Tag Archives: booksandmoviesandcrap.com

American Tabloid, by James Ellroy

Posted on June 9, 2014 by tom

Kemper Boyd—suave FBI Agent infiltrating car theft rings. His best friend, Ward Littel, also an FBI agent, but a bored one stuck in Chicago. Pete Bondurant: a six-foot-five fixer for various underworld figures, including getting drugs for Howard Hughes. Howard … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Books Read in 2014, General Fiction, Literary or Genre Fiction, Mysteries/Thrillers, series | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell (2013)

Posted on November 4, 2013 by tom

Eighteen-year-old Cather has a lot going on in her life. She’s beginning her freshman year in college, and young wizard, Simon, and his vampire roommate, Baz, are taking up all of her time. Cather’s a student at that special school … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, General Fiction, Young Adult | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Shining Girls, by Lauren Beukes (2013)

Posted on September 12, 2013 by tom

It’s 1931 Chicago, and like so many Americans during the Great Depression, Harper Curtis has it rough. Harper lives in one of the many “Hoovervilles,” small villages of tarpaper shacks and tents where those with nowhere else to go try … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Books of the Year, Books, General Fiction, Mysteries/Thrillers, Paranormal | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Beyond the Pale, by Elana Dykewomon (ebook 2013)

Posted on September 1, 2013 by tom

Old World and New: A Breathtaking Story of Hardship and Love (nb: I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley) “My aunt sat at the kitchen table, sewing again. She watched the needle piercing … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Books of the Year, Books, LGBT, Literary or Genre Fiction | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

What I Came to Tell You, by Tommy Hays (2013)

Posted on September 1, 2013 by tom

(nb: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley) Picture Perfect: Loss, Love, and The Art of Healing “What I Came to Tell You” shows a family imploding in grief, and how they find redemption in learning they … Continue reading →

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Jenny Rat, by Martin Simons (2013)

Posted on July 31, 2013 by tom

Redeeming Each Other (nb: I received a review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley) Last summer, I had an abscess. It kept swelling and hurting until I finally went to the doctor. He had to cut into … Continue reading →

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Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa, by Benjamin Constable (2013)

Posted on June 3, 2013 by tom

(nb: I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley) On Getting to Know Your Dead Best Friend Winston Churchill is credited with the phrase, “A riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma,” a phrase that perfectly … Continue reading →

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Sweet, Decadent, and Fun: “Skinny Bitch in Love,” by Kim Barnouin (2013)

Posted on May 28, 2013 by tom

(nb: I received an advance review copy from the publisher via NetGalley) The “opposites attract” leitmotif is a standard in modern fiction. The straight cop ends up with the bumbling private investigator; the rich guy ends up with a streetwalker. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, General Fiction, Humorous, Romance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Requiem (2006) and The Raven (2012)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by tom

There was just something odd about Michaela Klingler. She was pretty enough, in a plain way, but something had set her apart from her high school classmates. First off, she was an extremely pious Catholic girl in the 1970’s, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Foreign, Horror, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Taken (The Watchers Trilogy 0.5), by Karice Bolton (2012)

Posted on May 19, 2013 by tom

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, as the song goes. Athen and Ana have their tree up, and their friends Arie and Cyril are coming over. There’s woodsmoke in the air, and the first snowfall is nigh. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Paranormal, series, Young Adult | Tagged , | Leave a comment