Master Mind Games...

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Books That Keep You Guessing…

Anna O - Matthew Blake

Yellowface - R.F. Kuang

The Busy Body - Kemper Donovan

My Murder - Katie Williams

Kill For Me Kill For You - Steve Cavanagh

Last Murder At The End Of The World - Stuart Turton

The Fury - Alex Michaelides

End Of The Story - A.J. Finn

A Talent For Murder - Peter Swanson

The Split - Kit Frick

Assassins Anonymous - Rob Hart

First Lie Wins - Ashley Elston

One Of The Good Guys - Araminta Hall

Not By Blood - Chris Narozy

He Started It - Samantha Downing

Blood Sugar - Sascha Rothchild

No One Will Miss Her - Kat Rosenfield

Woman In The Window - A.J. Finn

For More Reads Like This, Check Out…

Master Mind Games

Books Set In The Art World...

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Artsy Lit…

Curse Of Pietro Houdini - Derek B. Miller

The Lost Van Gogh - Jonathan Santlofer

The Flanders Panel - Arturo Perez-Reverte

Fake - Erica Katz

The Art Forger - B.A. Shapiro

Chasing Cezanne - Peter Mayle

The Last Mona Lisa - Jonathan Santlofer

The Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova

The Violin Conspiracy - Brendan Slocumb

Loot - Aaron Elkins

Girl With The Botticelli Eyes - Herbert Lieberman

The Raphael Affair - Iain Pears

The Gauguin Connection - Estelle Ryan

Loving Frank - Nancy Horan

The Cabinets Of Barnaby Mayne - Elsa Hart

The Art Thief - Michael Finkel

Con/Artist: Life & Crimes Of The World’s Greatest Art Forger - Tony Tetro

Hot Art: Chasing Thieves & Detectives In The World Of Stolen Art - Josh Knelman

For More Reads, Check Out…

Literary Compositions

If You Prefer Your History In Fictional Form...

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Historical Fiction Reads…

The Women - Kristin Hannah

Warm Hands Of Ghosts - Katherine Arden

Table For Two - Amor Towles

James - Percival Everett

The Widow Spy - Megan Campisi

Homecoming - Kate Morton

The Last Russian Doll - Kristen Loesch

The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O’Farrell

The Starlet Letter - Julie Mathison

The Spectacular - Fiona Davis

The Sin Eater - Megan Campisi

The Puzzle Master - Danielle Trussoni

Essex Dogs - Dan Jones

Hotel Of Secrets - Diana Biller

Strangers In The Night - Heather Webb

A Gentleman In Moscow - Amor Towles

The House With The Golden Door - Elodie Harper

L.A. Confidential - James Ellroy

For More Historical Fiction…

Now & Then

Yellowface - R.F. Kuang - Top Book Pick!

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Yellowface - R.F. Kuang - Top Book Pick!

Fiction/Satire

Rating: 9/10

Juniper is a fledging writer, ravenous with ambition. When her bestselling author friend Athena chokes to death one night when they are hanging at her fancy schmancy apartment, Juniper steals her just-finished masterpiece. A masterpiece she hasn’t whispered a thing about to anyone. Did I mention she is also an unabashed liar. Flat out, bald faced, deluded and narcissistic, she even manages to fool herself. Seriously, she cannot help herself. A brilliant read!

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The Quiet Tenant - Clemence Michallon

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The Quiet Tenant - Clemence Michallon

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

Aidan is charming, objectively handsome, and always willing to lend a hand. But behind the meticulously fabricated veneer, he’s also a kidnapper and serial killer. While we all have reason to shy away from the “serial killer” novels, which have seen a resurgence of popularity in the last year, this one delves a little deeper than most. What is, at a glance, a twisted premise, is in fact a novel that raises unexpected moral considerations.

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Paradox Hotel - Rob Hart

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Paradox Hotel - Rob Hart

Sci-Fi

Rating: 9/10

January is head of security at the Paradox Hotel, a luxury locale where trillionaires stay when travelling to and from different time periods. With a big summit planned to determine the new owner of the hotel, she struggles to keep herself in the here and now while juggling a maelstrom of complications that arise. The hotel is losing bits and pieces of past events, almost as if history is dissolving. And she herself is unstuck, a little like Alice In Wonderland. And then there’s the body in a room that doesn’t exist. What’s a girl to do? Well, this girl’s not telling!

