man in Black, who wakes up in a rainy field with no idea of who he is or…
Blog Archives
Short Take: “The Fading Place,” Mary SanGiovanni
Pros: Tense! Cons: Starts out a little slowly, but it works Rating: 4 out of 5 Mary SanGiovanni’s novella The Fading Place immediately sees Charlie Van Houten carjacked by Simone. Charlie has her baby Hayley in the back seat, and…
Review: “The Cabin at the End of the World,” Paul Tremblay
Pros: This story broke my brain Cons: Truly bizarre perspective/PoV switching Rating: 5 out of 5 Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel introduces us to little girl Wen and her Daddy Eric and Daddy…
Review: “The Silent Corner,” Dean Koontz
Pros: Detailed world-building; tension Cons: Too depressing for me right now; starts out a bit slow and rambling Rating: 4 out of 5 I’d heard of Dean Koontz’s Jane Hawk novels, and I am overall a fan of his work,…
Posted in Reviews Tagged with: Dean Koontz, Jane Hawk, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, SF, suspense, thriller
Review: “The New Neighbors,” Simon Lelic
Pros: Interesting mystery Cons: Structurally odd Rating: 4 out of 5 Simon Lelic’s The New Neighbors largely takes the form of a manuscript written alternately by Sydney and Jack, a couple who recently bought an old house stuffed with creepy…
Review: “The Beloveds,” Maureen Lindley
Pros: Weird, shifting tale Cons: Weird, shifting tale Rating: 4 out of 5 Maureen Lindley’s The Beloveds focuses on Elizabeth, who feels mightily aggrieved. As far as she’s concerned her life has always gone wrong. Her younger sister Gloria appropriated…
Review: “The Broken Girls,” Simone St. James
Pros: Fascinating story Cons: … Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Uncorrected proof provided by publisher for review. In Simone St. James’s The Broken Girls, the time period switches back and forth between 1950 and 2014, in the small town of…
Review: “Dark in Death,” J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts
Pros: Good length; plenty going on; lots of detail; multiple murders Cons: … Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Dark in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel (In Death), by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts), is book 46 in the “in Death” series…
Posted in Reviews Tagged with: Eve Dallas, J.D. Robb, murder mystery, mystery, Nora Roberts, Roarke, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, SF, suspense, thriller
Review: “The Memory Detective,” T.S. Nichols
Pros: What a great concept, executed brilliantly Cons: I wish there was already a sequel out! Rating: 5 out of 5 Uncorrected proof provided by publisher for review. T.S. Nichols’s The Memory Detective is about police officer Cole, also known…
Review: “Lie With Me,” Sabine Durrant
Pros: Fascinating plot weaving Cons: Main character is definitely not sympathetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sabine Durrant’s Lie With Me tells the story of Paul, a selfish and self-centered novelist who’s still riding off of the reputation he gained…