John Singer is a deaf-mute living a solitary life in a Southern city. His best friend, Spiros Antonapoulos, has been taken away to the state asylum. But as Singer makes his solitary way through life, he draws a group of four lonely individuals to him: Mick Kelly, a poor young girl with dreams of being Continue Reading…
It’s impossible (for me, anyway) to read a forensic mystery without comparing it to the Scarpetta novels. This one was awesome! I haven’t read a forensic science mystery this good since the early Scarpettas! These novels are the basis for the TV series, Bones. I’ve never watched that show, so I didn’t come into this Continue Reading…
Or, a love letter to Charles de Lint’s Newford books Izzy Copley is a college student majoring in art when she first meets world-famous artist Vincent Rushkin. She feels unworthy when he chooses to start teaching her his secrets. There’s a reason that he’s so secretive. He has a nasty temper and he frequently lashes Continue Reading…
Minerva Dobbs is a sensible girl. She’s an actuary, the man she’s dating is a sensible choice, and her clothes are sensible and “slimming.” But then there are her shoes. Her shoes hint at the real Min. Her shoes are fun, frivolous concoctions. One night, Min meets Calvin Morrissey in a bar. As she’s heading Continue Reading…
It seems like I run into references to Dorian Gray pretty frequently (Most recently in James Blunt’s song “Tears and Rain“). I decided to pick this up because I was tired of not understanding the references. The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with one of Dorian’s friends, a painter named Basil Hallward, just finishing his Continue Reading…
Azoth is an 11-year-old boy barely surviving in the streets of Cenaria City. He’s part of a brutal gang of children who will do anything in order to survive. But Azoth wants to do more than survive; he wants a way out of the Warrens and he sees an apprenticeship with master assassin Durzo Blint Continue Reading…
Dr. Alice Howland teaches psychology at Harvard. A brilliant researcher and professor, she has a field-changing body of work behind her and looks forward to many years of pursuing her passion. Then she starts noticing serious lapses in her memory. She finally gets scared when she goes out for a run and gets lost a Continue Reading…
For those 2 people who don’t know, The Arabian Nights is sort of a collection of short stories told in Arabia (which seems to include India and parts of China) waaaaaay back in the day. The framework of the story is about a sultan who caught his wife cheating on him. After he has her Continue Reading…
HeLa cells (named after the woman they came from, Henrietta Lacks) have been used for about 60 years by scientists all over the world for all kinds of cellular research. Yet very few scientists could tell you the real name of the woman the cells came from, much less anything about her. Yet somehow, Rebecca Continue Reading…
This is the story of King Arthur, Guenever and Lancelot. I think we all know how that goes. I’ve been reading this off and on for the past six months. I would start to read it, lose interest, and pick up something more interesting. I finally decided that it was time to either give up Continue Reading…
Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has been given the task of bringing in Maxine Nowicki. It should be a straightforward job. Maxine has a clean record and she only “stole” her boyfriend’s car. But Maxine proves strangely elusive. Stephanie’s job gets harder when Joyce Barnhardt, a new bounty hunter, starts tracking Maxine as well. Stephanie and Continue Reading…