Category: books
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Book Review: The Last Lion, Volume 3 by William Manchester & Paul Reid
The Last Lion 3: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-65 by William R. Manchester My rating: 4 of 5 stars William Manchester wrote the first two volumes of his planned Winston Churchill biography (The Last Lion: Visions of Glory and The Last Lion: Alone) before suffering several strokes that resulted in his inability…
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Book review: A Play of Piety by Margaret Frazer
A Play of Piety by Margaret Frazer My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s impossible to review this book without the context of the previous five in the series (A Play of Isaac, A Play of Dux Moraud, A Play of Knaves, A Play of Lords, and A Play of Treachery), not to mention the…
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Book review: Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich My rating: 3 of 5 stars I really like this series. The main characters are well-rounded and often goofily humorous, the dialogue is crisp and witty, and the plots are well paced. It’s a perfect beach read (or, as I like to say, excellent mind candy). Sizzling Sixteen is no…
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Book review: The Last Run by Greg Rucka
Queen and Country: The Last Run by Greg Rucka My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Last Run is the final book in the Queen and Country trilogy (A Gentleman’s Game and Private Wars are the two others). The main character in the trilogy is a female secret agent, Tara Chace. In The Last Run,…
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Book review: The Time of Murder at Mayerling by Ann Dukthas
The Time of Murder at Mayerling by Ann Dukthas My rating: 3 of 5 stars “The Time of Murder at Mayerling” by Ann Dukthas (a pseudonym of Paul Doherty) is a continuation of a historical mystery series starring Nicholas Segalla, a man who never dies and is also present at pivotal historical events. Segalla solves…
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Book review: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had a difficult time getting into the author’s previous book, The Last Queen, so I wasn’t sure what I would think about this book. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I really liked it. It may be because…
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Book review: Killing Floor by Lee Child
Killing Floor by Lee Child My rating: 4 of 5 stars Hard boiled thrillers are a bit hit-and-miss with me. I like some of them but many are off-putting due to their unlikeable main character. I was surprised I liked this book as much as I do. There’s violence, of course, (you can’t have a…
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Book Review: A Time for the Death of a King by Ann Dukthas
A Time For The Death Of A King by Ann Dukthas My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is in the first in a series featuring a mysterious stranger who never dies. Nicholas Segalla is suspiciously long-lived, and he plays a critical role in solving the mystery behind several historical events. In this debut…
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Book Review: They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer
They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a quintessential Georgette Heyer mystery. It’s light and fluffy (or as light and fluffy as a book can be with dead bodies in it). The mystery itself is reasonably straightforward, but the strengths of Heyer mysteries are her characterizations and…