Review

Quick Review: WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE RIVER by Shannon Bowring (Europa Editions)

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BowringS-D2-WhereTheForestMeetsTheRiverUSPBA very welcome return to Dalton…

It’s been five years since Bridget Theroux’s death shocked the small town of Dalton, Maine, leaving behind husband Nate and daughter Sophie, now a vibrant young child. Nate doesn’t always know how to answer her questions, but he is intent on raising her with joy — and shielding her from her grandmother, Annette, who remains dangerously locked away in her grief.  

After his first year away at college, Greg Fortin is back in town for the summer to work at the family store. It’s expected he’ll take over the hardware business eventually, but finding the words to tell them no — and the truth about who he is — has become his own Everest. Rose’s abusive ex, Tommy finally disappeared a few years ago, though sometimes his presence in the eyes of her oldest son unnerves her. She and Nate are finding themselves drawn together by their children’s playdates, and into a delicate balance between friendship and the possibility of more. 

And Trudy and Bev, always so sure of their love for each other, find themselves rocked when Trudy’s husband Richard suffers a heart attack, bringing into focus all the guilt she has felt about their empty marriage for years.  

Shannon Bowring demonstrates once again that she understands exactly where the heart of a story lies. Where the Forest Meets the River is a poignant return to the small town of Dalton, whose inhabitants continue to startle and humble both themselves — and us.

This is the second novel by Shannon Bowring set in 1990s Dalton, Maine. I loved the author’s debut, The Road to Dalton, and have been eagerly anticipating the author’s follow-up. The publisher was kind enough to send me an ARC, and I dove right in. I’m happy to report that Where the Forest Meets the River is another excellent novel from an author whose books have very quickly become a must-read for me. Continue reading →

Quick Review: WHERE ARE YOU, ECHO BLUE? by Hayley Krischer (Dutton)

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KrischerH-WhereAreYouEchoBlueUSHCA novel about celebrity, fandom, and the price of ambition following a journalist’s obsessive search for a missing Hollywood starlet

When Echo Blue, the most famous child star of the nineties, disappears ahead of a highly publicized television appearance on the eve of the millennium, the salacious theories instantly start swirling. Mostly, people assume Echo has gotten herself in trouble after a reckless New Year’s Eve. But Goldie Klein, an ambitious young journalist who also happens to be Echo’s biggest fan, knows there must be more to the story. Why, on the eve of her big comeback, would Echo just go missing without a trace?

After a year of covering dreary local stories for Manhattan Eye, Goldie is sure this will be her big break. Who better to find Echo Blue, and tell her story the right way, than her? And so, Goldie heads to L.A. to begin a wild search that takes her deep into Echo’s complicated life in which parental strife, friend break ups, rehab stints, and bad romances abound. But the further into Echo’s world Goldie gets, the more she questions her own complicity in the young star’s demise… yet she cannot tear herself away from this story, which has now consumed her entirely. Meanwhile, we also hear Echo’s side of things from the beginning, showing a young woman who was chewed up and spit out by Hollywood as so many are, and who may have had to pay the ultimate price.

This is the first novel by Hayley Krisher that I’ve read. Where Are You, Echo Blue? interrogates celebrity culture, fandom, and the treacherous nature of child stardom. While I liked a lot of this novel, there were certain portions that didn’t quite work for me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it. Continue reading →

Quick Review: I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL by Natalie Sue (Borough Press)

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SueN-IHopeThisFindsYouWellUKHCWould you want to know what your colleagues say behind your back?

Jolene certainly doesn’t.

She’s riddled with anxiety, depressed, and hates her coworkers. The less she knows about them, the better.

So when a catastrophic IT f*ck up grants her access to all of their emails and private messages, she’s initially horrified. The last thing she wants is to be privy to their sad discussions about dying desk plants and marital troubles.

That’s until, with job cuts looming, she realises the power this new-found knowledge gives her.

