February 2023 – Looking For a Good Book

February 27, 2023

PAPERBACK JACK – Loren D. Estleman

Jacob Heppleman is back on U.S. soil after fighting for Uncle Sam in Europe in the Second World War. Heppleman finds a different world, one that he needs to get a grip on, fast, if he’s going to survive. Before the war, Heppleman eked out a living as a hack writer, supplying stories to the Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Noir, Reviews

February 23, 2023

TERMINAL PEACE – Jim C. Hines

Somehow I missed the first two books in this trilogy, but if you’re going to come to a series late, reading the ending is the way to go. Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is a janitor. She and her crew were trained to clean spaceships, not to fight battles. But a war is on the rise and Continue reading

HUMOR, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Humor, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

February 21, 2023

THE CAMBODIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD – Tom Vater

Maier is a German detective, a former war correspondent, who is hired to track down the heir to a Hamburg coffee empire. The hunt will take Maier into some of the darkest corners of Cambodia where he will encounter many horrifying, historical figures that Cambodia might otherwise prefer to keep secret, such as the White Spider, Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews

February 17, 2023

MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS – Louise Hare

1936. Lena Aldridge is a singer/dancer/actor, of mixed race, for whom life is not looking up. She’s singing, but in a back-street basement club. Her lover, a married man, has left her. She’s been kicked out of her apartment space, and to cap it all off, there’s been a murder at the club. She’s ready Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, MYSTERY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviews

February 15, 2023

MOZART’S LAST ARIA – Matt Rees

I am always interested in fiction that relates to music so when I saw this book in a local used book store, I bought it. It’s been on my shelf for years, but while on an extended vacation, this was one of the books I decided to bring along. We are in Austria in the Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Reviews

February 13, 2023

THE CIMMERIAN, VOL. 4 – graphic novel

I’ve been a fan of Conan and the Conan stories since the 1970’s when I found the Lancer editions of the Conan books in used book stores. The character keeps coming back, through reprints, new stories, and new comic/graphic novel interpretations. This fourth graphic novel volume, based on comics written by Mathieu Gabella and Julien Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

February 9, 2023

WHILE THE MUSIC LASTS – Alice McVeigh

The first thing that strikes me, of course, is the similarity here to the Amazon Prime series, Mozart in the Jungle. Classical music, a big city orchestra, and the wide variety of relationships going on off stage. And, yeah, that’s okay with me. I liked Mozart in the Jungle (the TV series) and I enjoyed While the Music Lasts. Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews

February 7, 2023

SEA OF TRANQUILITY – Emily St. John Mandel

I’d been hearing a bit of buzz about this book and so I was quite looking forward to it. 1912, Vancouver Island. Eighteen-year-old Edwin St. Andrew has crossed the Atlantic by steamship. He enters the Canadian wilderness, open to exploring and taking in what he might see when he hears the haunting sounds of a violin Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

February 3, 2023

INTO THE FOREST: TALES OF THE BABA YAGA – Lindy Ryan, editor

I’m afraid to admit that I was not familiar with the Baba Yaga legend or myths, but that’s part of the reason I was interested in reading this. The name sounded familiar, but I’m quite sure I’ve never read anything about the old witch. It helped to see that the introduction was from Christina Henry Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Short Fiction

February 1, 2023

HEX-RATED – Jason Ridler

Take Harry Dresden from the uber-popular Dresden Files series and put him in a ‘sleaze’ novel from the late 1960’s (ala my recently reviewed Man From O.R.G.Y. series) and you get something akin to Hex-Rated by Jason Ridler. It’s the 1970’s and James Brimstone is a newly licensed Private Investigator in Los Angeles. Brimstone was at one Continue reading

MAGIC, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, supernatural