Review

Quick Review: WHY SO SERIOUS? by Mike Singer (Harper)

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The first biography of the 3x NBA MVP

A revealing, intimate biography of basketball savant and enigmatic NBA superstar Nikola Jokić, filled with news-breaking interviews and deep reporting from Mike Singer, the Nuggets’ former beat writer for the Denver Post.

Why So Serious? takes readers on Nikola Jokić’s long, strange, and incredibly unlikely journey to becoming the heartbeat of the champion Denver Nuggets and the best basketball player on the planet. As he traces Jokić’s transformation from his humble beginnings in Sombor, Serbia, sports journalist Mike Singer captures the witty irreverence, unparalleled competitiveness, and slight mischievousness of the MVP fondly known as “The Joker.”

Behind his veiled public persona, who really is Nikola Jokić? Filled with exclusive, sure-to-be-headline-making interviews, including unique insights from Jokić himself, Why So Serious? delves deep into the soul of the mysterious center and reveals how the big man developed his relentless work ethic, exceptional court vision, and magical playing style that has redefined dominance in the NBA.

Like many NBA fans, Nikola Jokić’s rise to dominance has been fascinating to watch. Famously (and amusingly) drafted 41st during a Taco Bell commercial, he has risen from curiosity to champion in a relatively short time. He is also incredibly private, which means much of his story is not widely known. So, when I got the chance to read and review Mike Singer’s Why So Serious?, I jumped at the chance. While the synopsis oversells it a bit, this is nevertheless the biography Jokić fans have been waiting for. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: 2 DUMB DINOS by Eric Filipkowski & Nathan Hamill (Titan Comics)

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An amusing, odd comics collection

THEY’RE DUMB. THEY’RE DINOS. THERE’S TWO OF THEM!

Welcome to the irreverently silly world of two Dinos with their hooves and claws on the pulse of all things pop-cultury. Referencing everything from BK Joes, to Chinese spy balloons, to missing Top Secret White House documents to the latest Hollywood blockbuster! This collection of the cult digital comic strips, available for the first time ever in book form, is a celebration of the glorious tradition of the American newspaper Funnies immortalized by the likes of Peanuts, The Far Side, Pearls Before Swine and Wizard of Id but skewered by the humor of South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants and Drunk History.

It’s an affectionate and downright silly slice of American pie with a side order of Dino guano thrown in for free!

I’ve become a big fan of many online comic strips — the medium (especially Instagram) seems to really suit the panel structure. Favourites include Lucas Turnbloom’s How to Cat and Poorly Drawn Lines. I had seen a few of Filipkowski & Hamill’s 2 Dumb Dinos, but hadn’t really dug into the strip in any depth. Then the publisher offered this for review, and I happily dove in. Continue reading →

Quick Review: MURDER BY MEMORY by Olivia Whaite (TorDotCom)

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An intriguing, cozy mystery… in space!

A mind is a terrible thing to erase…

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers — just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor — and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting — knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work — and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…

Murder by Memory is an interesting, quirky mystery set on a luxurious interstellar passenger liner. After a slightly strange start, I quickly found myself drawn into the story, and rather enjoyed it. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE SAVAGE, NOBLE DEATH OF BABS DIONNE by Ron Currie (G. P. Putnam’s Sons)

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A fantastic tale of identity, crime, and the long tail of violence

Your ancestors breathe through you. Sometimes, they call for vengeance.

Babs Dionne, proud Franco-American, doting grandmother, and vicious crime matriarch, rules her small town of Waterville, Maine, with an iron fist. She controls the flow of drugs into Little Canada with the help of her loyal lieutenants, girlfriends since they were teenagers, and her eldest daughter, Lori, a Marine vet struggling with addiction.

When a drug kingpin discovers that his numbers are down in the upper northeast, he sends a malevolent force, known only as The Man, to investigate. At the same time, Babs’s youngest daughter, Sis, has gone missing, which doesn’t seem at all like a coincidence. In twenty-four hours, Sis will be found dead, and the whole town will seek shelter from Babs’s wrath.

This is the first novel by Ron Currie that I’ve read. It is at once the story of the Dionne family, and simultaneously an examination of the long tail of violence that can change individuals and communities. Currie’s prose quickly hooked me, and the story kept me reading well into the night. This is a really, really good novel. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE SUMMER GUESTS by Tess Gerritsen (Thomas & Mercer/Penguin)

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GerritsenT-MC2-SummerGuestsUSHCThe excellent second novel in the Martini Club series

When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.

Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.

After a teenager vanishes ― and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect ― she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.

As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets… before more lives are lost.

The Spy Coast, Gerritsen’s first novel featuring the Martini Club, was the first of the author’s novels that I read and it quickly hooked me, and ever since finishing it I’ve been eagerly anticipating the sequel. While it isn’t published until March 2025, I was lucky to receive a DRC of The Summer Guests, which I started right away, and blitzed through — I’m very happy to report that it’s an excellent continuation of the series! Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: HAUNT SWEET HOME by Sarah Pinsker (TorDotCom)

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PinskerS-HauntSweetHomeUSHCA novella with an interesting twist on haunting, and an amusing satire on “reality” TV

On the set of a kitschy reality TV show, staged scares transform into unnerving reality…

“Don’t talk to day about what we do at night.”

When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she’s truly been deceiving and hiding from all along — is herself.