But as she digs deeper and deeper into the private lives of her colleagues, Jolene uncovers a lot more than she bargained for… And the walls she’d so carefully built start crumbling down.

Natalie Sue’s debut novel, I Hope This Finds You Well enjoyed a lot of pre-publication buzz. It took me a little while to get around to reading it, but I’m happy to report that I really enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE EDGE by David Baldacci (Grand Central)

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BaldacciD-TD2-EdgeUSHCTravis Devine returns, in a strange mystery in small-town Maine

The 6:20 Man is back, dropped by his handlers into a small coastal town in Maine to solve the murder of a CIA agent who knew America’s dirtiest secrets — can Travis Devine uncover the truth before his time runs out?

When CIA operative Jenny Silkwell is murdered in rural Maine, government officials have immediate concerns over national security. Her laptop and phone were full of state secrets that, in the wrong hands, endanger the lives of countless operatives. In need of someone who can solve the murder quickly and retrieve the missing information, the U.S. government knows just the chameleon they can call on.

Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine spent his time in the military preparing to take on any scenario, followed by his short-lived business career chasing shadows in the deepest halls of power, so his analytical mind makes him particularly well-suited for complex, high-stakes tasks. Taking down the world’s largest financial conspiracy proved his value, and in comparison, this case looks straightforward. Except small towns hold secrets and Devine finds himself an outsider again.

Devine must ingratiate himself with locals who have trusted each other their whole lives, and who distrust outsiders just as much. Dak, Jenny’s brother, who’s working to revitalize the town. Earl, the retired lobsterman who found Jenny’s body. And Alex, Jenny’s sister with a dark past of her own. As Devine gets to know the residents of Putnam, Maine, answers seem to appear and then transform into more questions. There’s a long history of secrets and those who will stop at nothing to keep them from being exposed. Leaving Devine with no idea who he can trust… and who wants him dead.

The second novel in Baldacci’s 6:20 Man/Travis Devine series takes the action from New York to a small town in Maine; a town of secrets that stretch back a decade. This novel is a marked improvement on The 6:20 Man, and I think this character could stick around for a while. Continue reading →

Quick Review: DEATHWORLDER by Victoria Hayward (Black Library)

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HaywardV-WH40kAM-DeathworlderCatachans versus a dying planet overrun by tyranid horrors

On a planet trapped in the closing jaws of the Great Devourer, Major Wulf Khan of the Catachan 903rd receives a final, desperate mission – one which will take her soldiers into the maw of the tyranid threat.

Lazulai is a world beyond the brink, its battle against the tyranids all but lost. Once-magnificent cities lie in ruin. The seas boil. The skies crack. Horrific alien bioforms devour. In mere days the planet will be consumed.

The 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’ defend one of the last fortresses still standing. Led by Major Wulf Khan, to die fighting is all that is expected of them… until she is given one last mission: to lead a squad through the apocalypse and recover a piece of archeotech that may doom or deliver the entire Lazulai System.

Facing impossible odds and zero hope for aid, the major must hold her squad together as they pick their way through an endless xenos jungle. The enemy is merciless, relentless, endlessly adaptable and formidably resourceful… but so too is Khan.

This is an excellent addition to Black Library’s growing Astra Militarum range/series. Following a small squad of Catachan commandos on a desperate, deadly mission, Hayward manages to evoke not only the brutal (often short) careers of Imperial Guardsmen, but also the horror that is the Great Devourer. I very much enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: BELIEVE by Jeremy Egner (Dutton)

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EgnerJ-BelieveUSHCBehind-the-scenes of the show many of us needed during the pandemic…

When Ted Lasso first aired in 2020, nobody — including those who had worked on it — knew how a show inspired by an ad, centered around soccer, filled mostly with unknown actors, and led by a wondrously mustached “nice guy” would be received. Now, eleven Emmys and one Peabody Award later, it’s safe to say that the show’s status as a pop culture phenomenon is secure. And, for the first time, New York Times television editor Jeremy Egner explores the creation, production, and potent legacy of Ted Lasso.

