Category: FICTION

September 19, 2023

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride **** (of 4)

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is a one-room general store owned by Moshe, but run, at a loss, by his warm-hearted, open-minded, club-footed (polio),...

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September 19, 2023

Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins *** (of 4)

An ambitious book that centers the Owen’s Valley in California, the valley’s desertification following rerouting all of the valley’s water to Los Angeles, and the...

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August 2, 2023

Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne **** (of 4)

In 1939, Raymond Chandler wroteThe Big Sleep featuring, Private Investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe was the original world weary, cynical PI: hard drinking, self-mocking, and a...

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July 18, 2023

The Poison Machine *** (of 4)

Some authors of historical fiction (see Geraldine Brooks) are so caught up by their research that plot and characters are afterthoughts or cliches applied to...

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July 18, 2023

The End of October by Lawrence Wright *** (of 4)

The End of October is shocking because of its initial accuracy and publication date. Coming into print just before the pandemic, Wright’s novel describes a...

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June 12, 2023

Gangland by Chuck Hogan *** (of 4)

Based on the true story of Tony Accardo, Al Capone’s protege, the undisputed mob boss of Chicago in the 1970s. Accardo’s mob runs all of...

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May 5, 2023

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman **** (of 4)

This is the third installation of an investigation by four elderly Brits living in Cooper’s Chase retirement community. The four are all a little stiffer,...

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April 21, 2023

American Gods by Neil Gaiman *** (of 4)

Neil Gaiman, a British author, has written an Icelandic saga about American gods. Equal parts fantasy, history, sociology, and Americana, Gaiman’s protagonist, and our guide...

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March 12, 2023

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson *** (of 4)

Atkinson did her homework before reproducing the details of England in the raucous 1920s. Britons released from the devastation of WW I and the influenza...

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March 12, 2023

The Word is Murder by Antony Horowitz *** (of 4)

Antony Horowitz – a prolific writer of mysteries for adults, children, and television – definitely had fun writing this one. He cast himself as one...

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