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Book World
Fiction and Nonfiction
From The Washington Post
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City of Dreams
by Don Winslow
Reviewed By Maureen Corrigan — The Washington Post
In ‘City of Dreams,’ Winslow’s gangsters set off for Hollywood but can’t escape their past.
The opening chapter of Don Winslow’s “City of Dreams” could be the setup for a classic Preston Sturges on-the-road movie. A young widower named Danny Ryan, his elderly father and his 18-month-old son, Ian, are setting off from Providence, R.I., to the edge of the Pacific in a car packed with diapers, presumably both infant- and adult-size. Cue the screwball soundtrack. Except that Danny and these remnants of his family, as well as his loyal crew who are riding in cars streaming out behind him, are escaping a mob war — the Italians vs. the Irish. Guess which side just lost.
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5 Book Reviews to Read This Week
Danez Smith on Paul Harding, Scott Bradfield on Chekhov, Ron Charles on Aleksandar Hemon, and More
By Book Marks — Literary Hub
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5 Great New Mysteries and Thrillers
By Richard Lipez — The Washington Post
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5 Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week
By Dan Sheehan — Literary Hub
Our vault of virtuoso reviews this week includes James Wolcott on Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner’s Heat 2, Leah Greenblatt on Tess Gunty’s The Rabbit Hutch, Rebecca Onion on Rick Emerson’s Unmask Alice, Rob Doyle on Emmanuel Carrère’s Yoga, and Namwali Serpell on Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man.
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12 Classic Books That Got Horrible Reviews
By Maddie Crum — HUFFPOST
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18 Book Review Pet Peeves
Common things readers are sick of seeing
By Kelly Martinez — BuzzFeed
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Stacy Abrams Wrote A Thriller in Her Spare Time
By Karen Heller — The Washington Post
Stacy Abrams’s first political thriller, is set in Washington, D.C., a city where, according to her ever-evolving spreadsheet of life goals, she aspires to reside someday as president of the United States. “While Justice Sleeps,” to be published Tuesday, is Abrams’s second book to come out in less than a year.
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Adam’s Witness
by J.C. Paulson
Reviewed By Cheryl Burman
My monthly newsletter book reviews can be found on my Reviews of what I’m Reading page.
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Anaximander
by Carlo Rovelli
Reviewed By Tim Adams — The Guardian
Something very startling happened in Miletus, the ancient Greek city on the modern Turkish coast, in about 600BC. That something, physicist Carlo Rovelli argues in this enjoyable and provocative little book, occurred in the interaction between two of the place’s greatest minds. The first, Thales, one of the seven sages of ancient Greece, is often credited as the pioneer in applying deductive reasoning to geometry and astronomy; he used his mathematics, for example, to predict solar eclipses. Wondrous as this was, it was the reaction of the second man, Thales’s fellow citizen, Anaximander, 11 years his junior that, Rovelli argues, changed the world.
Anaximander: “the first human to argue that rain was caused by the observable movements of air and the heat of the sun rather than the intervention of gods”.
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At First Light
by Barbara Nickless
Reviewed By Sandra Dallas — The Denver Post
Tough Chicago detective Adrianne “Addie” Bisset is called in when police discover a body on the grimy banks of the Calumet River. This isn’t your garden-variety killing. The victim is laid out in a ritualistic style. His legs are impaled with wooden stakes, and carved bones radiate from his head. Even more ominous, he was bashed in the head, his throat cut, and there is a noose around his neck. Any of the three could have caused his death.
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The Beachbum Bookworm
The Cozy Mystery Wrap Up
Book Reviews on YouTube
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Best Books of 2020
By emmie
Welcome to a somewhat emotional ride through so many of my most beloved books, enjoy!!
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The Best Reviewed Crime Books of June 2022
By CrimeReads
Featuring new novels from Kristin Chen, Katie Gutierrez, Riley Sager, and more.
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Bigfoot Reviews
Getting book reviews shouldn’t be as hard as finding bigfoot!
Verified Reviews by Thoughtful Readers!
We make it easy!
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BITTER ALMONDS & JASMINE
a daniel beckett thriller
By Dominic Piper
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2022
- First Good News: I get to start reading the four – book series all over again.
- Second Good News: I get to, once again, look forward to reading Book Five! HINT THERE, DOMINIC!
Cheers and Happy Reading!
Lawrence Block and P.G. Wodehouse
How two prolific writers found their voices
Reviewed By Michael Dirda — The Washington Post
Sometimes a reviewer just can’t wait to write about a book. Even though Lawrence Block’s memoir, “A Writer Prepares,” isn’t available till June, I was recently sent an advance proof. Quite innocently, I started reading it — and couldn’t tear myself away. So consider what follows more a preview than a review of the pleasures awaiting in its pages.
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BookPage Magazine
Discover your next great book!
BookPage is a recommendation guide for readers, highlighting the best new books across all genres as chosen by our editors. BookPage is editorially independent; any publisher-sponsored content is clearly labeled as such.
