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Reviews by Nancy O. (Hobe Sound, FL)

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Hunters in the Dark
Hunters in the Dark
by Lawrence Osborne
This book seriously blew me away (11/10/2015)
From the "beautifully ignorant" main character of this novel to the country of Cambodia where ghosts, spirits, omens and signs are as much part of the landscape as are the ruins at Angkor Wat, Hunters in the Dark just frankly blew me away. It is dark, beautiful and haunting …more
The War Reporter
The War Reporter
by Martin Fletcher
The War Reporter (8/17/2015)
Obviously people reading this book are loving it, but sadly, that just wasn't the case with me. Overall, I'd give it a rating of okay, but I would recommend it to readers of political thrillers.

There are a number of things I did like about this book, but heading the list …more
The Book of Strange New Things
The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel
by Michel Faber
definitely recommended (9/2/2014)
Once I started this book, I was really annoyed when I had to leave it to attend to the real world -- it's that good. What really stuck out for me in this novel is the idea of distance - and whether or not distance can become so great that it can still be conquered. Getting …more
The Race Underground
The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America's First Subway
by Doug Most
I love history written like this! (12/17/2013)
With The Race Underground, the author has taken a subject that most people would simply take for granted and set it within the cultural, economic, scientific and social framework surrounding various historical periods in America's history. I really enjoy "accessible" …more
Lost Luggage
Lost Luggage
by Jordi Punti
a short review is impossible! (9/3/2013)
I absolutely love the very original premise in this novel, in which 4 men discover quite through accident that they have the same father, who it seems, has disappeared. This intriguing story takes the reader through a whirlwind tour of European history, cities and cultures …more
The Daughters of Mars
The Daughters of Mars
by Thomas Keneally
Couldn't put this one down (5/22/2013)
There's so much to this book that it will probably require a second reading (no problem there -- I've already ordered a "real" copy) but in the meantime, once I started it I was having trouble putting it down to do real-world things. I don't say that about a book too often, …more
The Devil in Silver
The Devil in Silver: A Novel
by Victor LaValle
Simply superb. It's hard to find books that are better than this one. (8/2/2012)
There has been a veritable bumper crop of excellent novels this year, and I've just added The Devil in Silver to my favorites list. Set inside a New York hospital's psychiatric unit, this novel is anything but the book of "literary horror" it's being touted as. While there …more
The Mark Inside
The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con
by Amy Reading
a timely read (6/11/2012)
Amy Reading's account of con victim J. Frank Norfleet would make a good movie. Everything's there -- the big con, the quest for revenge, and the moments of payback. It's an interesting story, one that captured my attention throughout the book, although I have to say that it …more
Three Weeks in December
Three Weeks in December
by Audrey Schulman
A good compelling read (12/27/2011)
Audrey Schulman is very good at storytelling -- with Three Weeks in December she offers a very realistic and complete sense of place, two very intriguing narratives that compel continued reading and good character development, especially with her main characters. Side …more
That Deadman Dance
That Deadman Dance: A Novel
by Kim Scott
A new and different take on a tragic story (11/11/2011)
There are several novels about the relationship between the indigenous peoples of Australia and the newly-arriving settlers (Tim Winton or Kate Grenville are authors that come to mind in this area), but That Deadman Dance offers a slightly different take on this topic. For …more
The Trinity Six
The Trinity Six
by Charles Cumming
An interesting new take on an old spy scandal (2/5/2011)
Trinity Six has much to offer, and it will definitely keep spy-novel aficionados interested up to the very last page. The Cambridge Spy ring is a topic of great personal interest, and although the author makes a couple of minor errors, he does a good job in explaining the …more
Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer
Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer
by Wesley Stace
Very twisted but good. (11/23/2010)
Once I started this book I could not stop reading. I liked it and was intrigued by the story, enough so that I finished the book in one sitting. I have to say that I did not see the twist in the story coming at all, so in that sense, it was surprisingly refreshing -- it had …more
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