Reviews
Blessed Are The Dead –
The BOLO Books Review
There are countless examples of fictional journalists who end up deeply embroiled in crime solving within the crime fiction genre. One may immediately think of Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan or Lindsay Gordon from Val McDermid’s first excellent series. More recently,...
How to Win at High School –
The BOLO Books Review
From Revenge of the Nerds to Mean Girls, our cinema history is filled with tales of teens who manage to find a way to overcome some perceived disadvantage to become popular. Now, Owen Matthews’ debut Young Adult book – How to Win at High School – gives readers the...
Kid Victory –
The BOLO Books Theater Review
John Kander is no stranger to musicalizing controversial topics. With Fred Ebb, he brought us Weimar Republic Germany set to music with Cabaret, the squalor of Latin American prisons as seen through the eyes of an idol-worshipping gay window dresser in Kiss of the...
The Black Hood –
The BOLO Books Comic Review
The union between noir-style crime fiction and comic books is hardly groundbreaking. After all, what is Gotham if not a crime infested inner-city setting filled with corruption? The same goes for Frank Miller’s classic Sin City. What makes The Black Hood stand out in...
Canary –
The BOLO Books Review
Sarie Holland is just your typical high school honor student. That is, until she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and suddenly because embroiled in a world she knows nothing about. Duane Swierczynski has taken his typical noir story-telling style and...
My Sunshine Away – The BOLO Books Review
Every few years there is a book that is released which immediately feels like a classic - something readers will re-visit over and over again, always discovering new things within the magical words on the page. This year, that book is My Sunshine Away by M. O. Walsh....
Hush Hush –
The BOLO Books Review
When Laura Lippman had Tess Monaghan give birth to her daughter Carla Scout, it seemed like the death knell for the series. After all, Tess was hardly the type to put her daughter in danger to continue her career. But then, at the end of last year’s stand-alone novel,...
Little Black Lies –
The BOLO Books Review
It is always a thrill to find a new book by a debut author that makes you anxious for more. Little Black Lies, the new psychological suspense novel by Sandra Block is certainly one of those. No doubt, part of the success of the work stems from Block’s knowledge of the...
Crazy Love You –
The BOLO Books Review
Crazy Love You, the new novel by Lisa Unger, is about obsessive love and all that is good and bad about relationships. The real feat here is that Lisa Unger has managed to write a book that is as addictive as the relationship at the story’s core. Prepare for a long...
Second Life – The BOLO Books Review (UK Edition)
By all accounts, SJ Watson’s novel, Before I Go To Sleep, signaled the auspicious debut of a promising new talent in the crime fiction genre. Anticipation has been at fever pitch as anxious fans wait for his second novel. With the publication of Second Life in the...
The Forgotten Girls –
The BOLO Books Review
There is no question that international crime fiction has flooded the United States market; and it has done so with unparalleled success. That said, there are still always new talents to be discovered both domestically and aboard. One of those authors is Sara Blaedel,...
Grantchester – The BOLO Books Television Review
What the dickens? Could there be another new must-watch mystery series? Yes indeed! Grantchester is the latest addition to the Masterpiece Mystery family (airing on PBS) and it is well worth checking out. Based on the successful Sidney Chambers mysteries by James...
One Step Too Far –
The BOLO Books Review
Tina Seskis is likely a name that is unfamiliar to readers. Her debut novel, One Step Too Far, made a splash when released in the UK and is now finally making its way to the States. This psychological thriller will appeal to fans of complex and realistic domestic...
The Staircase – The BOLO Books Documentary Review
The Staircase is a documentary directed by Academy Award-winning director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The version I watched was from the Sundance Channel DVD collection, as it was very difficult to find viewing options for this on any streaming services. If you are a fan...
The Girl on the Train –
The BOLO Books Review
There is no set formula for how a book generates buzz, however, there are certain books each year that start to appear on the general consciousness of the public for whatever reason. It starts with industry buzz during the manuscript stages, then the reviewers start...
Vanished –
The BOLO Books Review
In her second novel, Vanished, Elizabeth Heiter wastes no time jumping into the story and rarely slows down during the mad-dash to the end. Thriller fans should not miss this paperback original by a promising new name on the suspense landscape. Vanished is a story...
A Moment By The Sea –
A BOLO Books Short Story Review
From The Booking Desk: Since we are in the midst of two holiday weeks, I had planned to forgo publishing a review this week and next. However, when Ragnar Jónasson posted free access to an English-language holiday short story of his, I knew this was the perfect review...
Die Again – The BOLO Books Review
Tess Gerritsen’s series featuring Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles now numbers ten novels along with a successful television series. As with any series featuring recurring characters, there is always the chance of the chemistry starting to fail or for the plots to go...
Dark Tides – The BOLO Books Review (UK Edition)
Sometimes a good story well told is the most rewarding experience. In the case of Chris Ewan’s Dark Tides, this is most definitely the case. Ewan tells his tale in what seems like a very simple manner; however, the reality is that the structure of the novel is just...
BOLO Books’ Top Reads of 2014
From the Booking Desk: It is that time of year again. Various review outlets and fans have been posting their listings of the best novels of last year. Since I have not read every book published, I prefer to call my list, Top Reads. This year was a particularly...