From my column in the Washington Times Communities WASHINGTON, DC, December 6, 2012- You know that book that you simply cannot put down? The one that you keep thinking about when you do put it down and way after you’ve finished reading it? The one that makes you just a little bit uncomfortable when you think […]
Tag Archives: book reviews
We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver
posted by lasesana
**** We Need to Talk About Kevin Author: Lionel Shriver First Edition: 2003 Original language: English Awards: 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction Summary: We Need to Talk About Kevin is an epistolary novel, written as letters from Eva Katchadourian to her husband Franklin in the wake of their son’s killing 11 people at his school. […]
Tai-Pan, James Clavell
posted by lasesana
****1/2 Tai-Pan (Asian Saga #2) Author: James Clavell First Edition: Atheneum, 1966 Original language: English Summary: The novel opens with the British seizure of Hong Kong after the first Opium War. Long and sweeping, covering the lives of many characters, the book focuses on Dirk Struan, the Tai-Pan, the most powerful trader in Asia and […]
King Rat, James Clavell
posted by lasesana
***** King Rat Asian Saga #1 Author: James Clavell First Edition: Marin Joseph, 1962 Original language: English Summary: King Rat follows the lives of the POWs at Changi Prison, in Singapore, during the last weeks of WWII. Clavell was himself a POW at Changi, and the story retells his experience. The story is mostly told […]
November
15
Savages, Don Winslow
posted by lasesana
*** Savages Author: Don Winslow First Edition: Simon & Schuster, 2010 Original language: English Awards: Barry Award Nominee for Best Novel (2011), Dilys Award Nominee (2011) Summary: Savages follows a few days in the life of Ben, Chon (formerly John), and O (short for Ophelia). Selling the best stuff on the market, Ben and Chon […]
October
19
Whose Body? Dorothy L. Sayers
posted by lasesana
*** Whose Body? Author: Dorothy L. Sayers First Edition: 1923, T. Fisher Unwin Original language: English Summary: A man wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez is found dead in a bathtub; a rich businessman disappears. Enter Lord Peter Wimsey, amateur sleuth and thus begins Sayers’ classic mystery. Through old-fashioned detective work and a little […]
October
17
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
posted by lasesana
***½ Wolf Hall Author: Hilary Mantel First Edition: 2009, Fourth Estate Original language: English Awards: ▪ Winner – 2009 Man Booker Prize ▪ Winner – 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. ▪ Winner – 2010 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction ▪ Winner – 2010 The Morning News Tournament of Books. Summary: […]
October
15
Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
posted by lasesana
***1/2 Author: Louise Penny First Edition: 2005 Original language: English Awards: Barry Award for Best First Novel (2007), Anthony Award for Best First Novel (2007), Dilys Award (2007), Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel (2006), The Crime Writers’ Association New Blood Dagger (2006) Summary: Elderly resident of Three Pines, Jane Neal, is found dead, […]
October
12
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
posted by lasesana
**** Gone Girl: A Novel Author: Gillian Flynn First Edition: Crown, 2012 Original language: English Summary: The story begins with the disappearance of Amy Dunne on her fifth wedding anniversary. The story is told from Amy’s journal and Nick’s perspective. Amy is the subject of the Amazing Amy book series, written by her parents. Amazing […]
October
12
Raven Black, Ann Cleeves
posted by lasesana
Raven Black: Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet Author: Ann Cleeves First Edition: 2007, Minotaur Books Original language: English Awards: Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year. Summary: The story opens in the home of Magnus Tait, on New Year’s Day in the Scottish Shetland Islands. A short time […]
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