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Call Me Hunter - Jim Shockey

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Call Me Hunter - Jim Shockey

Thriller

Rating: 6/10

When a manuscript written by a man who calls himself Hunter arrives in the mail, Nyala never expected to be lured into the story of a man intent on bringing down an elite society of operatives and killers that have controlled the worlds treasures and artifacts for hundreds of years. The fact that he has addressed her by name, that he is unwavering in his assurance that she has a part to play, that’s just another mystery she sets out to unravel.

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Walking With Sam: A Father, A Son & 500 Miles Across Spain- Andrew McCarthy

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Walking With Sam: A Father, A Son & 500 Miles Across Spain- Andrew McCarthy

Memoir

Rating: 8/10

If you go into this book by actor Andrew McCarthy thinking you are going to leave with some juicy celebrity gossip, you will be dissatisfied. What you will get is an intimate, funny, and deeply poignant memoir that invites you along on a trek of discovery for a father and son as they navigate a new way to connect as adults. Within moments of setting out on day 1 of this ambitious, arduous, and potentially profound walk, Sam informs his dad that he is about to get so sick of him. 34 days to go.

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The Best Minds: A Story Of Friendship, Madness & The Tragedy Of Good Intentions - Jonathan Rosen

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The Best Minds: A Story Of Friendship, Madness & The Tragedy Of Good Intentions - Jonathan Rosen

Memoir

Rating: 7.5/10

A haunting and deeply nuanced reconstruction of the forces that led the authors closest childhood friend, Michael, from the heights of brilliant promise to the psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. It is in many ways the authors reckoning against his own inaction in the face of his friend’s schizophrenia. The book painstakingly illustrates the entanglement of madness and genius. Brilliantly written!

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Sleuths & Such...

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“Just One More Thing”…

I have wonderful memories of watching television mysteries with my mom. Sunday nights were must-see TV, hobnobbing with Jessica Fletcher as she ambled into yet another murder in her quaint hometown. Thursdays were all about Columbo, our eyes were riveted to the boob tube in stupefied fascination as the seemingly bumbling detective laid it all out. The chagrin of the dastardly culprits as they were unmasked by either of these genius sleuths was priceless. Is it any surprise that love translated to books? Enjoy a read that celebrate sleuths of all kinds!

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Mystery: A Seduction,A Strategy, A Solution - Jonah Lehrer

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Mystery: A Seduction,A Strategy, A Solution - Jonah Lehrer

Microhistory

Rating: 9/10

A standout book that provides a deconstructed exploration of why puzzlement is integral for the mind. Illustrating key principles through examples set by artists, athletes, musicians, writers, magicians, salesmen, and geniuses. Pursuing explanations of the things that confound us; one hit wonders, sport statistics and predications, the misleading threads laid down in novels, the art forgery’s, the cracking of cyphers, the feint and flourish of a magical illusion. The author tackles them all with a nerdish brilliance that left me longing for more!

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Read With The Lights On...

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Bookish Scares To Keep The Blood Pumping…

The Lesser Dead - Christopher Buehlman

All Souls Lost - Dan Moren

Boys In The Valley - Philip Fracassi

In The Valley Of The Sun - Andy Davidson

Dead Eleven - Jimmy Juliano

A Haunting On The Hill - Elizabeth Hand

A Light Most Hateful - Hailey Piper

Fever House - Keith Rosson

The Handyman Method - Nick Cutter

Your Lonely Nights Are Over - Adam Sass

Out There Screaming - Jordan Peele

Schraders Chord - Scott Leeds

Edenville - Sam Rebelein

Never Whistle At Night - Shane Hawk

Rouge - Mona Awad

Wasps In The Ice Cream - Tim McGregor

The Bottoms - Joe R. Lansdale

The Ancestor - Danielle Trussoni

Cry Your Way Home - Damien Walters

Armchair Travels...

