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Reviews by Sharon W. (Columbia, SC)

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Paris Echo
Paris Echo
by Sebastian Faulks
Dashed Expectations (9/7/2018)
This is a book I thought I would love and wanted to love. I didn't. I just liked it. Despite its most intriguing premise, the pacing is akin to that old molasses cliche.

Tariq and Hannah were both annoying individuals. I would not want to spend more than 5 minutes with …more
Les Parisiennes
Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation
by Anne Sebba
Enlightening Read (9/11/2016)
So many men were sucked into the war machine, but the French women who were left behind fought bravely and intelligently in their own way. I learned a lot.
All the Old Knives
All the Old Knives
by Olen Steinhauer
These Knives Need Sharpening (12/12/2014)
Olen Steinhauer has produced a well-written spy story, but one with not much zing. His method of telling a story, in this case a conversation over the course one dinner between two old colleagues and lovers, fails to pace an otherwise intriguing plot to a satisfying climax. …more
How the Light Gets In
How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, #9
by Louise Penny
Once Again (7/23/2013)
Louise Penny never fails to deliver. Her prose captures me completely, making me want to know Gamache, visit Quebec, and follow the trail to discovery myself. How the Light Gets In is another delightful mystery from Louise Penny. Her writing is poetic! Other mystery fans …more
Agent X
Agent X: A Novel
by Noah Boyd
Agent X Needs Help! (12/29/2010)
Noah Boyd, pen name for Paul Lindsay, needs to focus. Is he using Dan Brown's plot construction model? Perhaps Lee Child's? The tedious plotting through way too many puzzles suggests Brown. The rogue main character suggests Childs. I suggest Boyd/Lindsay find his own legs.

…more
Beautiful Assassin
Beautiful Assassin: A Novel
by Michael C. White
Beautiful Assassin (3/17/2010)
This novel should be a rip-roaring good read. It is carefully written, the plot structure would get an A in a creative writing class, and the characters are dutifully developed. Michael White has done a good job of crafting his novel.That is where, however, this book gets …more
The Lotus Eaters
The Lotus Eaters: A Novel
by Tatjana Soli
The Lotus Eaters Does Not Mesmerize (1/13/2010)
A book with as much promise as The Lotus Eaters should be able to earn the highest reviewers' marks. Instead, I expect other readers will experience the same level of disappointment that I did.

I approached my reading of this novel with excitement. The Viet Nam conflict was …more
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    The Devil Finds Work
    by James Baldwin
    A book-length essay on racism in American films, by "the best essayist in this country" (The New York Times Book Review).
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