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Reviews by Cathryn Conroy

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The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
by Hallie Rubenhold
An Important and Fascinating Fact-Filled Entry into the Myths of Jack the Ripper and His Victims (1/18/2024)
Jack the Ripper, a brutal, evil, psychotic murderer who stalked the foggy nighttime streets of London's East End slums in 1888 is the stuff of legend. He was never caught and still hasn't been identified more than 135 years later. And the women he killed? Oh, they were justmore
Five Tuesdays in Winter
by Lily King
An Impressive Collection of Short Stories: From the Delightful to the Dark, Each One is a Gem (1/17/2024)
I read a lot of short story collections, and it's rare that almost all the stories in the collection are excellent. This is one of those rare collections. Each of the 10 stories has a compelling plot, characters that seem real, and just the right amount of tension ormore
Unlikely Animals: A Novel
by Annie Hartnett
Quirky and Absurd: A Highly Imaginative, Colorful, Roller-Coaster of a Novel That I Highly Recommend (1/15/2024)
Quirky and whimsical. Peculiar and absurd. Is there a genre for eccentric literature? That's the best way to describe this highly imaginative novel by Annie Hartnett that almost gave me whiplash with the many sudden shifts, changes, twists, and turns of the characters andmore
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
A Literary Triumph: A Brilliant, Brutal, and Tragic Gay Love Story That Broke My Heart Over and Over (1/11/2024)
This book is brilliant...and brutal. It's a magnificent gay love story wrapped around horrific, shuddering violence. It is deeply profound with a storyline that is heartbreaking, tragic, and difficult to read. And I couldn't put it down.

Masterfully written by Booker Prize-more
The Vaster Wilds: A Novel
by Lauren Groff
A Daring Literary Achievement: No Plot, One Character, a Very Sad Ending…and I Couldn't Stop Reading (1/10/2024)
I will confess right from the get-go that Lauren Groff is one of my favorite authors. If she writes it, I read it. That said, while I am in awe of the literary power of this book, it is not for everyone.

There is no plot. There is only one character, and she doesn't have amore
Old God's Time: A Novel
by Sebastian Barry
A Profound, Extraordinary Work of Fiction, but Oh, It Is a Dark and Desolate Tale (12/21/2023)
This is a profound, extraordinary work of literary fiction, but it's not easy to read for two reasons. First, it is written in a kind of stream of consciousness that flits from one thought to another and then back again. Second, the subject matter—Irish Catholic priestsmore
The Soul of a Woman
by Isabel Allende
A Hybrid of a Book: Part Memoir, Part Feminist Manifesto, Part Meditation, Part Romantic Advice (12/19/2023)
This book is a hybrid: part memoir, part feminist manifesto, part meditation, and part romantic advice. It's a bit of everything!

Written by the brilliant novelist Isabel Allende, this short nonfiction book primarily examines the role of women in society, as well as offeringmore
The House Is on Fire
by Rachel Beanland
Magnificent Storytelling! A Riveting Tale of Tragedy, Heroism, and Redemption That Is Unputdownable (12/13/2023)
This riveting story of tragedy, heroism, and the power of redemption is magnificent storytelling about a dark time in our nation's history.

Written by Rachel Beanland, this is a fictionalized account of the true story of the horrific fire that destroyed the only theater inmore
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
What a Treasure! It Made Me Smile, It Made Me Tear Up (a Lot!), but Most of All It Touched My Heart (12/10/2023)
Oh, this book is a little treasure. It made me smile and it made me tear up (a lot!), but most of all, it touched my heart. If you love cats, reading, and libraries—or any one of those—this is a must-read.

Written by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, this is the astonishing andmore
Hang the Moon: A Novel
by Jeannette Walls
A Roller Coaster of a Book! Strap on Your Seat Belt Because This Is a Raucous Literary Ride (12/8/2023)
If Sallie Kincaid, the 19-year-old lead character in this roller coaster of a book by Jeannette Walls were real, we would be singing ballads written about her. What a character! What a book!