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Escape To Destinations On The Page…

Nigeria - Rosewater - Tade Thompson

Russia - A Gentleman In Moscow - Amor Towles

Mexico - Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Japan - Strange Weather In Tokyo - Hiromi Kawakami

Egypt - City Of Brass - S.A. Chakraborty

Korea - The Plotters - Kim Un-Su

Argentina - Who Is Vera Kelly? - Rosalie Knecht

Malaysia - The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo

Ghana - Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

Australia - The Cartographers Secret - Tea Cooper

Sri Lanka - The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida - Shenhan Karunatilaka

Netherlands - The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

Sweden - The Stockholm Octavo - Karen Engelmann

Czech Republic - The Woman From Prague - Rob Hart

Greece - The Two Faces Of January - Patricia Highsmith

Portugal - Two Nights In Lisbon - Chris Pavone

Hungary - The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Sierra Leone - The Gilded Ones - Namina Forna

Nicaragua - Heir Of Uncertain Magic - Charlie Holmberg

Congo - The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingslover

Denmark - Smilas Sense Of Snow - Peter Hoeg

Finland - The Witch Hunter - Max Seeck

Norway - The Snowman - Jo Nesbo

Lebanon - The Arsonists City - Hala Ayan

New Zealand - Birnam Wood - Eleanor Catton

Jamaica - Black Cake - Charmaine Wilkerson

Vietnam - The Sympathizer - Viet Thanh Nguyen

Thailand - Bangkok 8 - John Burdett

Scotland - The Lost Queen - Signe Pike

Dark Sparkles...

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Tales of Broads, Babes & Rebels…

Charm - The Bone Orchard (Sara A Mueller)

Lanore - The Taker (Alma Katsu)

Sister Holiday - Scorched Grace (Margot Douaihy)

Celaena - Throne Of Glass (Sarah J. Maas)

Wren Connolly – Reboot (Amy Tintera)

Victoria McQueen – NOS4A2 (Joe Hill)

Anna - Hench (Natalie Zina Walschots)

Annie Wilkes – Misery (Stephen King)

Jessa-Lynn - Mostly Dead Things (Kristen Arnett)

Nova - Renegades (Marissa Meyer)

Hwa - Company Town (Madeline Ashby)

Chelsea - The Violence (Deliah S Dawson)

Martha - The Future (Naomi Alderman)

Flo & Clara - Plain Bad Heriones (Emily Danforth)

Jane - Bad Monkeys (Matt Ruff)

Jude - The Cruel Prince (Holly Black)

Carmen - Secret Identity (Alex Segura)

Lore - Lore (Alexandra Bracken)

Ada - Outlawed (Anna North)

Loretta & Hamara - Chain Gang All Stars (Nana Kwame-Adeji)

Nova - Zero Sum Game (S.L. Huang)

Gwendy - Gwendy Button Box (Richard Chizmar & Stephen King)

Small Mercies - Dennis Lehane

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Small Mercies - Dennis Lehane

Crime Fiction

Rating: 9/10

The author’s masterful way with words and the beauty of his prose carry the reader through the horrors of the hard life that the characters are enduring, depicting a brutal and unflinching story of both criminality and humanity. He will not let us hide from the fact that change, for those who have no say it, feels like a death to whatever dreams you had and whatever life you have made do with. You will not walk away from this read unscathed. And you will be fine with that.

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We Begin At The End - Chris Whitaker - (Replay)

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We Begin At The End - Chris Whitaker - (Replay)

Fiction

Rating: 10/10

There is nothing I can say that will do this book justice, no grouping of words that can embody how I felt at its conclusion. This is a staggeringly beautiful and powerful story; it will imbed itself in you, it will linger long after the final page is turned, and it will break you a little. If you are lucky. If you allow it to. I originally read this in 2021 and as we sit on the cusp of 2024, I am no less impacted by it.

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The Busy Body - Kemper Donovan

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The Busy Body - Kemper Donovan

Mystery

Rating: 9/10

Let’s begin at the end shall we. Hands down the cleverest denouement I’ve read in a long time. Dramatic, snarky, and deliciously gossipy, it was an absolute delight! An old-fashioned murder mystery with a touch of glitz and glamour with a cast of the rich and infamous. Dorothy has got time on her hands after losing the bid for presidential candidate, so she decides to hire a ghostwriter to help her with her memoir. Then someone dies. You know where we go from here…

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Wrap It Up!-Chapter Six

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Wrap It Up!-Chapter Six

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those waiting for my 2023 Top Picks. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

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Wrap It Up!-Chapter Five

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Wrap It Up!-Chapter Five

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself. This instalment of Wrap It Up gathers together books for those seeking mastery in their storytelling. Whether it’s you or a love one, find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

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