A Cineaste’s Bookshelf
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REVIEW: The Third Pole
Author Mark Synnott was part of a crew hired to investigate the probable route of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. They were the leads of a 1924 British expedition to summit the peak. The men left base camp for the top of the world and were last spotted about 800 feet from the summit. They were never seen alive again. Experts would argue whether the pair made it to the top before succumbing to the mountain.Read More »
REVIEW: Observations by Gaslight
There are only a handful of authors that I trust implicitly. There are even fewer that I trust working within the world of Sherlock Holmes. Lyndsay Faye is the only writer I can think of who checks both boxes.Read More »
Books for February
“There is always in February some one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant, but surely coming, summer.”
— Gertrude JekyllRead More »
REVIEW: Defenestrate
Nick and his twin Marta (also the narrator) are convinced their family history carries a curse -- their people die from falling. Ever since a Victorian era Czech ancestor pushed a stonemason off of a scaffold, his progeny suffered the consequences.Read More »
REVIEW: The Shadows of Men
Abir Mukherjee has created an amazing set of characters and stories. In this fifth installment of Wyndham and Banerjee mysteries, the pair must unravel a political conspiracy and clear Surendranath's name. Read More »
REVIEW: Murder's A Swine
Nap Lombard wrote this novel set in Blitz London while they were living it. In fact, they were air-raid wardens themselves -- the simultaneous monotony and chaos of inspired their writing.Read More »
Best reads of 2021
Some were books to be reviewed, some were stumbled upon at the library, some were glaring at my from the stacks in my library and I finally melted under the pressure. These are my favorite reads of the year.Read More »
REVIEW: The Woman They Could Not Silence
Being restrained and told you are insane, when you are perfectly well, is one of the more terrifying fears. Dozens of movies and novels use this premise as their kernel of horror. For some, the terror is real. In 1860, Elizabeth Packard was institutionalized against her will. Her logical intelligence and extreme perseverance were her only tools. She used her time effectively.Read More »
REVIEW: A Surprise for Christmas
Whoever says crime and Christmas don't go together is just wrong. Editor Martin Edwards has put together a delightful selection of Yuletide crime stories, cheerful enough to put any reader into the holiday spirit. Read More »
REVIEW: The Corpse in the Waxworks
Carr's writing shines brightest when he's describing the seedy underground of Paris in the 1930s. Dark cobblestone alleys, worn doors with skeleton keys, smoky jazz clubs, mansions from a past age.Read More »
Books for November
Here are some new and forthcoming books to look for, with a preview of some full reviews to come from me later in the month.Read More »
REVIEW: The Summoning
A grief vampire. A hoaxer. A snake oil salesman. People claiming to be mediums have a number of epithets, especially ones who target the mourning. But then she begins to notice some of her readings are frighteningly accurate.Read More »
Books for Late Summer
A collection of new, recent, and upcoming books that didn't wow me enough to write full reviews, but were still interesting enough to share with other readers.Read More »
REVIEW: Maiden Voyages
In this historic nonfiction, Siân Evans highlights the role of women on the transatlantic ships, particularly in the years between the wars. Evans chooses a few specific figures to represent the various job that made travel by ship possible for women. Read More »
REVIEW: The Dead Letter
With mistaken identities, missing inheritances, mysterious disappearances, I cannot get enough of Victorian sensation novels. The Dead Letter can be counted as the first American detective novel.Read More »