Taking place primarily in the early 1920s in the poor, rural Virginia area of Eastmore
My Reading Life
by Pat Conroy
A Must-Read for Pat Conroy Fans: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Wizard of Southern Novels (11/21/2023)
Pat Conroy is one of my favorite authors, and I simply devoured this book that gave delightful and tragic insights into his life—so much so that this could double as a book titled "My Writing Life" or simply "My Life." While he does discuss some of his favorite books, themore
The Night Strangers: A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian
A Hauntingly Scary Gothic Ghost Story That Had Me Shivering in Fright (and Delight)! (11/19/2023)
Oh, what a devilishly creepy, hauntingly scary Gothic ghost story that had me shivering in fright (and delight!).

But one important word of caution: Do not read this book after dark. And most especially, do not read this book just before falling asleep or you will havemore
Stealing: A Novel
by Margaret Verble
Brilliant Storytelling! An Emotionally Searing Novel About the Impact of Prejudice and Injustice (11/16/2023)
This is an exceptional, imaginative, and emotionally searing novel about the dangers of prejudice, the impact of hate, the wounds of injustice, and the small victims whose lives are never the same.

Brilliantly written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble, this is themore
The Faraway World: Stories
by Patricia Engel
An Extraordinary and Imaginative Collection of Short Stories About the Joys and Brutality of Life (11/14/2023)
This is an introspective, accomplished, and brilliantly observed collection of 10 short stories by Patricia Engel that all have one thing in common: There is another world—a faraway world—that the characters in each of the stories yearn for, remember, or are escaping. Today'more
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
by Sara Collins
It's a Page Turner! Literary Historical Fiction Wrapped Around a Sensational Murder Mystery (11/10/2023)
This literary historical novel has just about everything to keep the pages turning. At the heart of this book by Sara Collins is a sensational murder mystery swathed in betrayal, jealousy, forbidden sex, drug addiction, the evils of slavery, and the privilege andmore
The Alice Network: A Novel
by Kate Quinn
A Pressure-Cooker of a Novel with an Extraordinary, Richly-Imagined Plot. I Devoured This Book! (11/6/2023)
Wow! What a book! This is a stunning, page-turner about daring, courageous women made of inner steel who, against all odds, successfully spied on the Germans in World War I…until they were caught. This is a pressure-cooker of a novel that just builds and builds and buildsmore
October Suite: A Novel
by Maxine Clair
A Mediocre Book with a Flat, Drawn-Out Storyline Punctuated with Whining, Handwringing Prose (10/26/2023)
I had such high hopes for this novel, since Elizabeth Strout, who is one of my favorite authors, wrote sterling praise for the book jacket. Quite simply, it's a mediocre book with a flat storyline that drags out a predictable tale way too long.

Written by Maxine Clair, thismore
Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work
by Jeanne Marie Laskas
A Spellbinding and Remarkable Book About American's Hidden Worlds and Jobs (10/25/2023)
There is so much about our everyday lives that we not only take for granted, but also rarely (or never?) even think about. How do the blueberries for your morning oatmeal get into your bowl? How does your cross-country flight take off and land safely? And what happens tomore
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
Boring! A Hybrid of Historical Fiction and Biography That Falls Flat. Skip It. (10/3/2023)
There are two kinds of readers: Those who finish every book they start—no matter what. After all, you never know what wonderful surprise awaits if you don't slog your way through it. And then there are those who say life is too short for a boring book. I am, for better ormore
The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese
A Monumental and Original Family Saga That Packs an Emotional Wallop (9/27/2023)
This is a monumental and original family saga that is like nothing I have ever read. It is richly imaginative and packs an emotional wallop.

Taking place in Kerala, a state in South India on the Malabar Coast, it spans nearly 80 years and is brutally realistic. This isn't amore

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    Let's Call Her Barbie
    by Renée Rosen
    She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.
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Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

From the best-selling author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. comes a funny, eye-opening tale of work in contemporary America.

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    Beast of the North Woods
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    When a local fisherman is mauled to death, it seems like the only possible cause is a mythical creature.

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