A Cineaste’s Bookshelf

Click here for information about my book review policy.


REVIEW: The Extinction of Irena Rey

An eccentric but ostensibly brilliant author has a new book ready for translation. She summons her equally odd but insightful translators to her home on the edge of the Bialowieza forest reserve in Poland. They all get together, go through the manuscript and spend all day translating from Polish into their respective languages. But this…
Read More »

Books for February

“February, a form pale-vestured, wildly fair. One of the North Wind’s daughters with icicles in her hair.” ― Edgar Fawcett
Read More »

REVIEW: Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge

When it is confirmed that her sister did not survive the Arctic, Maude is secretly given her sister's journal by a sympathetic representative within the Admiralty. She determines to discover and expose the truth.
Read More »

Best Books of 2023

These were my favorite reads of 2023.
Read More »

Books for a Long Weekend

I hope between the frantic traveling, parade watching, and air mattress sleeping you have some time for relaxation with a good book. Delve into these creepy, cozy books from around the world.
Read More »

REVIEW: The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries

I am pleased Sims has pulled together another interesting collection of short stories, most of which I had never heard of before. All told, the collection contains more than 300 pages of murder mysteries waiting to be rediscovered.
Read More »

Books of London

London was an important hub for authors and publishers of the classics and it's hard to not daydream just a bit when walking around the same streets as Dickens and Conan Doyle. The city is still a vibrant center for publishing, reviewing, and of course, bookshops.
Read More »

REVIEW: West Heart Kill

Agatha Christie taught us a century ago, a narrator needn't be telling the reader the truth, nor must the detective himself. But surely the omniscient narrator has no ulterior motives. Right?
Read More »

REVIEW: 1923 - The Mystery of Lot 212

On a whim, Boultin's friend sent him an auction listing for a scrap of silent film reel that was labelled Tour de France. He won Lot 212 and embarked on a three-year, multinational odyssey to preserve the film and restore it to its place in history, however small that might be. 
Read More »

Books for September

September days are here, With summer’s best of weather, And autumn’s best of cheer. ~ Helen Hunt Jackson
Read More »

REVIEW: Crook O' Lune

What begins as a spate of sheep-stealing, escalates to arson and murder. Luckily for the villagers, Inspector MacDonald is visiting the area as he considers buying property ahead of his retirement from the police force. His attempt to remain on vacation doesn't last long as he begins to assist local authorities in their inquiry.
Read More »

REVIEW: Trail of the Lost

Trail of the Lost collects the investigations of Lankford as she searches for three hikers who went missing. She wrangles members of online groups, family members, locals, and psychics to find any clue to their disappearances.
Read More »

REVIEW: Death of Jezebel

Death of Jezebel features her recurring character Inspector Cockrill, a rumpled, unassuming detective. Like the Shakespearean "wise fool," he makes outlandish observations and watches the chaos rattle around among the suspects.
Read More »

REVIEW: Blackstone Fell & Sepulchre Street

Rachel Savernake is the daughter of a judge, ridiculously wealthy, slightly bored, and smart as a whip. In other words, she has all the qualities of a Bright Young Thing ready to solve mysteries.
Read More »

REVIEW: Death of a Bookseller

The author, Bernard J. Farmer, was a Metropolitan police officer himself and had a penchant for book collecting, so the hero of this novel reflects the author quite a bit.
Read More »

Older Entries »
HTML Snippets Powered By : XYZScripts.com