* fiction
* nonfiction
* mystery
* romance
* science fiction & fantasy
* children’s & YA
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Book Reviews by Heller McAlpin
Book Critic
Heller McAlpin is a New York-based critic who reviews books regularly for NPR.org, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The San Francisco Chronicle and other publications.
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Book Reviewers Wanted
Voracious Readers Only
To join us, just fill out the form with your name, email address, and preferred genre/s!
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Bookshelf Tour
By jessethereader
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Book World
Fiction and Nonfiction
From The Washington Post
LINK:
City of Dreams
by Don Winslow
Reviewed By Maureen Corrigan — The Washington Post
In ‘City of Dreams,’ Winslow’s gangsters set off for Hollywood but can’t escape their past.
The opening chapter of Don Winslow’s “City of Dreams” could be the setup for a classic Preston Sturges on-the-road movie. A young widower named Danny Ryan, his elderly father and his 18-month-old son, Ian, are setting off from Providence, R.I., to the edge of the Pacific in a car packed with diapers, presumably both infant- and adult-size. Cue the screwball soundtrack. Except that Danny and these remnants of his family, as well as his loyal crew who are riding in cars streaming out behind him, are escaping a mob war — the Italians vs. the Irish. Guess which side just lost.
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City Under One Roof
by Iris Yamashita
Reviewed By Maureen Corrigan — The Washington Post
a whole new twist on claustrophobia
Iris Yamashita is a debut suspense author who has hit upon possibly the best place in North America to set a suspense story: the real-life town of Whittier, Alaska, home to about 280 year-round residents. Since Whittier is bounded on one side by the waters of Prince William Sound and on the other by a mountain range, the only direct land route that connects the town to the rest of Alaska is a 2½-mile tunnel bored through a mountain.
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The Crew Reviews
Go behind the scenes with the world’s best storytellers
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Dirty Laundry Review
GMA Book Club pick for April
By Haley Yamada
The thrilling novel proves that secrets, desires and even blood can all come out in the wash. In her debut novel, Bose reinvents age-old ideas of love and deceit that can make even the most dysfunctional life look so-called “perfect.”
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Drowning
The Rescue of Flight 1421
by T.J. Newman
Reviewed By E.A. Aymar — The Washington Post
T.J. Newman faced a nearly impossible task. Her first novel, “Falling,” was one of the most successful publishing stories of 2021: It debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list, it was translated into more than 30 languages, and film rights were sold after an intense bidding war. Second novels are notoriously difficult, from both a commercial and a creative standpoint. For Newman, the stakes and expectations are even higher.
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EmmabBooks
BOOK REVIEWS BY EMMA B BOOKS
By Emma B. Books
Check ’em out. There must be thousands!
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FEMME FATALE
a daniel beckett thriller
By Dominic Piper
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2022
This reading was even better than my first reading. Some great and weird and funny characters in this one — just like in all of Dominic’s other ones. I’m still hoping for Book Number Five. Maybe a film series. Wouldn’t that be fun binge-watching about 30 or 40 episodes?
Cheers and Happy Reading!
Fox & I
by Catherine Raven
Reviewed By Barbara J. King — NPR
An uncommon friendship Between A Woman And A Fox Leads To Transformation
In an isolated mountain valley in Montana, Catherine Raven and a wild red fox meet, take each other’s measure, and gradually become friends.
This summary of Raven’s nature memoir may seem to hint at a simple story. On the contrary, Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship is a multi-layered exploration of a world in which humans honor rather than dominate nature.
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Get Reader Reviews Now
to Drive Sales Later
By Mike O’Mary
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Getting Book Reviews
By Joanna Penn — The Creative Penn
Book reviews are important for social proof as well as getting marketing opportunities like BookBub placement, for mining quotes for ad copy, and understanding how your author brand is perceived. But how do you get reviews, especially if you’re just starting out?
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Homecoming Heist
by Tyson Collin
Reviewed By The Prairies Book Review
When another deal goes haywire, the hapless real estate developer Bo knows he must find a way to keep the bank from taking him down.
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How to Get Those First Reviews
By Farrow Communications
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Inspector Gamache Books
by Louise Penny
Reviewed By Aja Romano — VOX
These dark detective novels are really about ethics and hope
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Killers of a Certain Age
by Deanna Raybourn
Reviewed by Maureen Corrigan — The WashingtonPost
The women in ‘Killers of a Certain Age’ are no coastal grandmothers.
In Deanna Raybourn’s thriller ‘Killers of a Certain Age,’ four assassins on the brink of retirement get a chance to show their stuff one more time
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The Last Honest Man
Frank Church and the fight to restrain US power
Reviewed By Lloyd Green — The Guardian
Pulitzer-winner James Risen calls the late Democratic senator an ‘American Cicero’ – and makes a strong case
Frank Forrester Church sat in the US Senate for 24 years. His tenure was consequential. A Democrat, he battled for civil rights and came to oppose the Vietnam war. He believed Americans were citizens, not subjects. Chairing the intelligence select committee was his most enduring accomplishment. James Risen, a Pulitzer-winning reporter now with the Intercept, sees him as a hero. The Last Honest Man is both paean and lament.
