Review

Quick Review: WHAT’S NEXT by Melissa Fitzgerald & Mary McCormack (Dutton)

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FitzgeraldMcCormack-WhatsNextUSHCBehind-the-scenes at the creation of The West Wing…

A behind-the-scenes look into the creation and legacy of The West Wing as told by cast members Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack, with compelling insights from cast and crew exploring what made the show what it was and how its impassioned commitment to service has made the series and relationships behind it endure.

Step back inside the world of President Jed Bartlet’s Oval Office with Fitzgerald and McCormack as they reunite the West Wing cast and crew in a lively and colorful “backstage pass” to the timeless series. This intimate, in-depth reflection reveals how The West Wing was conceived, and spotlights the army of people it took to produce it, the lifelong friendships it forged, and the service it inspired.

From cast member origin stories to the collective cathartic farewell on the show’s final night of filming, What’s Next will delight readers with on-set and off-camera anecdotes that even West Wing superfans have never heard. Meanwhile, a deeper analysis of the show’s legacy through American culture, service, government, and civic life underscores how the series envisaged an American politics of decency and honor, creating an aspirational White House beyond the bounds of fictional television.

What’s Next revisits beloved episodes with fresh, untold commentary; compiles poignant and hilarious stories from the show’s production; highlights initiatives supported by the cast, crew, and creators; and makes a powerful case for competent, empathetic leadership, hope, and optimism for whatever lies ahead.

I first discover The West Wing during my first month at university (many moons ago…). It was an episode from the second season, and I was immediately hooked. At the time, my interest in US politics was not as developed as it would go on to become. Those first episodes, though, grabbed my attention in a way I don’t think anyone would have expected. Every year, from 2001 until 2016, I watched every episode that was available. So, when I learned that What’s Next was on the way, I knew I had to read it. Luckily, the publisher provided me with a review copy, and I dove right in. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Stuart Turton (Raven)

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TurtonS-LastMurderAtTheEndOfTheWorldUKHCSolve the murder to save what’s left of the world.

Outside the island there is the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.

If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…

Like many readers, I have very much enjoyed Turton’s twisty mysteries — The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water. I was a little late to the author’s work, but when I received this for review, I didn’t wait. It’s another twisty and engaging novel, and I enjoyed it. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE FIREBORNE BLADE by Charlotte Bond (TorDotCom)

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BondC-FB1-FireborneBladeUSHCA classic fantasy tale with a twist…

Kill the dragon. Find the blade. Reclaim her honor.

It’s that, or end up like countless knights before her, as a puddle of gore and molten armor.

Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she’s a knight, and made of sterner stuff.

A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it’s that “die trying” is where to wager your coin.

Maddileh’s tale contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion. Ultimately, The Fireborne Blade is about the roles we refuse to accept, and of the place we make for ourselves in the world.

I was looking for something new and short to read, when Charlotte Bond’s The Fireborne Blade became available for review. With no preconceptions, I dove right in, and found myself quickly swept up by the story and writing. I really enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: WELCOME TO THE O.C. by Alan Sepinwall (Mariner Books)

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SepinwallA-WelcomeToTheOCUSHCAn excellent oral history of the development, making, and impact of The O.C.

Welcome to the O.C., b*tch: it’s the definitive oral history of beloved TV show The O.C., from the show’s creators, featuring interviews with the cast and crew, providing a behind-the-scenes look into how the show was made, the ups and downs over its four seasons, and its legacy today. 

On August 5th, 2003, Ryan Atwood found himself a long way from his home in Chino — he was in The O.C., an exclusive suburb full of beautiful girls, wealthy bullies, corrupt real-estate tycoons, and a new family helmed by his public defender, Sandy Cohen. Ryan soon warms up to his nerdy, indie band-loving new best friend Seth, and quickly falls for Marissa, the stunning girl next door who has secrets of her own. Completing the group is Summer, Seth’s dream girl and Marissa’s loyal — and fearless — best friend. Together, the friends fall in and out of love, support each other amidst family strife, and capture the hearts of audiences across the country.

