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Reviews by Techeditor

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I Cheerfully Refuse
by Leif Enger

I didn't get it (4/27/2025)

Leif Enger wrote two of the best books I ever read: PEACE LIKE A RIVER and VIRGIL WANDER. So I expected that I CHEERFULLY REFUSE would be another winner. But I didn't get it.

This book confused me. It's mostly doom and gloom in the near future. But it felt like Enger was …more

All the Broken Places: A Novel
by John Boyne

Another outstanding novel (4/18/2025)

No surprise, ALL THE BROKEN PLACES is an outstanding novel from John Boyne. This book is another example of why he is one of my go-to authors. Plus, although this is a standalone novel, if you read Boyne's THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS, you should notice and may like …more

Once There Were Wolves
by Charlotte McConaghy

You really do want to read this (4/13/2025)

I need to write this review well enough that it convinces you to read ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES. You really do want to. I read quite often, but I haven't read such a good book in at least a year, maybe five years.

This book has already been summarized so often, I only say that …more

West with Giraffes: A Novel
by Lynda Rutledge

I didn't think it would, but this book hooked me in (4/1/2025)

The writing style of the first 100 or so pages of WEST WITH GIRAFFES reads, I think, like a young adult novel, which I wouldn't normally care for. But I knew that this historical fiction is based on an actual story: in 1938 two giraffes really did live through a hurricane …more

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
by Sonia Purnell

You should know this story (2/9/2025)

A Woman of No Importance is a biography of Virginia Hall, a heroic World War II spy who, again and again, was treated as unimportant because she was just a woman. Although Sonia Purnell put together honest research for this book, the story of Hall's life is almost …more

Time of the Child
by Niall Williams

Another great Irish writer (1/11/2025)

Ireland seems to have a disproportionate share of great writers. I joke that they must have superior English and writing classes over there because several of my favorite authors are Irish. And now I just found another.

Niall Williams has written other books before, but Time …more

Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
by Shelby Van Pelt

I recommend this book for a teenager (12/5/2024)

Most reviews will tell you that REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES is a good book. And it is. After all the hype about it, though, I was a little disappointed.

As you probably already know, a woman, Tova, who mops floors every night at an aquarium talks to the fish. And she finds …more

The Push
by Ashley Audrain

You won't be able to stop thinking about this (11/26/2024)

Although THE PUSH is an excellent novel you'll want to keep reading, that will be in spite of its subject matter. It is a woman's first-person account of her marriage to her college sweetheart and their evil child. It is written as if it is an explanation she has written …more

Under the Harrow: A Novel
by Flynn Berry

Skip this and try one of Flynn Berry's later books (10/23/2024)

UNDER THE HARROW was such a disappointment!

It looks like a short book, but it is longer than it needs to be. Parts 1 and 2 are about the overwhelming grief of a woman whose sister has been murdered. Her grief seems to have taken over her senses. These two parts are full of …more

Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel
by Bonnie Garmus

Funny but not silly or corny or dumb (10/15/2024)

Most reviews of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY say that it's funny. That's why it took me so long to read it. If you, like me, think that books that are described as funny are usually silly or corny or just plain dumb, you should know that LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY is an exception.

So what …more

The Princess of Las Vegas: A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian

I left a lot undone so I could read this book (10/8/2024)

THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS confirms, once again, why Chris Bohjalian is one of my go–to authors. No two books of his are alike, yet he writes consistently dramatic and suspenseful novels.

First we have the "princess," Crissy, a Las Vegas entertainer who impersonates Princess …more

Shanghai: A Novel
by Joseph Kanon

From One of My Go-To Authors (10/1/2024)

Most avid readers have some go-to authors, authors whose books are dependably good, books they know they can safely buy even before they read a review. Joseph Kanon is one of my go–to authors. So I bought a hardcover copy of his book SHANGHAI, knowing that I wouldn't be …more

Distant Sons
by Tim Johnston

Loan this book but don't give it away (8/26/2024)

I've read two other novels by Tim Johnston and liked them both, but this one, DISTANT SONS, is his best. It kept me up reading long past my bedtime, and when I sat down to eat, this book came with me. There's a lot going on here, the best kind of mystery, with more than one …more

All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel
by S. A. Cosby

My expectations were too high (8/5/2024)

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED did not meet my expectations. They were too high. That's because of all the awards S. A. Cosby won for this book. I suspect that ALL THE SINNERS BLEED won awards on the basis of its subject matter rather than its ability to grab readers and suck them …more

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
by Marie Benedict

Good in the End (7/14/2024)

When I read historical fiction, I always wonder what is truth and what is fiction. But Marie Benedict doesn't make this clear in her Notes or Acknowledgment at the end of THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE. So this is all I know: Agatha Christie really did disappear for a few …more

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South
by Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington

I justice system that will make a liberal out a conservative (7/1/2024)

I've lived in the midwest and west and have always leaned conservative. But after reading THE CADAVER KING AND THE COUNTRY DENTIST, I know I'd be a liberal if I lived in Mississippi. What an eye-opening book this is!

The "cadaver king" is Dr. Stephen Hayne, and the "country …more

The Third Wife
by Lisa Jewell

The best kind of mystery (5/21/2024)

THE THIRD WIFE is the best kind of mystery; it involves three mysteries: who is writing horrible letters to Maya, did Maya kill herself or was her death an accident, and who is the woman who seems to be stalking Adrian?

Maya is Adrian's third wife. The book begins with her …more

The Hunter: A Novel
by Tana French

Not quite up to her usual but still the same first-rate writing (5/13/2024)

THE HUNTER is Tana French's continuation of THE SEARCHER and its story of Cal, an American retired detective who has moved to a small town in Ireland; Trey, a teenaged girl in that town who is still set on righting the wrong that was the subject of THE SEARCHER; and the …more

A Stolen Season: An Alex McKnight Novel
by Steve Hamilton

Likes and Dislikes (4/24/2024)

A STOLEN SEASON is my first book by Steve Hamilton. Although it comes in the middle of his Alex McKnight series, it is also my first book in the series. So I can say this for Hamilton upfront: it takes skill to write a book in a series as if it is a standalone. That's how …more

The Drifter
by Nicholas Petrie

A mostly pleasant surprise (4/12/2024)

I've had THE DRIFTER in my bookcase for a while. I put off reading it because I hadn't read a Nicholas Petrie book before and thought I wouldn't care for it. But I was pleasantly surprised for more than 100 pages.

This is the first book in a series about Peter Ash, a war …more

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Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Praised by Parade and The New York Times Book Review, this debut features a 1960s scientist turned TV cooking star.

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