Tag: 2 1/2 Stars Page 1 of 4

DETAILS:
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Publication Date: March 12, 2024
Format: eBook
Length: 47 pg.
Read Date: March 18, 2024

What’s The Havana Run About?

George and Jay are a couple of out-of-work newspapermen who spend more time than they ought drinking (but what else are they going to do?). They meet an elderly Cuban immigrant who wants to hire them to go to retrieve some items for him—it’s not safe for him to return, but there should be no problem with them going.

He doesn’t tell them what they’re going for, assuring them that some of his friends will guide them.

What do they have to lose? They have 10K to gain. Once they get to Havana, the very sketchy plan they have evaporates. The pair finds themselves running from criminals and the police, and unable to trust anyone. Including (especially?) their contact.

So, what did I think about The Havana Run?

Ummm…now that’s a good question. I guess I’d have to say, not much. I liked the two protagonists and enjoyed their interactions with each other and just about everyone they encountered. The action scenes were good, too, as one would expect.

But…I didn’t connect with anything else in this book. I didn’t buy their “mission” (or whatever you want to call it), and couldn’t believe that they went for it—even as desperate for money as they seemed to be. And then everything that happened once they get to Cuba? It was all…I don’t know what to say. Pointless? Disappointing? (there are other, better words, I’m sure, but I’m drawing a blank)

I fully expect there are plenty of people who will have enjoyed this and are glad they read it. I just don’t see why they would. I don’t get what Atkins was trying to do (other than something other than Spenser or Quinn Colson)

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child: Time for Me to Slip out the Back (away from) Jack

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2023

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Secret

by Lee Child, Andrew Child (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Jack Reacher, #28
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 24, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 292 pg.
Read Date: December 2-4, 2023

What’s The Secret About?

It’s 1992 and Capt. Jack Reacher has been assigned to a task force organized by the Secretary of Defense. He’s the U.S. Army Representative, and there’s someone from the CIA, the FBI, and the Treasury Department. They’ve been brought together to investigate a series of possible murders of scientists from around the country—although there’s the possibility they’re freak accidents or suicides, too.

In the 60s these men were part of a secret project that was abandoned after an accident caused some civilian deaths. But now it appears that someone has found their names and is working their way down a list. Can Reacher and the task force find the killer in time? What’s the purpose of killing them now?

So, what did I think about The Secret?

If this were a thriller about any other character and had someone else’s name on the cover, I might have said it was enjoyable enough.

But it’s about Jack Reacher and Lee Child’s name is on the cover (even if it’s pretty well established that Andrew is doing most of the writing), so there are certain standards that have to be met. The Secret falls far short of them.

I could go on a prolonged screed listing my problems with the book—but I’m going to skip it. Those problems range from minor (there’s no way that a 1992 version—or a 2023 version—of Reacher is going to say “pearl clutching”) to major (there’s no reason for the big multiple attackers vs. Reacher fight in the middle other than it’s been a hundred pages since Reacher’s done anything violent, and that time was pretty quick and undramatic). I’d also say I was disappointed by the use of the rest of the task force, which was subpar at best, the big reveal at the end was lazy, and the concluding chapters were a letdown from the mediocre pages before it.

But for me, it boils down to this—that guy walking around in a uniform wasn’t Jack Reacher. He was a decent Generic Thriller hero who could possibly develop into a character worthy of a series. And that’s a fatal flaw.

The Secret wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good, either. Reacher deserves better from his creator—and from anyone hired to carry on the character, and he’s not getting it. I’ve tried (and some of my readers have told me I shouldn’t) to give this new arrangement time to develop into something worthwhile, but I think my experiment is over. I’m going to move on to other thriller series now—I may check in with what the Child brothers are doing in a couple of years, but if I’m going to keep a positive regard for Jack Reacher, I’m going to have to focus on my memories (and whatever Alan Ritchson is doing on the show).

2 1/2 Stars

Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman, Lorenzo Mattotti (Illustrator): Bill McNeal Gave Us the Word “Adequacivity” for Books Like This

By HCNewton

On September 7, 2023

In Fiction, Neil Gaiman, YA/MG/Children's Books

Hansel and Gretel

by Neil Gaiman, Lorenzo Mattotti (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Toon Books
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Length: 56 pgs.
Read Date: August 12, 2023

What’s Hansel and Gretel About?

This is the story of Hansel and Gretel almost straight from the Brothers Grimm—given a quick shine by Gaiman. There’s nothing particularly Gaiman-esque about the writing or the approach to the story. It’s a pretty decent and straightforward approach to the story.

The Art

In the spirit of “If you can’t say anything nice….”, I’m tempted to leave a few lines of blank space here and move on. I don’t get it. Really. I just don’t understand what Mattotti was going for here. The pictures are spread over two pages, and most of those pages are black. There are bits of white to help you get an image or the shadow of an image, but again—it’s just black. The kind of black that would’ve threatened to bankrupt printers just a couple of decades ago.

Maybe a quarter to a third of each two-page spread was interesting—but the rest. Ugh.

Call me a Philistine here…but I just don’t see why someone would bother.

I’ve looked at Mattotti’s website, and I like a lot of what I saw there…but this was a swing and a miss.

So, what did I think about Hansel and Gretel?

So, the text was okay. The art was disappointing. Overall, I give this a “meh.” If this were a person’s first exposure to the story—it’d work well. And honestly, if that’s what someone uses it for—I’d probably rate this higher.

But for someone wanting a little bit of that Gaiman magic applied to this familiar tale? It just doesn’t deliver.

2 1/2 Stars

The Worst Man by Jon Rance: The Dark Side of the Springfield Song

By HCNewton

On June 27, 2023

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The Worst Man

by Jon Rance

DETAILS:
Publication Date: February 14, 2023
Format:  eBook
Length: 378 pg.
Read Date: June 14-16, 2023

…at the back of my mind, I have always held out hope – blind, foolish, irrational hope – that they will break up. When you find yourself desperately in love with your best mate’s girlfriend, blind, foolish, irrational hope is all you have. In fact, and not to put too fine a point on it, I have been banking on it.

What’s The Worst Man About?

The novel starts off with Dan and Lucy’s wedding going awry–the details are a little fuzzy, but we know it has something to do with our narrator, Ollie. Then we go back to twelve weeks earlier when Dan and Lucy tell Dan’s lifelong friend, Ollie, that they’re engaged and we see how in love/deeply infatuated/possibly obsessed Ollie is with Lucy.

For most of the book, it’s difficult to say exactly how Ollie feels–he tells you one thing, but his actions/thoughts may make readers reach other conclusions. So, I’m going to put the phrase in quotation marks (imagine me making wildly exaggerated air quotes as I type).

He’s been this way for three years–since he met her–and it’s only gotten worse from what we can tell. One friend knows about his hangup (and Lucy likely does, too, because she’s no fool).

The main plotline of this book is seeing Ollie try to shake it off, to try to force himself out “of love” with her–or it’s seeing him fantasizing about ways he can profess his “love” to her and scheming ways to get Lucy to break off the engagement.

Unsympathetic Protagonist

I really want Dan and Lucy to be happy, just not together.

Ohhhh boy. It was really hard to find a way to like Ollie. This was something I struggled with from the opening paragraphs right up to the last sentence–and, frankly, never succeeded at. This is a guy we’re supposed to find at least somewhat likable and appealing–we’re supposed to root for him.

But he’s an immature little twit pining after his best friend’s girlfriend and only stopped when she became his best friend’s fiancée–not because he grew up, but because he started pining after his best friend’s fiancée. We’re not talking best friends since college or something–we’re talking about a couple of guys who grew up together, and might as well have been brothers since childhood. And he’s so wrapped up in what he wants that he can’t be happy for Dan. He tries to be (or so he claims in the narration if you can trust him), but it fails.

He even gets this harebrained idea to make Lucy jealous–and that this jealousy will cause her to realize her mistake, break off the engagement, etc. The girl he uses in this scenario is a far better fit for him–if only because she’s single and looking (although there are many other reasons)–and Ollie won’t see it (or does, and still blows it off for Lucy).

As Sherman T. Potter would put it, this boy’s full of mule fritters.

The irony of it all is that Ollie teaches young teens/preteens–and ends up acting like one.

The Saving Graces

Here’s what kept me going. In the middle of all of this are three stories worth reading.

Ollie’s flatmate–another friend of Dan and Lucy’s–has a quirky little love story (and dog story) all his own. I don’t know if there’s a real Rom-Com in it, or if it’s just a good storyline from a Romance, because we only get glimpses of it as Wilf tries to talk some sense into Ollie. Regardless, watching that storyline was one of the pleasures of this book.

Ollie’s Dad has been alone for a very long time and he just may have found someone, too. This storyline brings a lot of the comedy of the book–and a decent amount of the heart. I’d have read an entire book on this story.

Ollie’s dad has been single for years because Ollie’s mother left them when he was pretty young. It’s one of those things that shaped the two of them–and you could probably make some sort of link between this and Ollie’s actions in the present. But whatever–the thing to focus on is that Ollie’s introspection about her absence in his life and the rest of this story are some of the most honest and moving emotional writing in the book.

So, what did I think about The Worst Man?

‘Then stop acting like a f($^@#g child and grow up,’ says Wilf before his phone rings.

That’s all the book needed, Ollie to listen to Wilf.

I was prepared to be very tepidly positive in this post because of its strengths, but Rance lost me in the last 9%. I’d have been tempted to discard the book over those events if I wasn’t in the closing chapters. I want to stress that’s with the exception of those arcs I mentioned in the previous section. But those three couldn’t save it.

The writing was clever enough–with some really nice lines and moments scattered throughout. For example, Ollie’s description of “possibly one of the worst dates in the world,” is both a. entertaining for the reader and b. a really bad date. You can’t help but have strong reactions to these characters (mostly positive)–there’s a student of Ollie’s that you will feel for in particular.

In the end, Rance did the best he could with this character and the premise–really he portrayed Ollie and the situation pretty well. Which was the problem for me, in the end. I’m definitely not writing off Rance for this, and will be happy to try something else from him (I’ll just do a better job reading the descriptions first).

Save yourself the time and check out something else by Rance, like The Summer Holidays Survival Guide.

2 1/2 Stars

Triptych (Audiobook) by Karin Slaughter, Michael Kramer: A Rough Way to Start a Series

By HCNewton

On January 6, 2023

In Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Triptych

by Karin Slaughter, Michael Kramer (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Will Trent, #1
Publisher: Books on Tape
Publication Date: August 11, 2006
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 13 hrs., 15 min.
Read Date: January 3-5, 2023

What’s Triptych About?

I’m going to start off by saying it took me far, far, far too long to figure out how the title was appropriate. I cannot express how clueless I felt once the light bulb went on. I should stress that I wasn’t sitting around pondering it—and had essentially forgotten the title. I’m pretty sure I’d have sussed it out earlier. The more I think about it, however, the less I think it’s appropriate—Polyptych would be better—Tetraptych or Quadriptych would be even more accurate. But who even knows those terms anymore?

Anyway, there’s a serial killer/rapist afoot in the Atlanta area—the ages, races, and socio-economic status are varied enough that the typical pattern doesn’t fit. The novel shows the hunt for the killer from three overlapping perspectives (with a fourth for a significant portion of the book, too).

The first is from APD Homicide Detective Michael Ormewood, who might be a perfectly adequate detective (it’s hard to tell at the beginning, but you have to assume he is). He is a terrible person however. I know the two aren’t related, but…ick. You want the killer to be stopped, but you really don’t want him to be the one who stops him. So, it’s nice that an agent from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Will Trent, comes along to consult on the murder investigation Ormewood’s involved with—and shows him that it’s connected to others.

The second perspective is that of an ex-con, who has been out for only a few months. You can’t help but like him—in sharp contrast to Ormewood—but he’s a convicted murderer and is a registered sex offender, so it’s hard to generate a lot of sympathy for him. The part of the novel focused on him includes so much backstory you’d be well within your rights to forget that you’re supposed to be worried about a killer in the present. He’s clearly reformed (but honestly, doesn’t remember committing the crime he’s convicted of), he’s a rare success story for the Criminal Justice system—sadly, the world isn’t going to recognize that anytime soon. Connecting him to the present case takes a long time, but proves to be pretty important.

The third perspective is that of Will Trent. I don’t know if this was supposed to be a stand-alone, or if the whole point of the novel was to introduce Trent as central character of the series. In the end, that was the result, though. Trent’s an oddball of a detective—but he’s incredibly good at what he does. Eventually he, and his on-again-off-again lover/lifelong best friend (a detective in Vice with an ugly history with Ormewood) start to put the pieces together.

Alllllmost DNFed

I didn’t like this novel much at all—and was pushing myself through it for at least the first half. Why? I don’t know—I just wasn’t in the mood for any other audiobook I had my hands on, I guess. Kramer’s narration, Slaughter’s style, the characters, and the experience as a whole, just left a sour taste in my mouth.

Eventually, while I still didn’t enjoy the book, I got to the point that I was going to listen just to see how the ex-con’s storyline ended up. Still, I almost returned this to the library at least eight times before that point (and once or twice after).

When Trent’s perspective took over, I enjoyed it enough to start thinking about getting book 2. Also, I wanted to see how Slaughter took this particular book and turned it into a series that’s gone on into eleven books (as of later this year) and spawned a TV series.

The Narration

Kramer does a capable job, I guess, but it just didn’t work for me. I’ve listened to other books by him before (have only written about one of them, though) and I’ve felt the same way. His name didn’t trigger anything for me, but that voice and delivery sure did.

Kramer has a list of credits that can only be described as “enviable,” and keeps getting work—so clearly I’m in the minority when it comes to him. His name isn’t enough to keep me from listening to a book—but it sure won’t convince me to give something a try if I’m on the fence about it.

So, what did I think about Triptych?

Huh. What do you know? I said pretty much everything I have to say already.

I actually think I’d have been better off walking away from it. The ending was satisfying and my curiosity about the ex-con was satiated. But I’m not happy with myself about it.

Trent and his friend (or whatever), Angie, are interesting enough that I do think I’ll come back for another ride, but I don’t think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. They’re the reason the book gets that 1/2 star.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Blessed Are the Bank Robbers by Chas Smith: Not as Catchy as a Story about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue

By HCNewton

On April 21, 2022

In Non-Fiction

Blessed Are the Bank Robbers:
The True Adventures of an Evangelical Outlaw

by Chas Smith

DETAILS:
Publisher: Abrams Press
Publication Date: March 14, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 264 pg.
Read Date: April 11-18, 2022

What’s Blessed Are the Bank Robbers About?

From the Publisher’s Site:

Chas Smith grew up deeply enmeshed in the evangelical Christian world that grew out of Southern California in the late 1960s. His family included famous missionaries and megachurch pastors, but his cousin Daniel Courson was Grandma’s favorite. Smith looked up to Cousin Danny. He was handsome, adventurous, and smart, earned a degree from Bible college, and settled into a family and a stable career.

Needless to say, it was a big surprise when Cousin Danny started robbing banks. Known as the “Floppy Hat Bandit,” Courson robbed 19 of them in a torrid six-week spree before being caught and sentenced to seven years. When he tried to escape, they tacked on another year. And when he finally got out, despite seeming to be back on the straight and narrow, Cousin Danny disappeared. Banks started getting robbed again. It seemed Cousin Danny might be gunning for the record.

Smith’s Blessed Are the Bank Robbers is the wild, and wildly entertaining, story of an all-American anti-hero. It’s a tale of bank robberies, art and jewel heists, high-speed chases, fake identities, encrypted Swiss email accounts, jilted lovers, and the dark side of an evangelical family (and it wasn’t just Danny; an uncle was mixed up with the mujahideen). It’s a book about what it means to live inside the church and outside the law.

Some of the material in this book comes straight from Courson himself—emails while he was a fugitive and writing he did while in prison to describe his career.

Other Bank Robbers

Scattered throughout are descriptions of other prodigious bank robbers, their streaks, and their methods. Most of these are pretty interesting and probably worth a book themselves. It’s not my typical genre, but there are a couple of these that I’d jump on.

So, what did I think about Blessed Are the Bank Robbers?

Well, it wasn’t bad. A lot of it was pretty entertaining and well-written. Significant portions of it were a blast and really sucked me in. But for every section of the book that sang, there was a section or more that fell flat. I had high hopes for this one and none of them were met.

This felt like the journalism surrounding Capone and the like during their heyday—it was a celebration of Courson’s crimes. The acknowledgment that his crimes caused actual harm came from Courson himself in a throwaway comment. Sure, it’s exciting to read about this kind of crime and Courson is clearly a charismatic figure. But celebrating him like this left a bad taste in my mouth. Then sending emails back and forth with him while he’s “on the lam”* and daydreaming about following in his footsteps? Were Smith a starry-eyed adolescent, I could accept it, but in a father? It discredited the author in my eyes (it would’ve taken a 2-sentence paragraph where he acknowledged the problem with it).

* I did appreciate getting the etymology of that phrase.

I don’t think Smith did an effective job of exploring the link between Courson’s Calvary Chapel upbringing and his turning to a life in crime—it’s there if you look for it (and make some assumptions), but if you’re going to put “Evangelical” in the subtitle, you need to expand on this.

There was a lot of promise in the premise, some entertaining/informational moments, and it was an easy read—but ultimately, it was a letdown. I fully expect that others won’t stumble over the things I did (some of which are above), and I don’t know that I would argue with them.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Lost Discipline of Conversation by Joanne J. Jung: Seemed to Lose the Thread

By HCNewton

On February 13, 2022

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

The Lost Discipline of Conversation:
Surprising Lessons in Spiritual Formation
Drawn from the English Puritans

by Joanne J. Jung

DETAILS:
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date:  June 12, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 224
Read Date: February 6, 2022

From the Back of the Book:

Recovering Spiritual Practices of the Past titles reach beyond commonly known spiritual formation practices in order to mine the wisdom of the past, bringing to light ways of thinking, living, and growing in Christ that the church today has largely overlooked.

In The Lost Discipline of Conversation, spiritual formation professor and author Joanne Jung walks readers through the Puritan practice of “conference,” or focused, spiritual conversations intended to promote ongoing transformation. An antidote to privatized faith, conference calls believers to biblical literacy and soul care in a context of transparency and accountability.

Useful for believers in any sphere or ministry or stage in life, conference is ultimately a tool for nurturing mutual, godly authenticity within community.

Beyond the Back of the Book

Part I, “Rediscovering a ‘Lost’ Means of Grace,” outlined the need for community and the benefit of this practice (although equating it with the Means of Grace is questionable).

Part II looks at the various contexts in which conferencing can take place and suggests some ways to promote it. I lost track of the idea of conferencing during this Part—it seemed so flexible so as to maybe lose meaning.

Part III

Part III is called “Soul-to-Soul Bible Studies,” and added nothing to the work. They were scripts/prompts to guide you through a one-on-one (or larger) study of a handful of seemingly random New Testament passages. The explanatory notes were redundant, and not incredibly useful.

I didn’t see the point of this part at all.

So, what did I think about The Lost Discipline of Conversation?

Seven years before this was published, Jung published Godly Conversation: Rediscovering the Puritan Practice of Conference, and I can’t help but wonder what my reaction to this book would be if I’d read it first. This feels like it’s building on the work done in the initial book. Maybe I’d walk away from this with a greater understanding of both Jung’s overall project as well as the Puritan practice of conference. Still, this book needs to be able to stand on its own, and it just doesn’t.

The biggest question I have from this book is what’s the foundation for this practice? How is “conferencing” based on, or built on, Puritan thought? You can’t follow Puritan practices (on this or any other point) without their teaching backing it up—it just doesn’t work that way. Leave that to Finney and those who follow in his footsteps, not to Bownd, Owen, or Alleine. Practices without the theology are meaningless actions. It’s not “do X, Y, and Z” to get spiritual growth in a mechanistic/automatic way, it’s not powdered milk where you just add water. The Puritans acted in certain ways (like conferences) because of something. Jung did her readers a disservice leaving that out.

I don’t necessarily contest the value of the practice, but I don’t know that she’s convinced me that it’s as valuable as she sets it out to be. I’ve read a good number of the original sources she cites, and I never got the inkling that this was particularly vital—useful, potentially, but as important as this?

I do have to wonder why the title specifies “English Puritans” when there’s so many citations of New England Puritanism. The distinctions aren’t huge, but there are differences. Just delete the word “English,” and it’s better. That seems picky, and probably is. But at a certain point, the quibbles I had with the material overwhelmed the pros, and the little ones got under my skin more than they should.

I feel bad about thinking like this about the book, because the person that recommended this to me clearly thought I’d appreciate it—and I wanted to. But this is largely a swing and a miss for me. At the risk of repeating myself, I do wonder what my reaction to this would’ve been had I read Godly Conversation first. As it is, though, I’ll chalk this up as a well-intentioned miss.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

How to Slay a Dragon by Cait Stevenson: A Historical Approach to Major Fantasy Tropes

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2021

In Fantasy, History, Non-Fiction

How to Slay a Dragon:
A Fantasy Hero’s Guide
to the Real Middle Ages

by Cait Stevenson

Hardcover, 188 pg.
Tiller Press, 2021

Read: September 14-16, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

From the Back of the Book

I tried to come up with my own summary, and it kept coming out like those horrible paraphrases you turned in to your teacher after basically sitting down with an encyclopedia for ten minutes—technically not plagiarism (at least not to a sixth-grader’s mind), but not really original work.

Instead, let’s just see what the back of the book says:

Grab your magical sword and take the place of your favorite fantasy character with this fun and historically accurate how-to guide to solving epic quests.

What should you ask a magic mirror? How do you outwit a genie? Where should you dig for buried treasure? Fantasy media’s favorite clichés get new life from How to Slay a Dragon: A Fantasy Hero’s Guide to the Real Middle Ages, a historically accurate romp through the medieval world. Each entry presents a trope from video games, books, movies, or TV—such as saving the princess or training a wizard—as a problem for you to solve, as if you were the hero of your own fantasy quest. Through facts sourced from a rich foundation of medieval sources, you will learn how your magical problems were solved by people in the actual Middle Ages.

Divided into thematic subsections based on typical stages in a fantastical epic, and inclusive of race, gender, and continent, How to Slay a Dragon is perfect if you’re curious to learn more about the time period that inspired some of your favorite magical worlds or longing to know what it would be like to be the hero of your own mythical adventure.

So, what did I think about How to Slay a Dragon?

It’s a great concept—fantasy readers (and writers, I assume) are frequently talking about authenticity and if X technology or practice really fits with an era. Or how would you really go about doing Y? We’ve needed something like this book for years.

It’s just clever—it’s not just about the topics that Stevenson addresses, it’s how the topics are dealt with. There’s a great deal of wit in the setup and explanation of each one—and the way they flow from subtopic to subtopic. Jumping from person to person, location to location, and so on could seem erratic or jarring, but she makes it feel like it flows naturally.

I love her voice—I honestly wish I wrote the way Stevenson does. It’s not just the humor, it’s the way she approaches an idea. It’s the kind of prose that if I decided to get serious about writing that I’d want to study emulate.

Yet…this was one of those strange, I can’t explain it at all, the whole is less than the sum of its parts reads for me. It impressed me on all fronts, and yet I was bored almost the entire time. Until the last 40 pages or so, I’d eagerly pick it up and dive in, and then my mind would start wandering within a page or so.

It absolutely could be just what was going on for me this week, it’s likely just me—I fully expect after I post this and look around at what others say that I’m going to see a lot of raving. But I just can’t do that.

I’m sticking with the 3 stars because of the sum of its parts and because one of the first notes I made was, “if she keeps this up, she’s got a lock on 4+ stars.” Otherwise, this would be 2 stars.

By all means, fill up the comment section with ways I’m wrong about this one.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Red Widow by Alma Katsu: This Realistic Spy Thriller Just Missed the Mark

By HCNewton

On May 7, 2021

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Red Widow

by Alma Katsu

Hardcover, 340 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021

Read: May 4-5, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Another weekday morning at Langley. Men and women streamed across the parking lots—past the towering parabolic antennas, the Blackbird spy plane made into a monument—to converge on a set of doors placed into a wall so discreetly that they could be secret doors, known only to the initiated.

It was a cold morning. In raincoats and windbreakers, they moved with mindless determination, like ants following the scent of sugar, minds already on the coming day, chores left undone from the day before, a confrontation anticipated with a boss or coworker. Or they were brooding over what they’d just left behind, an argument at the breakfast table, the last thing a child said before running for the school bus. Not one of them was thinking about what it meant to cross the threshold of the most secretive building in America.

What’s Red Widow About?

I’m going to cheat here and just copy the text from Katsu’s website. It would be just too easy for me to slip on this one—either not describing it enough to be helpful to anyone or adding a sentence or two and ruining half the book. It’s that carefully constructed.

An exhilarating spy thriller about two women CIA agents who become intertwined around a threat to the Russia Division–one that’s coming from inside the agency.

Lyndsey Duncan worries her career with the CIA might be over. After lines are crossed with another intelligence agent during her most recent assignment, she is sent home to Washington on administrative leave. So when a former colleague, now Chief of the Russia Division, recruits her for an internal investigation, she jumps at the chance to prove herself once more. Lyndsey was once a top handler in the Moscow Field Station, known as the “human lie detector” and praised for recruiting some of the most senior Russian officials. But now, three Russian assets have been discovered–including one of her own–and the CIA is convinced there’s a mole in the department. With years of work in question, and lives on the line, Lyndsey is thrown back into life at the agency, only this time tracing the steps of those closest to her.

Meanwhile, fellow agent Theresa Warner can’t avoid the spotlight. She is the infamous “Red Widow,” the wife of a former director killed in the field under mysterious circumstances. With her husband’s legacy shadowing her every move, Theresa is a fixture of the Russia Division, and as she and Lyndsey strike up an unusual friendship, her knowledge proves invaluable. But as Lyndsey uncovers a surprising connection to Theresa that could answer all of her questions, she exposes a terrifying web of secrets within the department, if only she is willing to unravel it…

How Mundane

One thing that really jumped out at me is Katsu’s depiction of the CIA offices as not that different from what most of us experience M-F. There’s the boss’s assistant putting her nose into everything, monitoring both the work and the socializing between the staff. There’s the overachiever going the extra miles; the old workaholic who to avoid retirement has taken the job no one wants; there’s the lecherous creep being…well a lecherous creep; parents trying to juggle work and home; office romances; typical office politics; gossip/ and so on.

The Value of Life

Sure, in a very real sense, what these people do at work is just like what we all do but on the other end of the spectrum, the actual life and death repercussions of what happens there is easy to see.

The description above mentions four deaths—a director and three assets. Of those, two of them are given some emotional weight and importance. The others aren’t really seen as that important and are pretty much forgotten about*. Yes, in the world of espionage people die. Yes, I have a tendency to read books with high body counts and rarely talk about it. This is not that kind of book, and in the non-fictional world, deaths matter. Particularly when they involve people who are put in the line of fire because of the American government’s actions. The way those two deaths were dealt with in contrast to the other two really bothered me (in case I was being vague).

* Although one death is pretty horrific and gets a little space because of it.

So, what did I think about Red Widow?

I almost DNFed this a handful of times, and each time that happened, Katsu would do something to perk my interest a bit. The book managed to stay juuuuuuuuuuust interesting enough to keep me turning the pages without actually really enjoying the book.

I think I get why this is getting decent reviews—both professional and amateur. But I just can’t talk myself into agreeing with them. Who knows? If I read this three months ago (or three months from now), it might have hit me differently, but this is the week I read this.

When I describe the thinking behind my star ratings, I describe 2 Stars as: “It’s not bad per se, it’s just not good.” That pretty much sums this up. It’s almost good, but it just misses the mark.

2 1/2 Stars

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Blood Storm Magic (Audiobook) by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator): The series comes to a dramatic yet dissatisfying end

By HCNewton

On June 15, 2020

In Audiobook

Blood Storm Magic

by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator)
Series: Ella Grey, #4

Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs., 32 min.
Tantor Audio, 2018

Read: May 12-13, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Faith has a lot to wrap up in this conclusion to her Ella Gray series. There’s the re-rescue of Ella’s brother, the deal with her magic, the completion of her partner’s storyline, the situation with her coven (especially the leader of it), her roommate’s romantic situation, and a few strings—Faith even throws in a new romantic interest for Ella.

And, well, she does wrap it all up. Most of it felt rushed, like she was going to get it all wrapped up in X number of pages come Hades or high-water. Some of it was too convenient. Some of it was fitting. Some was tragic. All of it was hurried.

I really did enjoy the dragon character and all we learned about him.

I wish that Faith had turned this into an ongoing series with a focus on the Supernatural Crimes while finding a way to resolve the other storylines—I enjoyed those characters and thought that whole thing had a lot more life in it. She could’ve done that and even kept the coven in the background. But…that’s just me.

This series started strong and promising, and then it petered out. I’m glad I got to see how someone would use Boise in an Urban Fantasy, but was disappointed in the end. The coworker who turned me on to the series disagrees with my overall take on it, she’s probably in the majority.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.