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The LIfe of Crime
by Martin Edwards
Reviewed By Michael Dirda — The Washington Post
Start reading this history of the detective story — from Poe to P.D. James — and you’ll soon find it hard to follow my heartfelt advice: Slow down and space out the book’s 724 pages so that you can enjoy it for more than a few days.
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Lisa’s Book Critiques
Sharing Books and Authors, with an Emphasis on Mysteries
Reviews by Lisa Holstine
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The Lincoln Highway
by Amor Towles
Reviewed by Heller McAlpin — NPR
With four kids in an old Studebaker, Amor Towles takes readers on a real joyride
Four boys — three 18-year-olds who met in a juvenile reformatory, plus a brainy 8-year-old — set out from Nebraska in June, 1954, in an old Studebaker in pursuit of a better future.
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Look Closer
by David Ellis
Edgar winner David Ellis has long been a go-to author for involving legal thrillers that land on best-sellers lists. But novels written solely by Ellis have been missing since 2013 (“The Last Alibi”) with good reason. He has had a string of best sellers as one of James Patterson’s co-authors. And Ellis became the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District in 2014.
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Look Closer
by David Ellis
I have long enjoyed the work of David Ellis, both as a collaborator and individual author. His work evokes a sense of thinking and complete ‘buy in’ that I have found in few authors whose stories I read of late. Ellis combines a powerful writing style with great plot development to create the perfect mix for the reader who loves crime thrillers.
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Los Angeles Review of Books — LARB
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The Naked Sun
by Isaac Asimov
Reviewed by Megan Darragh.
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NetGalley
If you are a librarian, bookseller, educator, reviewer, blogger or in the media, join for free!
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CLICK HERE!
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The Prairies Book Review
First-rate editorial book reviews for indie authors and small publishers
The Prairies Book Review — Submit your book at our website to get a review.
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The Real Book Spy
Book Reviews
Ryan Steck can be reached via email at Ryan@TheRealBookSpy.com
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The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order
by Gary Gerstle
Reviewed by Mario Del — The Washington Post
How the neoliberal order triumphed — and why it’s now crumbling
A “political order,” U.S. historian Gary Gerstle writes, “is meant to connote a constellation of ideologies, policies and constituencies that shape American politics in ways that endure beyond the two-, four-, and six-year election cycles.” The New Deal met that definition from the 1930s to the 1970s, and neoliberalism, he asserts, did so from the 1970s to the 2010s, when it began to splinter after the war in Iraq and the economic crash of 2008.
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The Shards
By Bret Easton Ellis
Reviewed By Gabino Iglesias — NPR
Bret Easton Ellis’ first novel in more than a decade is worth the wait
It’s been a dozen years since Bret Easton Ellis published a novel. And his latest, The Shards, is a narrative that came to him in 1981 — more than four decades ago — when he was a 17-year-old high school senior.
Luckily, the novel is worth the wait. Hermetic, paranoid, sleek, dark — and with brief explosions of the sex and violence that have characterized Ellis’ oeuvre — The Shards is a stark reminder that the American Psycho author is a genre unto himself.
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They Only Wear Black Hats
By Edward Izzi
Reviewed by THE PRAIRIESBOOKREVIEW
A taut, fast-paced thriller with wrenching twists and turns . . .
Edward Izzi’s latest thriller features the sharp, gutsy Detective Mike Palazzola of Detroit’s Third Precinct embroiled in a serial killing investigation.
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Union Square Review
Not all book reviews are created equal
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What’s Gotten Into You
by Dan Levitt
Review By Harvey Freedenberg — BookPage
Dan Levitt delivers a survey of life’s building blocks that’s intelligent, accessible and just sheer fun.
Even if the word science only conjures up bad memories of frog dissections and failed lab experiments, you’ll find much to enjoy in Dan Levitt’s What’s Gotten Into You: The Story of Your Body’s Atoms, From the Big Bang Through Last Night’s Dinner. Levitt, a writer and producer of science and history documentaries, delivers a survey of life’s building blocks that’s intelligent, accessible and just sheer fun.
Levitt launches his inquiry with two fundamental questions: “What are we actually made of? And where did it come from?”
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What to Read This Spring
Reviews by Harlan Coben — TODAY
Harlan Coben joins TODAY to recommend books to read this spring and to talk about his new book, “Win.” He discusses “Heaven’s A Lie,” by Wallace Stroby, “The Beauty of Living Twice,” by Sharon Stone, and more.
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Wolf Trap
by Connor Sullivan
Reviewed By Ryan Steck — The Real Book Spy
Following his Barry Award-winning debut novel (Sleeping Bear), Connor Sullivan, one of the most exciting new voices to emerge in the thriller genre over the last decade, delivers another unrelenting thriller that’s sure to blow readers away.
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The Woman in the Library
by Sulari Gentill
Reviewed by Doreen Sheridan — Criminal Element
Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.
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