4/5 stars Make It Scream, Make It Burn , by Leslie Jamison (2019) One of my favorite nonfiction books is Leslie Jamison's The Empathy...

3/5 stars Strange Pictures , by Uketsu (2022) Translated by Jim Rion This is an unconventional little murder mystery that has the feel...

3/5 stars The Last Murder at the End of the World , by Stuart Turton (2024) "Solve the murder to save what's left of the world..." It's...

4/5 stars The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales & Dangerous Magic , by Leigh Bardugo (2017) Illustrated by Sara Kipin I guess I'm...

3/5 stars Magic for Liars , by Sarah Gailey (2019) Private investigator Ivy Gamble's meat-and-potatoes work is mostly following cheating...

4/5 stars Green Frog: Stories , by Gina Chung (2024) Short story collections can be tough for me. Often I feel like some are great while...

I'm starting a new series on my blog! In 2025 I aim to visit and "review" all 31 libraries in the Monroe County Library System (MCLS). Spoiler alert: They're all 10/10 stars! I've already been to about half of them, but want to learn more about what each has to offer - and share it with you! First up is the Webster Public Library. The library has been in its current location since 2002, though there was a major renovation in 2016, which moved the entrance and added an additi

3/5 stars The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea , by C.L. Miller (2025) Not quite as fun the first book, An Antique Hunter's Guide to...

5/5 stars The Girl in Red (2019), and Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook (2017) , by Christina Henry Trigger Warnings (both...

4/5 stars Chain-Gang All Stars , by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (2023) Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence, Imprisonment and enslavement,...

1/5 stars The Enigma of Room 622 , by Jo ël Dicker (2020) Translated by Robert Bononno If I were the translator I'd take a biiiiiiig...

3/5 stars The Only One Left , by Riley Sager (2023) Kit McDeere is a home health aide, currently living at home with her father after...

4/5 stars Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) , by Jesse Sutanto (2025) Another cozy murder mystery with your favorite old...

3/5 stars Sunrise on the Reaping , by Suzanne Collins (2025) This iteration of the Hunger Games takes us back in time to the Second...

5/5 stars Those We Thought We Knew , by David Joy (2023) Trigger Warning: Racially motivated violence It's hard not to just copy-paste a...

3/5 stars Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery , by Brom (2021) A fun read for lovers of witch &/or Puritanical witch-hunt era stories. Abitha...

4/5 stars The Crane Husband , by Kelly Barnhill (2023) Barnhill does magical realism very well. I've read two other novels by her - The...

4/5 stars I Have Some Questions For You , by Rebecca Makkai (2023) Bodie Kane is a film professor and true crime podcaster in...

4/5 stars Witchmark and Stormsong , by C.L. Polk (2018 and 2020) A great one-sentence summary from a post on Goodreads:...

A piece I've been working on for about a year... Started with my best friend, Dorothy Albertini, writing the first stanza of 100 words,...