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Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
In this novella Rebecca Roanhorse once again shows off her world-building skills. I was intrigued from the very start by the genre-defying world Roanhorse envisions in Tread of Angels. The story unfolds in Goetia, a town ruled by the mighty Order of the Archangels that is ‘segregated’ between the Elects and the Fallen. Celeste, our…
3.5 STARS, Adult, alternate history, amateur detective, AMERICAN AUTHOR, angels, casinos & gambling, dark fantasy, DEMONS, fantastic worldbuilding, FANTASY, female authors, gods, gritty aesthetics, indigenous author, it’s about the *aesthetics*, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MURDER, murder investigation, MYSTERY, Native American & First Nation authors, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, Rebecca Roanhorse, ROMANCE, SISTERS, STEAMPUNK, Tread of Angels, URBAN FANTASY, western -
The Red Palace by June Hur
“I wanted to love and be loved. I wanted to be known. I wanted to be understood and accepted.” The Red Palace makes for a fairly suspenseful read, one that will definitely appeal to fans of YA mysteries where the lead girl goes all Nancy Drew trying to figure out who the culprit is. And…
18th century, 1st pov, 3 STARS, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canadian korean author, class, court intrigue, doctors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, June Hur, Korea, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, My reviews, MYSTERY, palace, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, The Red Palace, YOUNG ADULT -
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Cheesy, boring, poorly executed. While there is indeed a murder and the identity behind the culprit is, supposedly, a ‘mystery’, The Widows of Malabar Hill struck me as something in the realms of a third-rate period drama. The first part of the novel introduces us to Perveen Mistry, our protagonist, and works to establish the…
1910s, 1920s, 2 STARS, 3rd pov, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, cheating, cheesy, courtroom drama, CRIME, divorce/separations, drama, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, India, lawyers, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MARRIAGE, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, My reviews, MYSTERY, Not Like Other Girls, Perveen Mistry, published in 2018, read in 2021, reading, Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill, weak prose, widows, zoroastrianism -
Crime And Punishment: A Novel in Six Parts with Epilogue by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot is a favourite of mine so I was expecting Crime And Punishment be right up my street…aaaaand I hated it. Many consider Crime And Punishment to be one of the most influential books of all time…and I have to wonder…how? The Idiot, although certainly flawed, tells a far more cohesive and compelling…
1860s, 19TH CENTURY, 2 STARS, 3rd pov, big books, cat and mouse, class, CLASSICS, CRIME, Crime and Punishment, drama, endless monologues, existentialism, feverish, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, HISTORICAL FICTION, illness, madness, male authors, MELODRAMA, men who do not seem to know how to write women, morality, MURDER, murder investigation, murderers, philosophical, Poverty, prostitution, psychological, published in 1866, ramblings, read in 2020, RUSSIA, russian author, russian classics, Saint Petersburg, Siberia, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie — book review
Death on the Nile is one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries. While Christie has definitely penned more ‘twisty’ whoddunits, the shifting dynamics between the book’s various players make for a suspenseful story. With the exception of our wonderfully punctilious Poirot, Death on the Nile is almost entirely populated by unlikable characters (who are either…
1930S, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, AGATHA CHRISTIE, BOOK REVIEW, British author, british classics, CLASSICS, CRIME, Death on the Nile, DETECTIVE, egypt, england, favourite authors, female authors, golden age detective fiction, hercule poirot, HISTORICAL FICTION, light reads, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, MYSTERY, published in 1937, QUEEN OF CRIME, re-reads, read in 2020, REVIEW, rich people, whodunnit -
The Adventures of Isabel: An Epitome Apartments Mystery by Candas Jane Dorsey — book review
“I spend my days staring at the wall and fantasising about disembowelling my cat as an offering to whatever bitch goddess has been organising my life lately. I am so depressed that if I could motivate myself to it I’d commit suicide, but it’s too proactive for me.” The subtitle of this novel is quite…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, An Epitome Apartments Mystery, arc, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, canada, canadian author, Candas Jane Dorsey, CRIME, DETECTIVE, f/f, female authors, HUMOR, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, metafiction, murder investigation, murder mystery, MYSTERY, netgalley, playful style, prostitution, queer, read in 2020, sapphic, stylised prose, The Adventures of Isabel, unnamed narrator, weird -
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie — book review
This was a light and entertaining read perfect for a warm summer day. Christie must have had fun writing the character of Mrs Boynton, an oppressive and tyrannical matriarch who wouldn’t be out of place in a story by Shirley Jackson. The hatred that Mrs Boynton’s children nurture for their mother seems understandable…and I doubt…
20th century, 3rd pov, AGATHA CHRISTIE, Appointment with Death, British author, british classics, CLASSICS, CRIME, DETECTIVE, drama, england, female authors, golden age detective fiction, hercule poirot, HUMOR, Jerusalem, murder investigation, murder mystery, MYSTERY, published in 1938, READ IN 2019, west bank, whodunnit -
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz — book review
I like to think of myself as a “serious” Agatha Christie fan. With the exception of one or two books—aberrations of some sort—I have always enjoyed reading Christie. I also happen to be a huge fan of the Poirot ITV series (starring the impeccable David Suchet) on which Horowitz has worked on. As Horowitz demonstrates…
3.5 STARS, Anthony Horowitz, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, British author, Contemporary, CRIME, DETECTIVE, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), england, golden age detective fiction, HISTORICAL FICTION, Magpie Murders, male authors, murder investigation, murder mystery, mystery puzzle, published in 2016, READ IN 2019, small town crime, story within a story, village, whodunnit -
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz — book review
The Word Is Murder offers readers a mixture of old and new. The prose and murder-mystery are heavily reminiscent of Agatha Christie and Josephine Tey, whom are often referred as the most prominent golden age detective fiction writers. What is innovative about The Word Is Murder is that it blurs the line between fiction and…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, AGATHA CHRISTIE, Anthony Horowitz, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, British author, Contemporary, CRIME, DETECTIVE, england, golden age detective fiction, LONDON, male authors, murder investigation, mystery puzzle, PUBLISHED IN 2017, READ IN 2019, SUSPENSE, The Word is Murder, whodunnit -
The Divinities: A Crane and Drake Novel by Parker Bilal — book review
The Divinities: A Crane and Drake Novel is the promising start to the ‘Crane ad Drake’ series. This events recounted by the narrative take place over the course of a few days which adds a sense of urgency and suspense to the storyline. We follow two somewhat disgraced figures, the recently demoted Detective Sergeant Calil…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, A Crane and Drake, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, british sudanese author, class, cultural dissonance, DETECTIVE, INVESTIGATION, Jamal Mahjoub, LONDON, male authors, murder investigation, Noir, Parker Bilal, police investigation, police procedural, politics, published in 2019, RACE, READ IN 2019, social issues, terrorism, The Divinities, war related ptsd
luce [is reading] 