Drawing on dozens of interviews from key cast, creators, and more, Believe takes readers from the very first, silly NBC Premier League commercial to the pitch to Apple executives, then into the show’s writer’s room, through the brilliant international casting, and on to the unforgettable set and locations of the show itself.

Egner approaches his reporting as a journalist and as a cultural critic, but also with an affection and admiration fans will appreciate, carefully and humorously telling Ted Lasso’s story of teamwork, of hidden talent, of a group of friends looking around at the world’s increasingly nasty discourse and deciding that maybe simple decency still had the power to bring us together — a story about what happens when you dare to believe.

Ted Lasso, the Apple TV comedy based on a character that had appeared in two ads for a sports network (watch here and here), was an unlikely hit. It was, perhaps, an even less likely phenomenon, which it turned out to be. Like many, I was also a little sceptical when I heard the pitch and premise. A free trial subscription to Apple TV made me try it, though, and I quickly fell in love with the characters, show, and its tone. Egner’s Believe takes readers behind-the-scenes of the show’s inception and production, and it’s a must-read for all fans. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE BLOODLESS PRINCES by Charlotte Bond (TorDotCom)

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BondC-FB2-BloodlessPrincesUSHCThe eagerly-anticipated follow-up to The Fireborne Blade

It seemed the afterlife was bustling.

Cursed by the previous practitioner in her new role, and following an… incident… with a supremely powerful dragon, High Mage Saralene visits the afterlife with a boon to beg of the Bloodless Princes who run the underworld.

But Saralene and her most trusted advisor/champion/companion, Sir Maddileh, will soon discover that there’s only so much research to be done by studying the old tales, though perhaps there’s enough truth in them to make a start.

Saralene will need more than just her wits to leave the underworld, alive. And Maddileh will need more than just her Fireborne Blade.

A story of love and respect that endures beyond death. And of dragons, because we all love a dragon!

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of Charlotte Bond’s The Fireborne Blade, which turned out to be one of my favourite fantasy read of the past few years. When this follow-up was announced, it immediately went onto my must-read list. I’m very happy to report that it lived up to my expectations, and does everything that one wants from a sequel. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press)

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BradleyK-MinistryOfTimeUSHC2A highly-anticipated new time-travel mystery

A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time…

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible — for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how — and whether she believes — what she does next can change the future.

I first heard about The Ministry of Time from a friend of the author’s, in the summer of 2023, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating it ever since. I started reading it a few days after its release, and I’m happy to say that I very much enjoyed it — it’s a witty, interesting take on time travel mysteries. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: THE 6:20 MAN by David Baldacci (Grand Central)

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BaldacciD-620ManUSHCA cryptic murder pulls a former soldier turned financial analyst deep into the corruption and menace that prowl beneath the opulent world of finance…

Every day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious investment firm. In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance. Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead.

Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building — presumably a suicide, at least for now — prompting the NYPD to come calling on him. If that wasn’t enough, before the day is out, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm. This treacherous role will take him from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power… where something rotten lurks. And apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own agenda, and Devine is the bull’s-eye.

I’ve decided to get caught up on David Baldacci’s novels — he’s one of my favourite authors, but for some reason I’ve allowed myself to fall very far behind (he’s increased his output, lately, which is partly to blame for this). The 6:20 Man is the first in his Travis Devine series, and it’s an interesting, timely mystery set in the world of New York finance. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE SWORD DEFIANT by Gareth Hanrahan (Orbit)

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HanrahanG-LotF1-SwordDefiantHCThe first in a new, dark epic fantasy

Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord’s cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part.

Now, when Aelfric – keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker – learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday’s eager heroes are today’s weary leaders – and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves.

If there’s one thing Aelfric knows, it’s slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.

Gareth Hanrahan’s The Sword Defiant is a strong opening book in a new series. Great world-building and characters, and an intriguing mystery — I enjoyed this novel. Continue reading →