Reviews by Labmom55

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Lightning Strike: Cork O'Connor Mystery Series #18
by William Kent Krueger
Prequel to the Cork O’Connor series (7/12/2025)
William Kent Krueger is one of the finest contemporary writers in the US and one of my personal favorites. He has a real way with young male characters finding their way in the world. This story is a prequel to his Cork O’Connor series.

Within the first sentence of themore
Bring the House Down: A Novel
by Charlotte Runcie
A whole new spin on the Me, Too situation (7/12/2025)
Bring the House Down takes a whole new spin on the Me, Too situation and does it brilliantly. Alex, a popular theatre critic, known for his savage reviews, writes a one star review of a one woman show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Then he goes out for a meal, picks upmore
The House Is on Fire
by Rachel Beanland
What I want from historical fiction (7/10/2025)
A favorite of 2023

The House is on Fire is Rachel Beanland’s sophomore effort and I was even more pleased with it than her debut, Florence Adler Swims Forever. The story covers the fire on December 26, 1811 at the Richmond Theatre. Plantation owners came to Richmond inmore
The Great Believers
by Rebecca Makkai
Poignant and gripping (7/10/2025)
What an amazing, gripping book. The Great Believers tracks two different story lines. Mid 1980s Chicago, the AIDS epidemic is in full swing and Yale’s friends are falling ill and dying. Things truly go wrong at his friend Nico’s funeral when an ill placed word by Fiona,more
The Elements: A Novel
by John Boyne
Powerful and thought provoking (7/9/2025)
Once again, John Boyne has crafted a book that drew me in and kept me enthralled. It is a powerful book. In The Elements, four interconnected stories explore sexual crimes and the different parties involved - the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator and the victim. Themore
A Disappearance in Fiji
by Nilima Rao
Well researched and easy to envision (6/26/2025)
4.5 stars, rounded up

This well crafted, wonderfully researched historical mystery takes the reader to 1914 Fiji. Akal Singh is a young police sergeant who has been banished from Hong Kong to Fiji. He has yet to be received into the good graces of his boss. But a delegationmore
When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel
by Lisa Ridzén
Heartbreaking (6/26/2025)
2025
“At dinner one day, I snapped and asked what the hell the point of life was if I was too old for a dog.” Truly. I hate to think of the day I’m no longer capable of having a dog.
Bo is 89, is still living at home but with the help of caregivers. His wife has Alzheimer’smore
People Like Us: A Novel
by Jason Mott
Amazing writing (6/26/2025)
It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Denise Mina, but I’ve liked the ones I’ve read. I’m adding this one to the list. The plot was solid, the characters fully fleshed out. Dr. Claudia O’Sheil is about to blow the lid open on how her forensic evidence falselymore
The Good Liar: A Novel
by Denise Mina
Well developed characters (6/26/2025)
It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Denise Mina, but I’ve liked the ones I’ve read. I’m adding this one to the list. The plot was solid, the characters fully fleshed out. Dr. Claudia O’Sheil is about to blow the lid open on how her forensic evidence falselymore
Daikon: A Novel
by Samuel Hawley
Fabulous alternative historical fiction (6/26/2025)
Daikon combines the best of alternative historical fiction and a thriller. The premise is that in WWII, the Americans had not two but three atomic bombs ready to drop on Japan. But the first plane is shot out of the sky and the bomb doesn’t detonate and is recovered by themore
The White Crow: Philomena McCarthy #2
by Michael Robotham
Engrossing (6/26/2025)
4.5 stars, rounded up

The White Crow is an engrossing, fast paced second book in the Philomena “Phil” McCarthy series. Phil is a police constable, but she’s also the daughter of a well known criminal boss. Talk about walking a fine line! One night on patrol, she sees a childmore
The Uproar: A Novel
by Karim Dimechkie
Perfect for book clubs (6/26/2025)
I will admit to grabbing an advance copy of The Uproar because of that wonderful cover and understanding it was about trying to temporarily rehome a dog. Not just any dog, Judy is a 150# Bull Mastiff with numerous health concerns. Sharif and his wife Adjoua are expectingmore
King of Ashes: A Novel
by S. A. Cosby
Excellent audio experience (6/21/2025)
S. A. Cosby has done it again. I would award this more than five stars if I could. He excels at writing dark southern thrillers that pit regular folks against the forces of evil. In King of Ashes, Roman returns home to Jefferson Run, VA after his father is in a serious carmore
Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
by Clare Leslie Hall
Great book club selection (6/21/2025)
Broken Country grabbed me from the first pages and never let me go. It was so intense; such an emotional land mine of a book. It starts when a dog attacks a herd of sheep and is shot dead by one of two farming brothers. Turns out Gabriel, the dog’s owner, has just returnedmore
Wild Dark Shore: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
Haunting mystery (6/21/2025)
With Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy has once again crafted a haunting mystery based on climate change.

A family of four are the final inhabitants on an island in the Southern Ocean, near to Antarctica. Even they are due to leave, once they finish packing up the seedmore
Too Old for This
by Samantha Downing
Dark humor (6/21/2025)
I love mysteries that have older main characters. And I adore snarky humor. Put the two together with a smart, well thought out plot and you have a five star book. Lottie got away with murder, well multiple murders, when she was younger. At age 75 she was in blissful “more
The River Is Waiting: A Novel
by Wally Lamb
Heartbreakingly beautiful (5/1/2025)
The River is Waiting is a heartbreakingly beautiful book. It didn’t take long before my heart was in my throat. And for way too many scenes, it stayed in my throat. It’s not an easy book to read; it’s raw, bleak and dark and doesn’t provide any easy answers.

Corby Ledbettermore
The Original Daughter: A Novel
by Jemimah Wei
Would work well for a book club (5/1/2025)
The Original Daughter is a debut novel concerning the creation and dissolution of a family in Singapore. Up until she was eight, Genevieve was an only child. But then, seven year old Arin arrives, a half-cousin to Gen, given up by her family in Malaysia. Slowly, Genevievemore
One Death at a Time
by Abbi Waxman
Snarky more than sappy (5/1/2025)
Lately, it seems it’s the rare book that grabs me from the get go. But One Death at a Time managed to do just that. It was a great combo of unique characters, spot on phrasing and a wild plot. Mason was my kind of main character - lacking impulse control and tact even nowmore
Serial Killer Games
by Kate Posey
Great fun (5/1/2025)
I am not a fan of romance novels and with a title like Serial Killer Games, I hadn’t paid attention to the main genre for this book. Luckily, I am a big fan of snarky humor and Serial Killer Games has it in spades. It’s dark and twisted. But it is also heartwarming. Imore
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Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
by Clare Leslie Hall
A love triangle reveals deadly secrets in this thriller for fans of The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing.

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