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Reviews by Kenneth T. (Houston, TX)

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Cloudland: A Crime Novel
by Joseph Olshan

"Cloudland" is Overcast (3/7/2012)

Cloudland, a new novel by Joseph Olshan , is clever but ultimately disappointing. A plot taken from the unfinished work of Wilkie Collins promises much more than this story delivers. Stick figures, not real characters, populate the pages. I read with interest a tale hoping …more

The Darkening Field: A Novel
by William Ryan

Almost Very Good (11/14/2011)

William Ryan has chosen as his milieu a most difficult period, the Soviet Union during the 1930s. What we know in hindsight of this period raises the bar considerably for the novelist, the "willing suspension of disbelief." He almost pulls it off with a clever plot, the …more

In Search of the Rose Notes: A Novel
by Emily Arsenault

Unraveling the past. (5/29/2011)

Generally, the use of flashbacks or alternating chapters by time periods are irritating, annoying and a sign of poor writing. "In Search of Rose Notes," does not fall into the latter in spite of the alternative narratives. The contrast presented are different strands of the …more

The Trinity Six
by Charles Cumming

The Trinity Six (2/11/2011)

After a slow beginning (for me, a senior citizen) bringing younger readers up to date with the extraordinary and true spy ring which began at Cambridge in the 1930s, this strory picks up speed and considerable interest. The author, Charles Cumming, manages to draft an …more

Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer
by Wesley Stace

Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer (11/12/2010)

A bit like the author, Wesley Stace, this book is a compilation of parts. Musical history, early twentieth century political and social history, and a history of a murder, the whole is indeed better than the description of its parts. Stace is the alter ego of composer and …more

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Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Praised by Parade and The New York Times Book Review, this debut features a 1960s scientist turned TV cooking star.

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The Lilac People
by Milo Todd

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, a poignant tale of a trans man’s survival in Nazi Germany and postwar Berlin.

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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung

Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

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