Just in time for the show’s twentieth anniversary, The O.C.’s creator Josh Schwartz and executive producer Stephanie Savage are ready to dive into how the show was made, the ups and downs over its four seasons, and its legacy today. With Rolling Stone’s chief TV critic and bestselling author Alan Sepinwall conducting interviews with the key cast members, writers, and producers who were there when it all happened, Welcome to the O.C. will offer the definitive inside look at the beloved show — a nostalgic delight for audiences who watched when it aired, and a rich companion to viewers currently discovering the show while it streams on HBO Max and Hulu.

The O.C. paved the way for a new generation of iconic teen soaps, launched the careers of young stars, and even gave us the gift of Chrismukkah. Now, it’s time to go back where we started from and experience it all over again.

I was quite late to The O.C., but I was very much aware of it: I remember walking through Durham (where I did my undergraduate degree), hearing plummy British accents shouting down the Bailey streets, “Watching The O.C. tonight, yah?” I watched the first season on DVD, sometime during the original run of the show, but wasn’t able to continue it until I moved to Canada a decade ago. When I saw that Alan Sepinwall had written an oral history of the show, I jumped at the chance to read it. Expansive and engaging, I really enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS by Janice Hallett (Atria/Viper)

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HallettJ-MysteriousCaseOfTheAlpertonAngelsUSHCJanice Hallett returns with another excellent epistolary mystery

A true crime journalist who revives a long-buried case about a cult — and finds herself too close to the story.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it

I was a bit late to reading Janice Hallett’s mysteries. For some reason, The Appeal passed me by entirely, but I managed to read The Twyford Code shortly after it was published, which I very much enjoyed. I’ve always had a fondness for epistolary novels, and Hallett has a real gift for gradually building a mystery through distinctive and engaging voices. I very much enjoyed The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels. Continue reading →

Quick Review: TOXIC PREY by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

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Sandford-P34-ToxicPreyUSHCLucas and Letty Davenport face a potentially horrifying terrorist attack of unprecedented scale

Lucas Davenport and his daughter, Letty, team up to track down a dangerous scientist whose latest project could endanger the entire world…

Gaia is dying.

That, at least, is what Dr. Lionel Scott believes. A renowned expert in tropical and infectious diseases, Scott has witnessed the devastating impact of illness and turmoil at critical scale. Society as it exists is untenable, and the direct link to Earth’s death spiral; population levels are out of control and people have allowed disarray and disorder to run rampant. While most are concerned about deadly disease, Scott knows that it is truly humanity itself that will destroy Gaia. It’s only by removing the threat then the planet can continue to prosper, and luckily, Scott is just the right man for the job…

When Scott then disappears without a trace, Letty Davenport is tasked with tracking down any and all leads. Scott’s connections to sensitive research into virus and pathogen spread has multiple national and international organizations on high alert, and his shockingly high clearance levels at various institutions, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, make him the last person they’d like to go missing. As the web around Scott becomes more tangled, Letty calls in her father, Lucas, help her lead a group of specialists to find Scott as soon as possible. But as Letty and Lucas begin to uncover startling and disturbing connections between Scott and Gaia conspiracists, their worst fears are confirmed, and it quickly becomes a race to find him before the virus he created becomes the perfect weapon.

In this, the 34th novel in John Sandford’s Prey series, Lucas teams up with his daughter, Letty, to hunt down a scientist who plans to launch a globally-devastating terrorist attack. Exhibiting all of the hallmarks of what has made Sandford’s novel so popular, this is an engaging, gripping read. Continue reading →

Review: NUMBER GO UP by Zeke Faux (Crown Currency/W&N)

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FauxZ-NumberGoUpUSHCAn engaging, entertaining journey through the world of crypto, from boom to bust

In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked — but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”?

As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity — with a dash of FOMO — would morph into a two-year, globe-spanning quest to understand the wizards behind the world’s new financial machinery. Faux’s investigation would lead him to a schlubby, frizzy-haired twenty-nine-year-old named Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF for short) and a host of other crypto scammers, utopians, and overnight billionaires.

Faux follows the trail to a luxury resort in the Bahamas, where SBF boldly declares that he will use his crypto fortune to save the world. Faux talks his way onto the yacht of a former child actor turned crypto impresario and gains access to “ApeFest,” an elite party headlined by Snoop Dogg, by purchasing a $20,000 image of a cartoon monkey. In El Salvador, Faux learns what happens when a country wagers its treasury on Bitcoin, and in the Philippines, he stumbles upon a Pokémon knockoff mobile game touted by boosters as a cure for poverty. And in an astonishing development, a spam text leads Faux to Cambodia, where he uncovers a crypto-powered human-trafficking ring.