Eerie and empathetic, Haunt Sweet Home is a multifaceted, supernatural exploration of finding your own way into adulthood, and into yourself.

What if a fake reality show about haunted properties ends up… not so fake? In Sarah Pinsker’s latest novella, a newly-hired production assistant ends up right in the middle of a haunting, while still trying to figure out who she wants to be and what kind of life she wants. It’s an engaging story that feels a little like house-hunting during an episode of Supernatural. I enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE FINAL ACT by Lisa Gray (Thomas & Mercer)

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GrayL-FinalActUSHCA missing actress, the uncaring world of Hollywood, and the peculiarity of fame in America

All she wanted was to see her name in lights. Now, her disappearance has made her front-page news.

It’s been twenty years since Madison James had any kind of success in Hollywood. Now she’s disappeared and a TikTok sleuth has found her purse discarded in a Los Angeles park. The news spreads like wildfire across a nation hungry for celebrity tragedy, and the struggling actress’s mysterious disappearance quickly becomes a national obsession.

Detectives Sarah Delaney and Rob Moreno of the LAPD Missing Persons Unit take the case. But truth is a rare commodity in Tinseltown; some people will stop at nothing to get what they want and Delaney and Moreno soon find themselves mired in Hollywood’s dark underbelly with little in the way of clues.

As revelations from the past emerge, it becomes apparent there is more going on than meets the eye. With an obsessive public watching every step of the investigation, can the police find Madison before she becomes more than just missing?

This is the first of Gray’s novels that I’ve read, and I very much enjoyed it. Long-time readers of CR will know that mysteries/crime novels set in and around Hollywood are like catnip for me, and this one was engaging and quickly paced. Thanks to a bout of insomnia, I ended up reading this in just two sittings. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE SPY WHO VANISHED by Alma Katsu (Amazon Original)

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KatsuA-SpyWhoVanished_completeAn intriguing and engaging espionage tale from Alma Katsu

The Spy Who Vanished is a three-part journey into the political unrest that forces Russia’s most famous spy to choose between his legacy and who he wants to become. Read or listen to each immersive story in a single sitting.

I’m a big fan of Alma Katsu’s spy fiction — I loved Red Widow and Red London, in particular — and so when I saw that the author had written a three-part espionage story for Amazon, I jumped at the chance to read it. Continue reading →

Quick Review: DEVIL’S KITCHEN by Candice Fox (Forge Books)

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FoxC-DevilsKitchenUSHCAn undercover investigator works to bring down an arson crew in New York City

The firefighting crew of Engine 99 has spent years rushing fearlessly into the hot zone of major fires across New York City. This tight-knit, four person unit has faced danger head-on, saving countless lives and stopping raging fires before they can cause major destruction.

They’ve also stolen millions from banks, jewelry stores, and art galleries. Under the cover of saving the city, these men have used their knowledge and specialist equipment to become the most successful heist crew on the East Coast.

Andy Nearland, the newest member of Engine 99, is good at keeping secrets. She’s been brought on to help with their biggest job ever — hitting New York’s largest private storage facility, an expensive treasure trove for the rich and famous.

She’s also an undercover operative, charged with bringing the crew to justice.

Keeping Andy’s true motives hidden proves more and more dangerous as tempers flare and loyalties are tested. And as the clock counts down to the crew’s most daring heist yet, her cover might just go up in flames…

This is only the second novel by Candice Fox that I’ve read. Given how much I enjoyed this and Gathering Dark, it’s a bit strange that I haven’t read more. Devil’s Kitchen is a fast-paced, engaging mystery with great characters. I enjoyed this a lot. Continue reading →

Quick Review: DOUBLE EXPOSURE by Elissa R. Sloan (William Morrow)

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SloanER-DoubleExposureUSHCAn interesting, albeit flawed look at Hollywood celebrity culture

A sweeping drama about two A-list stars — a former star couple — as they cross each other’s paths over and over again through the years, in a story that examines the work we have to do in order to grow into the people we want to become.

Maiko Fox and Adrian Hightower were young, beautiful, in love… and famous. The latest model to grace the Valentina Posh runway show and the hottest new superhero actor were Hollywood’s breakout couple. They were in every magazine, all over the most popular celebrity-blogs, and on countless E! News stories.

They starred in a blockbuster film together, reaping box-office gold. Fans were at a fever pitch. No one could get enough of Madrian, the couple that printed money for the studios, for the paparazzi, for themselves.

But then, their relationship crumbled.

Years later, with Adrian topping the Hollywood A-list as a writer and director, dating the country’s biggest pop star, and Maiko starring in movies for her celebrated producer-director husband, they live totally different lives. But they can never be too far apart. Madrian is still a box office draw, and the studios keep throwing them together.

As the two grow more and more entangled again professionally, Maiko and Adrian have to reckon with themselves: are they happy with their current lives? Or have they grown to be better people when with each other?

I enjoyed Sloan’s debut novel, The Unravelling of Cassidy Holmes, which focused on the fallout of a pop star taking her own life. In this third novel, Sloan takes another look at celebrity culture: specifically, celebrity couples, and the ways in which careers and relationships can become intertwined in the entertainment industry. I had very high hopes for this novel, and there’s some interesting stuff in here; but, ultimately, it didn’t feel as accomplished or gripping as the author’s debut. Continue reading →