Reviews
Reality Ends Here
(BOLOBooks Review)
The concept of reality television has always been a misnomer. An unscripted dramatic presentation might be a better description, but even that rings false once the editing process takes place. No one knows this better than Alison Gaylin, who has just written her...
If You Were Here
(BOLOBooks Review)
Over the last decade or so, Alafair Burke has been steadily making a name for herself as a keen observer of human nature and as a writer capable of translating those observations onto the page in a compelling way. In 2011, she brought a whole new cadre of devoted...
As She Left It
(BOLOBooks Review)
From the Booking Desk: For those that did not stop by yesterday, don't forgot to go back and read the wonderful interview with Catriona McPherson. And today, we have the review of her new book, As She Left It....
The Testing (BOLOBooks Review)
Joelle Charbonneau is currently most widely known for her lighter, more comedic mystery novels involving roller-skating amateur sleuths and glee club teachers turned detective. Next Tuesday, this is all going to change. June 4th, 2013 is the release date of The...
Two BOLOBooks Mini-Reviews
From the Booking Desk: This week, I have two shorter reviews to present. Each of these books would fall under the larger category of the traditional or cozy mystery. Since I want to get word out about these books as soon as possible, I am combining them into one...
The Innocence Game (BOLOBooks Review)
Michael Harvey’s new novel, The Innocence Game, is a cautionary tale of high-level corruption in various institutions. Within the frame-work of a mystery story, Harvey addresses the concept of wrongful convictions and the long-term effects of past events on present...
Stolen (BOLOBooks Review)
Since he published his first novel, Delirious, Daniel Palmer has been garnering acclaim from critics and loyalty from fans. Now with the publication of his third stand-alone thriller, Stolen, he is poised to receive his best reviews yet. Stolen is very much a book of...
Deadly Harvest
(BOLOBooks Review)
To most of us, Botswana seems like an exotic and distant place, full of unfamiliar customs and strange beliefs. The writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip (writing as Michael Stanley) set out to change that a number of years ago with their mystery series...
A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate
(BOLO Review)
Susanna Calkins debut novel is a captivating historical mystery which documents A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate. Set in seventeenth-century London, the novel tells the story of Lucy Campion, a chambermaid turned amateur sleuth, as she struggles to find her place in...
Blue Monday (BOLO Review)
The married writing duo of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, publishing under the pseudonym Nicci French, have written many books together including the Frieda Klein mystery series. The first book in that series is called Blue Monday and was released in the US in 2012....
There Was An Old Woman
(BOLO Review)
Hallie Ephron has just released her newest stand-alone novel, There Was An Old Woman. While the cover assures readers that this is a suspense novel, they will quickly realize that the suspense here is a slow-boil. This is in no way meant to be a negative, as what...
The Guilty One (BOLO Review)
With The Guilty One, Lisa Ballantyne has leapt onto the literary mystery scene. Prior to its US publication, the novel was already an international success and the accolades continue to pile up. It is the story of Daniel Hunter, whose childhood was anything but...
The Carrier (BOLO Review)
Sophie Hannah has just released The Carrier in the United Kingdom. This is the eighth book in her Charlie Zailer and Simon Waterhouse series. Publication in the states will not happen until later this year, but the book is worth the effort to import if you are...
The Burn Palace (BOLO Review)
The Burn Palace, by Stephen Dobyns, begins with the haunting image of a hospital bassinet containing a red and yellow snake where once an infant boy rested. From there, the omniscient narrator takes us on a journey above the town of Brewster, RI. As we are shown...
Nordic Cool 2013
The Kennedy Center
This winter, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC is running an international festival called Nordic Cool 2013. The festival dates are February 19-March 17. Nordic Cool 2013 is a celebration of all creative art forms from the Nordic region. ...
The Misadventures of
Edgar & Allan Poe
(BOLO Review)
The Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe by Gordon McAlpine and Sam Zuppardi The Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe by Gordon McAlpine is a middle-grade series that should appeal to young and old alike. The first book in the series, The Tell-Tale Start, has...
A Cold and Lonely Place
(BOLO Review)
Sara J. Henry’s second novel, A Cold and Lonely Place, is an atmospheric novel which exposes the reader to the Adirondacks and surrounding areas. Henry uses her background in journalism to lend a credible verisimilitude to one reporter’s investigation into a life...
Say You’re Sorry
(BOLO Review)
Say You’re Sorry is the latest novel in Michael Robotham’s series of books featuring clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin. This book finds Joe helping with the investigation of a present day murder that seems to have ties to a past case involving two missing girls. ...
The Imposter
(BOLO Movie Review)
In 1994, Nicholas Barclay, age 13, disappeared from his hometown in Texas. In 1997, he reappeared in Spain. In 2012, Bart Layton created a documentary feature film that tells this unbelievable story. A story that reinforces the old adage that "Truth is Stranger...
Bury Me Deep (BOLO Review)
In Bury Me Deep, Megan Abbott uses a real-life crime as the springboard for her fictional story. Since there is no way to know what really happened in the actual case, this novel presents a very believable scenario for what transpired behind closed doors. Bury Me...