Category Archives: Literary or Genre Fiction

The Kennedy Imperative (Book One of a Trilogy: Berlin, 1961), by Leon Berger

Posted on October 23, 2014 by tom

Author Leon Berger’s “The Kennedy Imperative” throws the reader right into Cold War Berlin, where fledgling agent Phillip Marsden is given what seems to be a simple mission–to accompany Major Hank Leland to an international conference in East Berlin. East-West … Continue reading →

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

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

The Ghosts of Nagasaki, by Daniel Clausen (2012)

Posted on June 5, 2014 by tom

So, so, so many books have exactly the same plots, just with different characters. There are brave, heroic men to smite bad guys; there are brainy women, doctors who use their brains to solve crimes. There are usually multiple killings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Books Read in 2014, Literary or Genre Fiction, Paranormal | Leave a comment

Woman Walks Into a Bar, by Rowan Coleman (2013)

Posted on October 4, 2013 by tom

(nb: I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss) “Woman Walks Into a Bar” tells the story of a woman who has not had an easy life, but she’s found a sort of comfortable … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Books of the Year, Books, Literary or Genre Fiction | Leave a 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 →

Posted in Best Books of the Year, Books, Literary or Genre Fiction, Young Adult | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Top Down, by Jim Lehrer (2013)

Posted on August 28, 2013 by tom

(nb: I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss) I made one huge mistake with Jim Lehrer’s new book, “Top Down.” I started reading it with the idea that I’d get through a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Literary or Genre Fiction, Mysteries/Thrillers | Leave a comment

(Love of) The Last Tycoon, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (this ed. 1995, orig. 1940)

Posted on August 10, 2013 by tom

Reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s penultimate novel, “Tender is the Night,” saddened me, because it showed a once-great man struggling—and failing—to write a novel worthy of his prodigious talent and storied past. Reading “The Last Tycoon” saddens me, because he found … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Classics and/or Literature, Literary or Genre Fiction | Leave a comment

Tampa, by Alissa Nutting (2013)

Posted on August 9, 2013 by tom

If you have a fourteen-year-old son, you just might want to home-school him after reading Alissa Nutting’s chilling novel, “Tampa.” For it is upon fourteen-year-old boys that Celeste Price preys, and she’s quite good at it. Celeste is a middle-school … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, General Fiction, Literary or Genre Fiction | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Best Books of the Year, Books, Literary or Genre Fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment