Review: The List

The List by Steve Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Steve Berry said he trunked this early manuscript in the 90s after he began working on it in an attempt to meet the John Grisham moment of the time. Now that he’s far more seasoned a writer, and with historical as well as legal research aplenty under his belt, he brings this story of a secretly sinister Southern company town and paper mill to life with the sort of knowledge only an insider could. The plot takes its time to get going, but when it does…hoo boy, that letter to Brent alone is what bumps this up from 3 or 3.5 to 4 stars for me.

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Review: The Curse of Penryth Hall

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this one, with its gothic atmosphere at a stormy Cornish manse and our protagonist working in a bookstore with an old man proprietor and a lovely black cat. But the book very quickly managed to lose my interest despite the murder and mayhem that happens. I think I’m either in a reading slump, or I just couldn’t keep my mind on this one. Either way, it’s sadly an official DNF for me.

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Review: Maieman: Revelations

Maieman: Revelations by D.L. Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

D.L. Hannah's tenth book overall in her great royal interplanetary saga reaches a natural stopping point with a grand finale - for now, although whenever the story is ready to continue, I'll be ready to order those new books too. With so many interwoven story threads, Hannah ties them together as excellently and dramatically as she's always done, and in particular, she confirms that my theory about what exactly was happening to King Jonah was correct. I'd say the best highlights are the lovely artwork of Queen Revari that King Jonah is painting in one key scene, and the eagle in the final paragraph, which - should this book ever get a film or TV adaptation someday - would make an evocative final shot.

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Review: Pendergast: The Beginning

Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hark! A (near) modern Prometheus! Preston and Child take a break from the present day and the wild time travel shenanigans of the Leng arc to give us a great new starting point for potential new Pendergast fans, with the 1994 case that got him kicked out of New Orleans before the events of Relic - and in fact, a chapter from that 1995 novel is the epilogue of this book, in which Pendergast meets D’Agosta for the first time. Here, however, Pendergast is partnered with a recently widowed New Orleans FBI agent, Dwight Chambers, tracking a particularly warped new serial killer that fits very well into the horror genre once again. And while it’s an early case for Pendergast, it’s also the origin story of Proctor, before he became Pendergast’s chauffeur and majordomo of many special skills. It’s a treat for us longtime fans, and a great place to start for new readers who can then jump back to Relic and continue the series from there.

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Review: Dead Lions

Dead Lions by Mick Herron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again, Herron presents a fast paced, (almost) single sitting read in the world of the Slow Horses, with the story that was later covered in great detail in the second season of the Apple TV series adaptation. I will say for sure, though - one big detail that doesn’t translate into the TC series as much is Jackson Lamb’s persistent flatulence, which somehow manages to be even more in your face in this non visual medium. Though I did like the series adaptation better on this one, it’s still a damn good action thriller of a book, and I’ve already got Book 3 waiting in the wings…

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Review: Twelve Months

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jim Butcher is back after another five year hiatus for The Dresden Files, after personal battles took out his old energy that made him one of the most prolific fantasy writers in the business in the 2000s. Finally following up on the Battle of Chicago duology novels released back to back in 2020, it's clear that Butcher was working through those real-life problems through his novels, as Harry Dresden and his remaining friends struggle to pick up the pieces in a city that's been bombed back to the Dark Ages - literally. But the supernatural threats to the world continue apace, and one in particular feels like it's setting up for the eventual conclusion of the series in Butcher's projected "apocalyptic trilogy." But, if this ends up being the last book in the series, I'd say it ends on a pretty high note all the same.

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Review: Slow Horses

Slow Horses by Mick Herron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Now that I've got Apple TV back again, I was finally able to get back into the Slow Horses TV series adaptation, and as I work my way through the third season on streaming, I've got the first two books sitting on my library stack as we speak. The first book is not at all as slow as its name suggests - it's a blazing fast read, and the first season of the show did a great job of encapsulating everything that made it so compulsive. Even the long info-dumps in the prologue and epilogue read super quickly, and in a sardonic tone that wouldn't be out of place if Jackson Lamb himself (referred to by full name as he often is) were to be a parody of a film-noir narrator. I'll be breaking away to read the new Dresden Files book next before picking up the sequel, but I already can't wait to see how well Dead Lions captures the energy that made the show's second season its best yet for me.

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