Completely engrossing and compelling book. I usually don't read for my entire flight, but I read this pretty much cover to cover in order to finish this one before landing yesterday.
Filled with matter-of-fact brutality, strong narrative voice, good writing, and it's clear she's done her research, but it also felt at times like it's written by a romance author. Which isn't a bad thing, just unexpected.
Reviews and Comments
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doug rated A Dangerous Man: 3 stars
doug reviewed Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
Review of 'Yellow Wife' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Completely engrossing and compelling book. I usually don't read for my entire flight, but I read this pretty much cover to cover in order to finish this one before landing yesterday.
Filled with matter-of-fact brutality, strong narrative voice, good writing, and it's clear she's done her research, but it also felt at times like it's written by a romance author. Which isn't a bad thing, just unexpected.
doug reviewed Force by Don Winslow
Review of 'Force' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Wow. Relentless.
The Force peels out like muscle car, hits the Second Act like it's running a red, then crashes into the "all is lost moment" 2 blocks later. But that moment was just a fender bender. Because there are plenty of "all is lost moments" that follow.
One of the best crime thriller ever written.
Wow. Relentless.
The Force peels out like muscle car, hits the Second Act like it's running a red, then crashes into the "all is lost moment" 2 blocks later. But that moment was just a fender bender. Because there are plenty of "all is lost moments" that follow.
One of the best crime thriller ever written.
doug reviewed Wall by John Lanchester
Review of 'Wall' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
It's cold on The Wall. And damp. And boring. Sooo boring.
And a good writer can express to the reader how boring something is without making the reader bored. We know what boredom is. We don't like it. So don't make us experience it.
The third act gets a little better, but just when there's about to be something interesting... there isn't. And it's over.
I only finished the book out of stubbornness because it's not very long. (And I was reading a more entertaining book at the same time.) But even in its brevity, it was a struggle to get through.
Edit: I just saw this was longlisted for the Booker. What?!
It's cold on The Wall. And damp. And boring. Sooo boring.
And a good writer can express to the reader how boring something is without making the reader bored. We know what boredom is. We don't like it. So don't make us experience it.
The third act gets a little better, but just when there's about to be something interesting... there isn't. And it's over.
I only finished the book out of stubbornness because it's not very long. (And I was reading a more entertaining book at the same time.) But even in its brevity, it was a struggle to get through.
Edit: I just saw this was longlisted for the Booker. What?!
doug reviewed The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
Review of 'The Bottoms' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It's the Deep South in the 1930s, so definitely not for everyone. But a great book. Compelling story and engrossing writing style.
-- It’s the kind of weather where you learn to move as little as possible, seek shade, and stay low to the ground.
It's the Deep South in the 1930s, so definitely not for everyone. But a great book. Compelling story and engrossing writing style.
-- It’s the kind of weather where you learn to move as little as possible, seek shade, and stay low to the ground.
doug rated The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: 5 stars

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first of six books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy …
doug reviewed The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham
Review of 'The Boys from Biloxi' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
So predictable that you can see things coming 300 pages away, but that doesn't matter. The journey there is thoroughly enjoyable. Like floating on an inner tube down a lazy river on a sunny summer day. Grisham's storytelling at its best since The Client. Which, wow, was 29 years ago.
So predictable that you can see things coming 300 pages away, but that doesn't matter. The journey there is thoroughly enjoyable. Like floating on an inner tube down a lazy river on a sunny summer day. Grisham's storytelling at its best since The Client. Which, wow, was 29 years ago.
doug reviewed Master Key by Masako Togawa
Review of 'Master Key' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
I kept reading out of curiosity to see how the different character storylines came together, but mainly because it's a short book. So I knew the end was near.
But none of the "stories" are very interesting and the book is not compelling overall.
Really didn't like the narrative style or writing style at all. Masako Togawa had obviously never heard of the "show don't tell" rule of writing. The entire book is just tell, tell, tell. Like someone giving a overly detailed recap of a book. Or, maybe more like someone thinking out the entire story in their head first before putting it down on paper with some literary skill.
I kept reading out of curiosity to see how the different character storylines came together, but mainly because it's a short book. So I knew the end was near.
But none of the "stories" are very interesting and the book is not compelling overall.
Really didn't like the narrative style or writing style at all. Masako Togawa had obviously never heard of the "show don't tell" rule of writing. The entire book is just tell, tell, tell. Like someone giving a overly detailed recap of a book. Or, maybe more like someone thinking out the entire story in their head first before putting it down on paper with some literary skill.
doug reviewed Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino
Review of 'Salvation of a Saint' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
An enjoyable little caper. Not the greatest writer (though I'm reading a translation), but a good storyteller. Anyone who likes Columbo (whose influence cannot be overstated) will probably like Higashino.
An enjoyable little caper. Not the greatest writer (though I'm reading a translation), but a good storyteller. Anyone who likes Columbo (whose influence cannot be overstated) will probably like Higashino.
doug rated The Pelican Brief: 4 stars

The Pelican Brief by John Grisham, John Grisham
In suburban Georgetown a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. porno …
doug reviewed Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Review of 'By Michael Connelly - The Concrete Blonde' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I've watched the Bosch TV series, so there were some real surprises I wasn't expecting. I guess it's onto #4 in a bit.
I've watched the Bosch TV series, so there were some real surprises I wasn't expecting. I guess it's onto #4 in a bit.
doug rated My Evil Mother: 4 stars
doug reviewed Resort by M. J. Hardy
Review of 'Resort' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
I kept reading just to see if it got better... or worse. Punctuation and structural errors on every page.
The 1st-person POVs were so bad I felt uncomfortable. The 4 POV characters are introspective, self-critical, then rationalizing all within 1-2 paragraphs. They hate their man, then love him again in the course of a single page.
It doesn't help that the book revolves around the 3 dumbest women on earth and 2 of the world's biggest assholes.
Mind-boggling this has 4 stars from 3,400+ ratings.
I kept reading just to see if it got better... or worse. Punctuation and structural errors on every page.
The 1st-person POVs were so bad I felt uncomfortable. The 4 POV characters are introspective, self-critical, then rationalizing all within 1-2 paragraphs. They hate their man, then love him again in the course of a single page.
It doesn't help that the book revolves around the 3 dumbest women on earth and 2 of the world's biggest assholes.
Mind-boggling this has 4 stars from 3,400+ ratings.