When the bubble suddenly bursts in 2022, Faux brings readers inside SBF’s penthouse as the fallen crypto king faces his imminent arrest. Fueled by the absurd details and authoritative reporting that earned Zeke Faux the accolade “our great poet of crime” (Money Stuff columnist Matt Levine), Number Go Up is the essential chronicle, by turns harrowing and uproarious, of a $3 trillion financial delusion.

It seems like I’ve been reading a lot about crypto, recently. I remain deeply skeptical of the whole “industry” (but then, I’m not a huge fan of gambling or scams in general). Zeke Faux’s Number Go Up seemed to have been very well-received, so I decided to take one more dip into the subject. I was not disappointed: this is a very well-researched and written book, not to mention entertaining and engaging throughout. I really enjoyed it. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: JUDGMENT PREY by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

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SandfordJ-P33-JudgementPreyUSHCLucas Davenport & Virgil Flowers team up to crack an unsolvable case…

Alex Sand was spending the evening at home playing basketball with his two young sons when all three were shot in cold blood. A wealthy federal judge, there’s no short list of people who could have a vendetta against Sands, but the gruesome murders, especially that of his children, turn their St. Paul community on its head. Sand was on the verge of a major donation to a local housing charity, Heart/Twin Cities, and with the money in limbo, eyes suddenly turn to his grieving widow, Margaret Cooper, to see what she might do with the money. Margaret, distraught over the death of her family, struggles to move forward, and can’t imagine how or why anyone would target her husband.

With public pressure mounting and both the local police force and FBI hitting dead end after dead end, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to do what others could not: find answers. With each potential lead flawed, Davenport and Flowers are determined to chase every theory until they figure out who killed the Sands. But when they find themselves being stonewalled by the most unlikely of forces, the two wonder if perhaps each misdirection could lead them closer to the truth.

In Judgment Prey, the 33rd novel in John Sandford’s best-selling Prey series, star investigators Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are convalescing back in Minnesota and Wisconsin, after being injured during their most recent case. A strange murder, however, has them brought in to. Sandford remains one of the most consistently good crime writers, and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS by P. Djèlí Clark (TorDotCom)

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DjeliClarkP-DeadCatTailAssassinsUSHCA fantastic new fantasy novella: assassins, gods, mystery… excellent

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.

Nor do they have tails.

But they are most assuredly dead.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins — resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories — have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget.

Any new book from P. Djèlí Clark is something to be thankful for. Ever since I read The Haunting of Tram Car 015, I’ve kept my eyes open for each new book from him. The premise for this new novella caught my attention, and I’m happy to report that it exceeded my high expectations. A dark, intriguing new fantasy world, with a solid mystery at its heart. Continue reading →

Quick Review: CALIFORNIA BEAR by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books)

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SwierczynskiD-CaliforniaBearUSHCAn intriguing, quirky serial killer mystery

NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE

“KILLER”: Jack Queen has been exonerated and freed from prison thanks to retired LAPD officer Cato Hightower. But when guilt gnaws at Jack, he admits: “I actually did it.” To which Hightower responds: “Yeah, no kidding.” You see, the ex-cop has a special job in mind for the ex-con…

THE GIRL DETECTIVE: Fifteen-year-old Matilda Finnerty has been handed a potential death sentence in the form of a leukemia diagnosis. But that’s not going to stop her from tackling the most important mystery of her life: Is her father guilty of murder?

GENE JEANIE: Jeanie Hightower mends family trees for a living, but the genealogist is unable to repair her own marriage. And her soon-to-be ex may have entangled her in a scheme that has drawn the bloody wrath of…

THE BEAR: A prolific serial killer who disappeared forty years ago, who is only now emerging from hibernation when the conditions are just right. And this time, the California Bear is not content to hunt in the shadows…

I’ve been a fan of Swierczynski’s work for some time — I’m more familiar with his comics work than his prose, but I was nevertheless very much looking forward to reading California Bear. The publisher was kind enough to send me an early DRC of the novel, and it was my final read of 2023. It’s an intriguing serial killer mystery with a difference, and I very much enjoyed it. Continue reading →